10.0   Interviews - The Essentials of Your Presentation - Part 2

Interviewing effectively is an acquired skill. Very few people are so talented that they can do it well the first time without much preparation. If you really want to be successful in interviewing, I recommend that you start by understanding that there are things you must do before you interview, there are things to expect during an interview, as well as things you must do to follow up after an interview.

Employers are interested in some very specific things. They want to know that you fit their needs in a variety of areas:



  • Technical Expertise or Specialized Knowledge
  • Computer Skills
  • Communication Skills - verbal, written, presentation and interpersonal
  • Team Skills
  • Leadership or Management Skills
  • Organization Skills
  • Analytical / Problem Solving Skills


They also want to know you have an interest in, a passion for, or enthusiasm for what they do... Can you demonstrate that?

In other words they want to know that you have the right stuff. 

An interview is your opportunity to demonstrate that you understand the job, that you have spent time thinking about how your knowledge, skills, interests and experience fit the job, and that you can give examples of things you have done that are relevant to the job.

The basic things that will either make or break your interview:
  1. Can you show that you have the technical expertise or breadth of knowledge necessary to perform the job? They will most definitely quiz you on your knowledge that fit with the needs of the position you are interviewing for.
  2. Do you have solid communication skills? Can you write professional reports, business level correspondence and technical documents? Can you communicate effectively with customers, clients, co-workers, other managers and the myriad of government agencies or subcontractors and organizations that interface with their company?
  3. Do you have good computer skills? Can you create effective, professional documents?
Bottom line, can you do the job?