As a candidate, there are a lot of thoughts that can run through your mind during the face-to-face interview. After all, you’re answering a lot of questions and you’re also asking questions. But what should you be focused on? What’s the most important thing that you should be doing?
In this situation, you should be focusing on what the employer wants and what the hiring manager is looking for. After all, there are reasons that they are looking to hire and fill a position within their organization.
From the employer’s perspective, they’re trying to solve a problem or fill a need or want. In other words, they’re trying to determine if YOU can solve their problem or meet their need. During the face-to-face interview, they want to know if you can provide the value that they’re looking for.
So, the most important aspect of the face-to-face interview is the potential value that you could bring to the organization. All of the hiring manager’s questions will be geared toward gauging that potential value. They want to know what kinds of value you can provide and how much you can provide.
Since this is the case, you should focus your efforts on highlighting the value that you could bring. Use past accomplishments to illustrate the value that you’ve brought to other employers, ideally with data or statistics to back it up.
Ultimately, the hiring manager is going to extend an offer of employment to the person who they believe will provide the most value in the shortest amount of time. By proving your value during the interview, you’ll put yourself in a better position to be that person.