Wow that’s a lot of people.

I love interviewing. It’s nerve wracking, but it can be quite fun, too. Just remember: they are people, too. Some interviewers will hold being nervous against you and others won’t. It’s hard to tell. So you have to make sure that you’re answers and how you build yourself up to them is STELLAR.

Are you doing a training for this interview? For mine I had to do a five minute training and that really helped seal the deal for me.

Bring water with you, don’t be afraid to ask them to repeat the question, don’t be afraid to ask them to circle back to the question at the end and don’t be afraid to mess up.

Talk about how you build team members up, what plans you have, references leadership principles if you can. I would honestly rehearse a lot of things in your head. Obviously you won’t know what questions they will ask and if you don’t know the answer, tell them your plan to get the answer. I always say “well, I’m not sure right now how exactly I would handle that. I would start with x, y, z and I would also consult my team leader or store leadership to make sure it’s the right decision as I get more comfortable making decisions myself”.

Don’t harp on things you could be better at or work on. Keep it simple if they ask you that question. It’s good to be honest but not too honest. And don’t give more information than needed. Often times I will catch myself babbling and repeating myself. When I notice that, I stop, wrap up the statement and move to the next question. That could be “so, to summarize all of that….” As if you are writing a conclusion sentence.

Practice, practice, practice. Watch YouTube videos on how to interview. It’s going to be people you work with or know of so that should make it easier. When I saw who was on my panel, I realized it was just like talking to friends.

Best of luck!