Strong technical skills get you to the interview, but preparation gets you the offer. Show up having done the homework that many candidates skip.
Having interviewed many candidates for IT and cybersecurity jobs, I want to share my tips for people pursuing such positions. How should candidates invited to an interview prepare and conduct themselves during the interview process? Hiring managers want you to be well-prepared for discussions because that lets them have substantive, no-nonsense conversations with candidates.
So, here’s my list of 5 tips hiring managers want you to know:
#1: Know the organization where you’re applying.
You need to be familiar with both the tech and business aspects of the organization where you want to work. When the interviewer asks you, “What do you know about us?” your answer must offer more than what you’d gather by merely glancing at the company’s website.
Research how the company makes money, what challenges it’s facing, what the competition is doing, and the role that technology plays in that ecosystem. Your information sources should not be limited to the company’s website. Also include news stories, analyst reports, LinkedIn, and employee-experience sites such as Glassdoor and Levels.fyi. See what you can get from people who used to work or still work at the company.
For public companies, you can learn a lot from the latest 10-K filings and earnings call transcripts, especially if you use an AI assistant to summarize them. If this is a tech company, use my product strategy tool for more insights.
Consider what it might be like to work in that environment and what contribution you could make. Be prepared to explain what past experiences have prepared you to excel at this company.
#2: Know the position for which you’re applying.
Once you understand the company, dig into the role that you’ll play there.
If the job is on the revenue-generating side, how will you help the company meet its revenue, profit, and related business goals? If the job is within a cost center, what success factors has the company defined for the position? Be prepared to explain what experiences and skills will allow you to contribute and succeed in that context.
Understand the “must have” and “nice to have” skills the hiring manager expects the candidate to possess. Some job postings use generic titles such as “Senior Consultant,” “Director,” or “Analyst” and describe the position in high-level and abstract terms. Look beyond the generic description to understand what the hiring manager is actually looking for. This will help you understand and explain the extent to which the position is a good match for you and vice versa.
Research the salary range before it comes up in the interview. You’ll see the band in many postings now, and you can check it against similar positions on Glassdoor or Levels.fyi.
#3: Know thyself.
These tips assume that you possess the baseline skills the position might require. However, you might not remember all the details of the projects you delivered throughout your career. Practice describing your contributions to past projects so that the interviewer thinks, “Wow, I want this candidate to help me in that way!” Practice on your own and with your AI agent, prompted to simulate the interview.
Jot down the work you’ve done and how the skills you learned map to the position’s requirements. In your discussions with the company, highlight not only your overall experience, but also clarify how it directly applies to what the organization wants you to accomplish.
Review the technologies you’ll need for this role but haven’t used recently. Remind yourself of the terminology and key concepts that might come up during interviews. Practice with your AI agent answering questions related to that tech.
Understand your professional strengths and know how to explain them clearly, succinctly, and in the context of the specific position for which you are applying. Be realistic about your weaknesses. Know how to discuss them with the interviewer so you can assess whether they’d hold you back.
Be ready for a hands-on assessment, such as a take-home project, a live coding session, or a system design walkthrough. Walk the interviewer through your reasoning, ask clarifying questions, and explain the tradeoffs you considered. They’re often as interested in how you think as in whether you reach a particular answer.
Practice discussing the job and your candidacy. You might be a perfect match for the position, but the interviewer won’t see it unless you can articulate how your experience prepared you. Mock interviews with friends or coaches help. Don’t over-prepare, though—your answers during the actual interview shouldn’t sound canned.
#4: Know the people you might work with.
Sometimes we think of companies as monolithic entities, forgetting that organizations are comprised of individuals with various personalities, backgrounds, priorities, strengths, and weaknesses. As part of the interviewing process, you’ll speak not only with the hiring manager but also with potential colleagues.
Learn about them in advance. If you don’t know their names, ask the HR rep or the hiring manager. You’ll usually find background by searching the web, LinkedIn, X, and other social networks. If they’ve written blogs, articles, or books, familiarize yourself with them so you can anticipate the questions they’ll ask and the answers they’ll value.
Also, ask the HR representative or the hiring manager for background details on the people with whom you’ll interview. What’s their personality, what role do they play on the team, what is their history with the company, what are their interviewing and work styles? You’ll be surprised by how much information you can gather by simply asking for it.
Don’t overdo your research. You can freak people out if you tell them that you found out where they live, what their kids’ names are, and what food they like. This information might be discoverable, but you don’t want to seem like a stalker or invade the person’s privacy.
Work to understand each interviewer’s “pain points” as part of the job. If you don’t know, ask during the interview. Knowing how you can help once you’re hired lets you position yourself in a way that’s personally relevant to the individual.
AI tools can help you research interviewers and rehearse your responses.
#5: Know the timeline of the interviewing process.
Time is often a critical factor when recruiting for technology positions. The company may have created the job opening only after a specific project got funded, and the hiring manager is in a hurry to find the right candidate. If you’re a good match, you’ll increase your chances by understanding and supporting the employer’s hiring timetable.
Hiring teams today run more rounds than they used to. Expect a recruiter screen, a hiring manager call, a panel, a technical assessment, and a final round, often spaced days or weeks apart. Everyone is busy. Making yourself easy to schedule speeds the process up and puts you ahead of candidates who can’t keep pace.
Be prepared, and luck will find you.
There you have it: the 5 key tips hiring managers want you to know. Having the prerequisite skills and knowledge is necessary, but not sufficient. To succeed in the interview process, view it from the perspective of the people who will contribute to the hiring decision. Good luck! Do the research, prepare, practice, and luck will find you.
