Congratulations! Securing an interview is a great accomplishment in the recruiting process! What do you need to do to effectively prepare for a successful conversation? Here are some helpful tips from PKF Texas Talent Acquisition Specialist, Michelle Montabana, that may help guide you.
Jen: PKF Texas is where you go to grow personally and professionally. We are dedicated to appreciating your career while making you feel appreciated all along the way. I’m Jen Lemanski and I’m here with Michelle Montabana, our Talent Acquisition Specialist at PKF Texas. Michelle, welcome back.
Michelle: Hello. Hello. Hello.
Jen: I’ll be frank… it’s been 17 years since I interviewed.
Michelle: It’s been a hot minute.
What’s Changed in Interviewing?
Jen: Yeah. So, and I know with COVID, those types of things, interviewing has changed. What has changed from your perspective when a candidate is looking for a position and potentially going to interview somewhere?
Michelle: A lot has changed. We now have video interviews. We can start out with that side of things. So, for video interviews, you want to make sure that you’re in a quiet well-lit place where you have plenty of internet bandwidth because you don’t want to be skipping your speech or anything like that. Like I said, make sure it’s a quiet place because you don’t want kids screaming or a loud coffee shop behind you.
As far as interviews go for in person, make sure you look professional. Be modest. You don’t want anything showing that you would not want your grandmother to see. You always want to over prepare than under prepare. Make sure that you always research the company and what they do.
As far as interviewing for any position, make sure you, like I said, know about the company, make sure you know what the position does and how your strengths apply to that, as well as any kind of certifications that you might need as well.
What to Research
Jen: So, when you’re researching a company, is there anything that you, as the person interviewing, like for somebody to already have pre-done, if you will?
Michelle: Make sure you research a company. Go to their… usually on their website there’s that little “Who Are We” section that people can always look at, know what they do. Like for us, know that we’re a CPA firm, don’t say accounting firm, things like that. Make sure you research, go to the person maybe you’re interviewing with, their LinkedIn, that way you know kind of what to talk to them about.
So, for instance, if I was interviewing you, I would see that you were the Senior Manager for Practice Growth. So, what I would look up, and that’s marketing, so I would know that I’m going to talk with you about marketing things. I’m not going to be talking with you about taxes and tax forms.
Get to Know the People
Jen: So, is there something that somebody can expect when they kind of get into the interview process, meeting multiple people? What does that typically look like?
Michelle: Usually for experienced hires, you are going to meet with multiple people because you are further along in your career because you want to make sure that you are meeting with the people that you’re going to work with.
A lot of people will say that the company means a lot to the people that you’re going to be working for, and it’s actually, in my opinion, the opposite because the people that you work with, those are the people that get to bring you in every day to the office or bring you to your desk at home. So, make sure you get along with the people that you would be working with versus just only looking at the company.
Jen: Perfect. Well, we’ll get you back to talk about some more recruiting topics. Sound good?
Michelle: Sounds great.
Jen: When we say Approachable Advisors™, we mean it. Our team is available and eager to assist you in your career. At PKF Texas, we call that Appreciating You. Visit PKFTexas.com/Careers to learn more.
