If you’re preparing for an upcoming job interview using only a list of the top 25 most common questions, stop. Rewind. Start over.

As a career coach, I’ve seen it happen all too often. A professional in transition seeks my services after several failed attempts at landing the offer. They have trouble determining why they don’t do well and soon begin to question their abilities. After several negative experiences or their lack of solidifying an offer, their confidence buckles. They google “Career coach, Lexington, KY” and discover an entirely new paradigm of interviewing that works.

IT IS NOTHING LIKE I EXPECTED

Alone and without a career coach to help you prepare, the interview questions you rehearse may be discovered online in an article or on Glassdoor from other experienced job seekers.

And yet, your interview begins and ends with a sense of ambiguity because many of the questions you practiced were not asked.

“I practiced behavioral questions and all they did was drill me on qualifications and skills.”

“I did absolutely amazing! Their friendly and laid back approach was invigorating. I felt confident and comfortable. I walked out knowing I nailed every question. Yet, that was three weeks ago and I’ve heard nothing.”

“They asked me a bizarre question like “If you were a tree, what tree would you be?”

Sound familiar? These are examples of the force of company culture in an interview.

REWIND

The important driver of interview questions isn’t the popularity of them.

Rather, the questions you’re asked will likely originate by influences of the company culture.

Culture is the most intangible, hidden force in your interview experience. And yet today, many job-seekers don’t know how to prepare for it. They miss the markers and practice questions without knowing the culture.

Always remember: Leadership drives culture. Culture drives the interview along with the questions you will be asked.

START OVER

When working with clients, we begin with intensive research to predict the culture from the onset of preparation. Hidden clues can be extracted from the company’s website, the job description and the company’s presence on social media platforms such as LinkedIn.

Although company culture is invisible, it definitely influences the interview. You can prepare and experience confidence in knowing what to expect by first acknowledging the imperative force of company culture.

How have you experienced company culture in a job interview?

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The Most Powerful (Yet Hidden) Force of a Job Interview

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