20.02.2025 Today’s Insights from Vault: Clever Strategies to Stand Out in a Job Interview, by Making a Lasting Impression
Dear Students,
The answer to this question could be called the “Holy Grail” of interviewing: “How can I, as an ambitious international student, stand out in an interview, when there are so many other bright, energetic, driven candidates with comparable academic achievements, from similar universities, like me?”
https://vault.com/blogs/interviewing/stand-out-in-a-job-interview-clever-strategies-to-make-a-lasting-impression?utm_source=greenarrow&utm_medium=email&utm_content=subscriber_id:35224&utm_campaign=CareerNewsletter12_05_24
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When it comes to nailing a job interview, preparation and professionalism are key. But what happens when every candidate has prepared, dressed the part, and rehearsed their stories of teamwork and grit?
vault.com
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The good news? There are multiple ways to do so, without using some of the wild techniques you might have read about (like sending a hand-crafted shoe in a box to the now-defunct company Sole Society, to “get a foot in the door.”)
In this short but provocative article, Vault editor Rob Porter has identified 9 strategies worthy of consideration, some of which we’ve expanded on a bit below:
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Bring a project or portfolio unique to the role
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Mention industry-specific knowledge or insights
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Create and send a short post-interview recap or presentation
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Turn the interview into a dialogue
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Share a story that highlights your passions
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Mention a unique power skill (and how it can benefit the employer)
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Bring up adaptability to remote or hybrid work (or other logistical issues)
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Mention a book, podcast, article or TED/TEDx talk that inspires you
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Talk about your future goals
While some of these techniques involve pre-interview preparation, some require thinking on the spot and others involve post-interview initiative, none of them entails a Herculean effort.
What’s key is not only to take these steps, but more so to tie any steps taken into how they can add value to your candidacy for a given opportunity. In other words, “sell,” not “tell.” Alternatively, as known in the world of sales, highlight benefits, not simply features, of the competencies you have to offer.
“Do I really want this position?,” a young professional like you may ask yourself. If so, why not put in the additional thought and planning, with the support of an experienced coach, to identify and devise the customized approach that might work most effectively in a given circumstance, based on a particular industry, role, and/or hiring leader.
As Daniel Pink points out, “We are all in sales, like it or not.” But, what’s nice to know, per the title of his 2018 book, is that “To Sell is Human.” You and your friends may need to learn to reframe such thinking as simply another aspect of influencing, persuading, and negotiating, critical power skills for obtaining and succeeding in global leadership roles.
Our coaches urge young talent like you and your friends to consider which (especially non-technical) aspects of your profile you can be “selling” even more effectively, this evening.
Best,
Amy-Louise