I’m really good at interviews. So good, I’ve rebranded myself the queen of interviews. I love the work I do, and I’ve put major work in to gain real experience. That shows when I speak. Without further ado, I present to you:

How to Body Interviews and Influence People (A THREAD)

Let’s start with a few truths.
1. Interviewing is easier when you do actual work and can speak to it.
2. You have to truly care about the work you’re doing and be an expert.

3. We are taught being boastful is a bad thing (especially as black people). That modesty screws you over—you can’t be coy and convincing at the same time.
4. The biggest thing keeping some of you from playing with the big dogs is your poor business acumen.

The prerequisite to bodying interviews is establishing your personal brand: who you are and what makes you unique. I recommend developing a tagline — for me, I’m the 'status quo crusher' or 'queen of relationship management.’ I tie all of my experience to this theme.

Personality tests like the Gallup Strengthsfinder and Myers-Briggs assessments have really helped me discern who I am. My brand is built on being passionate, strategic, and forward-thinking.

On to the rules.

Rule #1: Intimately understand the company and its industry. Regardless of what role you’re applying for, you should know the company's business model. Also, understand their strategic priorities and where you’d fit within that. Understand the implications of recent company news.

Rule #1 (continued): I’d recommend doing a SWOT analysis for every company you interview with, paying close attention to what threats are facing them (and showcase how you can help). You have to show you can think big picture, regardless of your title.

Rule #1 (continued): Candidly, this is the biggest part of separating yourself from someone making $80K and someone making $160K.

Rule #2: Be prepared with actual recommendations. Know specifically what you would do if you started the role tomorrow. Interviewing for a job in social media? Know how you'd SPECIFICALLY change the channel strategy for each social media platform.

Rule #2 (continued): This is where I see a lot of people struggle. It’s a red flag if, during a preplanned interview, you aren’t rattling /can't rattle off hella recommendations. Get people excited about your ideas and the prospect of working with you!

Rule #3: Don’t let behavioral and situational questions trip you up. You should be answering these types of questions with ease. Take one day and fill out each of the following scenarios using the STAR method (situation, task, action, results). “Tell us about a time you…"

Rule #4: Remember you are the asset. You can have fervor toward working for an organization but the extent of that should be expressed when asked, “why [the company]?” Spend your time articulating what value you can provide the company, not what the company can do for you.

Rule #5: Ask strategic questions. E.g. “What are the challenges facing your team?” When they answer, quickly and succinctly show how you can remedy that. “Totally can relate. I’ve dealt with similar challenges in my current role and I implemented XYZ to tackle it.”

Rule #6: Send even more strategic thank-you notes. Use your “questions” to help steer the tone of your thank-you note. E.g. “What would success look like in the first 90 days of this role?”

Rule #6 (continued): In your thank-you, you can then say, “I know you all are looking for someone who can hit the ground running with securing $1M in revenue. I've secured # deals in the past year totaling $3M in revenue so I know that I can be a valuable asset to your team."

Feel free to use this thread to ask me about interviewing only (or chime in with your own advice).