6 ways to ace your first-round interview

If your first-round interview is right around the corner, these six tips can help you stay focused, relax in the moment and enter the conversation with real confidence.

1. Keep it 100% positive

Maybe your current boss is a narcissistic tyrant, but giving voice to that opinion during a job interview—complaining about past work experience in general, for that matter—is something to avoid. Part of the issue is that it may sound petty or unprofessional. Part of the issue is that the negative is already implied: You probably wouldn’t be applying for this opportunity if you were in every conceivable way satisfied with your job. There’s no need to bring it up.

Talent tip

Emphasize what you’ve learned from challenges, not the challenges themselves. How your experiences have contributed to your goals, growth and development should be the focus of the interview.

2. Brainstorm ideas and solutions

Take some time before your first-round interview to brainstorm potential applications, ideas or solutions that might be relevant to your role or function with the company. For instance, if you’re applying for a sales role, think about the kind of messaging that might drive sales, the types of buyers the company is likely targeting and how you would respond to objections during a sales pitch. If you’re looking at a more technical position, like a role in data science, think of possible applications of your expertise that might add value to the business.

Talent tip

Use social media and LinkedIn or other sources to find thought leaders in your field, consider the major topics they’re talking about, then try to develop your own positions—with the goal of connecting your perspective back to the role or function you’re applying for. It’s a smart strategy—as long as you execute it with the appropriate degree of subtlety. It just might add an exclamation point to your already stellar interview.

3. Actively engage with your interviewers

That’s right, interviewers—plural. At many organizations these days, even first-round interviews involve conversations with multiple stakeholders. Don’t be surprised if you’re introduced not only to your potential manager, but possibly the entire team. If so, watch the way co-workers interact with each other to try to get a read on organizational culture.

Talent tip

Sure, you’re the one being interviewed here, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask questions—about the role, of course, but also about the human on the the other side of the table. What brought you to this company? What’s most meaningful to you about your work? Questions like these, in addition to satisfying your natural curiosity, can help you build rapport with your interviewer.

In a similar vein, you’ll find that questions dealing with business pain points tend to inspire more than simple yes/no answers. They’re also a way of demonstrating that you have a fairly evolved understanding of the business processes in play. Plus, questions like these often lead to insights that can improve your job search strategy later on.

4. Be ready for behavioral interview questions

Behavioral interview questions—questions designed to reveal how you’ve handled various work situations in the past—are almost unavoidable for job seekers today. Chances are, you’re probably familiar with questions like these:

• Have you ever had a stressful situation at work? What did you do to solve it?
• Can you tell me about a time when you had to resolve a conflict with a co-worker, client or vendor?

The best responses to these questions start by framing the challenge, explaining what happened and then contextualizing it as an opportunity for learning, improvement and growth. Bear in mind that how you answer these questions matters, too. You need to remain calm. After all, this—you answering questions from strangers—is itself simulating a stressful workplace situation, so keeping cool counts.

Talent tip

Having conquered the ins and outs of behavioral interview questions, you should take time to rehearse—but not memorize—your answers. The idea is to sound like you’re speaking off the cuff, not reading from a script.

5. Clearly communicate your interest

Eager to demonstrate you’re not only a compelling candidate, but earnestly interested in landing this specific role with this specific company? The best way to do so is by being prepared.

Take a moment to review the history of the company as well as its latest developments—for the latter, you might search PR Newswire or even consider setting up Google Alerts for the company. Then, try to work this knowledge into your answers during the interview. Plus, since your level of preparedness will probably be reflected in the types of questions you ask, this should make for a richer and livelier conversation.

Talent tip

A company’s mission and values tend to dictate a lot about its culture. At Johnson & Johnson, for instance, Our Credo guides everything we do. So make sure you’ve got the mission of the company down pat before it’s time to take your first-round interview.

6. Identify the right opportunity

If you’re eager to start interviewing, check out all of the opportunities available at Johnson & Johnson—and apply today.

Meanwhile, you should sign up for our Global Talent Hub, too. It’s a great way to stay in touch, learn more about our culture and even get notifications about jobs that might interest you in the future.