Your Progress
Week 8 : How to Connect During Your Interview
Ace Your Interviews
Connect: Hire Your Friends
Making a connection with your interviewer is the most crucial part of an interview. The whole reason is to get to
know each other! Interviews shouldn’t feel like going to the dentist’s office—but we all need to go. If you do lie to
your dentist, please don’t lie to your interviewer.
Interviews are a skill; by following these steps, you’ll be on your way to becoming a master. Maybe “Pro
Interviewer” could be one of your top skills on LinkedIn! There’s no single way to connect during your interview,
but we have a few tips and tricks to help you along the process.
Super Steps : Prepare to Make that Connection
1
Follow your intended company’s social media, especially its LinkedIn page.
This shows that you’re a fan of their work without having to wear a foam finger to your interview. A foam
finger isn’t the best interview attire unless you’re interviewing to be a seat filler for The Mets. But still, show
your support for your favorite companies like you show your support for your favorite teams!
2
Find the employees. Look at the employees at the company.
Once you’ve found the company’s profile, click on the list of employees. See if you can learn more about what
they do with the company or their achievements. You’d want to know if an Academy Award winner like Denzel
Washington is interviewing you.
3
Find the person you’re interviewing with and send them a connection request.
Find their profile on Linkedin so that you can learn more about them. Learning some basic information about
the person conducting your interview can make them seem more relatable so the process is less daunting.
Also, the more you know about the interviewer, the better you can tailor your responses to their questions.
4
Go to their LinkedIn page and look at their activity.
To learn more about your interviewer’s personality and interests, check out their recent activity on LinkedIn.
Finding common interests with your interviewer will help them to see you as more than a resume in a stack.
Instead, they will see you as the awesome person that you are. But make it natural. No need to memorize the
exact dates and times they made posts on LinkedIn. Stranger danger!
5
Find something you both have in common and mention that at the beginning of your interview.
Find a common ground with the interviewer and bring it up right away. People like to talk about themselves,
so you’ll have plenty of opportunities throughout the interview to find common ground. This could be an
interest in the same movie genre, a shared hobby, or even a mutual connection. You may also want to ask
questions about their background and experiences that show you’re interested in understanding them better
as a person. If this would be your first job in the field, ask for their advice! What do they love about their field?
What makes them successful? You want to take the time to learn as much as you can from them. Don’t be
afraid to ask them anything!
Hot Tips
Hot Tip # 1 Research the company culture.
A company’s culture is going to make or break your workplace experience. Put in the research before your interview about the culture and reach out to former and current employees. You could ask about the company’s culture during your interview, but it may not yield honest results.
Journal Your Thoughts
Write down three good end of interview questions and 3-5 personal interests that you can use to connect with
your interviewer. This way, you won’t have to waste time in the interview trying to come up with any. Remember
to practice!