7 Tips To Land a Job Interview In The Next Hour

If you had one hour to land a job interview, what would you do to secure an interview?

To help you land a job interview, we asked business leaders and HR experts this question for their best tips. From doing your research to leveraging your network, there are several tips that may help you secure an interview. 

Here are seven tips to help you land a job interview:

• Do Your Research
• Get Your Creative Juices Flowing
• Find The Recruiter
• Call Up The Hiring Manager And Start Asking Them Questions
• Research Local Listings
• Cast A Wide Net And Leverage Your Network
• Have “Tell Me About Yourself” Down

Do Your Research

If you only have an hour to land a job interview, you should have done your research beforehand. Integrating key facts you know about the company along with their mission statement and core values is sure to get you an interview and quite possibly the job. Showing that you truly care about the company, not just about getting a job, shows longevity and loyalty. 

Ryan Nouis, TruPath

Get Your Creative Juices Flowing

In order to stand out from all the other applicants, you have to do something creative! I once knew a candidate who sent our office boxes of donuts with his resume taped to the inside. As a candidate who was interested in a sales position, I found this to be really innovative and proved that he had what it takes to get the attention of our potential clients as well!

Thorin Yee, BestCompaniesAZ 

Find The Recruiter

Find the recruiters for the company (and ideally the hiring manager if possible) on LinkedIn, write a compelling reason why you’re the perfect candidate for the role (use the job description as your north star), make sure they know how they can contact you, and tell them that you want this job and to work for this company. At the very least, you’ll make an impression, and hopefully, you’ll land a phone call.

Sydney Stern Miller, Tech Talent South

Call Up The Hiring Manager And Start Asking Them Questions

I would call the hiring manager and ask specific questions about what success looks like in the role over the first twelve months and try to build a timeline. For example, what does success look like in the 0-3 month time frame, 3-6 months, and 6-12 months? Asking critical questions will position you in the best place to answer job interview questions more powerfully and will probably lead to you securing the job interview as the hiring manager will see that you are taking the role seriously.

Ineke McMahon, P2P Learning and Development

Research Local Listings

I would access Craigslist and the local classifieds in my city and start cold calling all relevant positions. LinkedIn and Glassdoor are great for helping companies who are hiring but make it difficult for people looking for work to get past the gatekeepers within 1 hr – local listings make it more likely that I can find a phone number while also giving me better odds that whoever picks up is the decision-maker or can help me speak to that person quickly.

Quincy Smith, TEFL Hero

Cast A Wide Net And Leverage Your Network

First and foremost, make sure you are looking for jobs that are relevant to your experience. This will increase the likelihood that you will land that interview. Next, check-in with friends to see if they know of any open roles in your field. Given that a lot of employers typically offer some sort of referral bonus, using this approach will benefit both of you. Lastly, leverage technology. Update your indeed profile so you are at the top of the sourcing list with your latest info. See what offerings ZipRecruiter has. LinkedIn also allows you to see if any of your network is connected to a job you may be interested in. Having them at least pointing you in the right direction will get you closer to getting your foot in the door.

Steven Brown, DP Electric Inc

Have “Tell Me About Yourself” Down  

If you truly had one hour to land a job interview, you are likely to come across the question, “Can you tell me a little bit about yourself?” This is where people start to ramble and are not able to turn their answer into something that gives value to the person that asked it. Break this question down into three short and simple parts: present, past and future. First, talk about your current role and what exactly it is that you do. Next, talk about how you got here, whether this means prior experience or schooling. Finally, talk about what you are looking to do next and why this new opportunity is a great fit. The key is always tying back your answers to why you want to land an interview or go after this new opportunity. 

Kayla Centeno, Markitors 

Terkel creates community-driven content featuring expert insights. Sign up at terkel.io to answer questions and get published.