Why not a Top 10 list? Because when you’re in the hot seat, you’ll be lucky to recall two of these tips, let alone 10!

1. Your timidness could cost you the job (or fetch you a lower salary)

The president of my company often inquires if the candidate we’re introducing him to can “fog a mirror.” Partly in jest, but mostly from experience, he adopted this phrase resulting from numerous interviews with stereotypically shy, timid and quiet computer programmers.

Do you have to be bubbly and gregarious to land a job? No. But making a concerted effort to ditch your shyness and in place, present yourself confidently with a projected voice will go a long way to making a strong first impression. Don’t forget to smile and appear excited to be given the opportunity to interview.

2. Be ye neither terse nor verbose

There is a saying that conversation is the art of telling people a little less than they want to know. An interview is an opportunity for a conversation. From my experience, many technology candidates blow this opportunity by ditching or dominating the dialog.

When the candidate provides abrupt, terse answers to open-ended questions, it causes the interviewer to work too hard to build a compelling story about YOU. It’s okay to keep your answers short and simple, but mindful to keep your answers interesting, invoking the interviewer to ask follow up questions.

Almost worse are the candidates who, when asked a question such as, “Tell me about the project you are currently working on”, start talking and don’t come up for air until interrupted by the interviewer that the evening janitor is waiting outside to empty the trash can and vacuum the floor. Do not, I repeat do not talk for more than a handful of sentences before you give the ball back to the interviewer. Remember, the point is to have a dialog, which is at least twice as enjoyable as a monolog.

3. Treat the interview like a working session rather than an interview

Odds are very high that you are going to answer a question incorrectly; whether you misunderstood the question or the interviewer misunderstood your answer, it’s bound to happen. Without going overboard, take advantage of this extremely useful tip: ask for clarification before answering.

If the interviewer hits you with a difficult problem or scenario, restate to them exactly what you think they are asking. That alone will cause you to stand out. Besides, it’s good business. In the real world, the client almost always finds a way to ask their questions in the most ridiculous, unintuitive way.

What if you don’t have an answer? My advice is to be honest. Tell them, “I don’t know.” In fact, you could even turn it into a bigger win with an answer like this, “Hmm…I’m not sure I know where you are going. Can you give me an idea of how a previous candidate approached this same problem?” With luck, you’ll figure out where they are wanting you to go and the recovery will be perceived as skilled and professional.

4. When they hand you the ball, score a touchdown

At the end of the interview, I hand the ball off to the candidate by saying something to the effect of, “I’ve been asking all the questions thus far. Let me turn the table and give you a chance to ask me any questions you’d like.” Most candidates fail. Miserably. They either dodge the opportunity completely or offer up something really lame like, “what does your company do?”

What does my company do? If you can’t ask a more specific question to the company with whom you’re about to sign over your daylight hours, you’re not a compelling candidate. Google and Linkedin are your friends! Go into the interview with highly specific questions, such as, “I see from your website that most of your clients are out-of-state. Why is that and what advantages would there be to bringing business closer to home?” It gives me goosebumps to imagine a candidate getting real like that. Do it and you’ll land the job. Guaranteed*.

My personal favorite is to skillfully interview the interviewer. Questions like,

“Tell me about your experience in the company.”
“Has it met your original expectations?”
“What would you say are among the top three perks for working here?”

These types of questions add both transparency and clarity to your own decision making process.

* assuming they are convinced you are adequately qualified for the position.

5. Whether they ask for it or not, clearly state your value proposition

Many, if not most, interviewers are horrible at interviewing. Often, they don’t ask the right questions and even when they do, they don’t know how to evaluate the answer.

Be prepared with a truthful, yet confident statement that proves you have given thought into why this specific employer would be crazy to hire somebody else over you, even if you are not as qualified. Something like the following can work wonders:

“Before we conclude, I just wanted to thank you for the opportunity to interview me. I know your time is precious, so I appreciate that you have taken time to talk with me. I feel strongly that I can become a solid Ruby developer with a minimal learning curve. I have a passion for the language, which means I’m eating, sleeping and drinking it to be the best Ruby programmer on the team. I look forward to hearing back from you.”

Be careful not to make preemptive or unnecessary concessions when delivering your value proposition. I have hear candidates make statements such as, “I know I don’t have the 2-3 years worth of Ruby experience that you’re looking for, so I’m willing to come in at a lower salary if you just give me the chance.” It’s fine to negotiate, just do it only if necessary and at the right time.