How to stand out in an interview

I have been talking to a lot of people who were a part of the layoffs that never seem to end, and something that has come up a lot has been how to stand out when you are interviewing against potentially hundreds of other applicants. Pretty daunting to think about, having to compete with 3 candidates is enough! 

So how the heck do you stand out when you are interviewing against so many people?! I would suggest a couple of things:

1. Stay in your specialty lane.  I always talk about focusing on the lowest barrier of entry to get into a job fastest. If you have always been in a product marketing role, and are an expert in product marketing, now is probably not the time to explore the communications side of marketing. OR if you have been selling cybersecurity tech for the past 6 years, it’s probably best to stick in that space for now.

We want to lean into our strengths and prior experience to help us get a leg up in the process. 

2. Level up your preparedness. Coming prepared for an interview is an essential factor, regardless of how many people you are competing against, but it’s more important now than ever before. The most beneficial thing about being prepared is that you can connect the dots for them. Showing them what you have done in the past is exactly what they are looking for in that role. 

For example, if they are looking for a leader who has built out a Sales program from 25M to 100M in ARR with a new technology, you can tell them how you have done exactly that in a previous role. This is your way to tell them how and why you are the perfect fit. 

3. Follow-ups and thank you’s are key. If a company is truly interviewing 10’s or hundreds for a single position, then there is NO way that things DON’T get lost in the shuffle. We all easily miss the email, call or text that comes through, multiply that by 10x and I’m sure that hiring manager or TA feels completely overwhelmed.  

Your follow-ups help them remember you and are polite little nudges to move the needle forward. 

The thank you’s show you care. You would be SHOCKED how many people DON’T do this. 

4. Be your authentic self. At the end of the day, you want to work with people that you jive with and that WANT to work with you. Even writing out ‘competing against hundreds of applicants’ makes me cringe because it’s all based on a ‘lack’ mindset. As if you aren’t enough just as you are today, which isn’t true.  

You are exactly the person that the world needs you to be, so never act a different way because you think that’s what they want to hear or see. They will see right through that and it’ll only emotionally hurt you in the long run. You are perfect as you are right now. 

5. Take a deep breath, because good things are coming your way.

It’s so easy to get caught up in all the fear that is swirling around us with layoffs, a bad market, and the lack of job openings. If we let ourselves get too wrapped up in that it can feel like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, and no change in sight. But that simply isn’t true. Things will and are changing constantly, and this will too. There will be great opportunities again. You will find a job that you love again. And everything will be okay. 

This can feel like a lot especially when there is a lot on the line. 

It’s important to do everything you can to put yourself in the best position to succeed, but then once that’s done, it’s important to let go and let it be.

If you follow these pointers you can know you did all you could do put your best foot forward and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.