Unsure about the best ways to land a job?
Below are the top 10 job interview tips from the Gartner recruitment team.
- Prepare. This was the most agreed-upon piece of advice among our recruiters. It’s so easy these days to take an hour or two to research Gartner on our website, Glassdoor, LinkedIn, etc. to learn useful and relevant information to discuss. Make sure that you completely understand the position that you’re applying for and can articulate how your past experiences will help you succeed. The more prepared you are for an interview the less nervous and more focused you’ll be!
- Ask thoughtful questions. This is a great way to demonstrate your preparation and intellectual curiosity. We want to be challenged during the interview too; it gets old to be asked only about the compensation and benefits package. We like to see that you took the initiative to come up with some questions to show your interest in Gartner and the role.
- Try to keep your resume to one page, two pages maximum (International CV’s max of 3 pages). Recruiters don’t want to take the time to read a novel about your whole professional background. Keep your resume as succinct as possible and be sure to show your quantifiable successes to set you apart from your peers.
- Leverage your connections. With LinkedIn, it’s quite possible that you’ll have someone in your network that works for Gartner or can introduce you to someone who does. Use those connections to get an insider’s view of the company. If you aren’t connected with anyone at Gartner, still feel free to reach out to someone that you would potentially be working within your desired job; we value individuals that take the initiative to connect with us.
- Show your interest and reach out to us personally. Be creative in showing your interest in the role. We love personalized phone calls or emails, it shows us that you’re a human instead of just a resume and also highlights your persistence and drive.
- Make sure your background truly aligns with the position and customize your resume accordingly. One of the biggest red flags among our recruiters is seeing candidates whose backgrounds don’t align with the role that they’re applying for. Make sure that you understand the position before applying and highlight how your past experiences correlate to the role description.
- Use all avenues — including our social media outlets and websites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor to get the full picture of Gartner. Almost all of our recruiters credit the research they did on Gartner outside of gartner.com as helping them during their own job interviews. Glassdoor and LinkedIn give great supplemental information on our culture and interview process to help you best prepare for your own interviews.
- If you’re going to interview with us, make the time for it. A common red flag is when candidates who schedule phone interviews during their commutes, answer phones during an in-person interview (never do this!), or constantly reschedule. If you’re going to schedule an interview with us then set aside the proper time for it and avoid being flaky.
- Utilize LinkedIn! LinkedIn is one of the greatest recruiting tools out there and you’re only hurting yourself if you don’t utilize it properly. It’s the first thing that a recruiter will look at after reading your resume so keep your profile up to date and filled out with pertinent information that sets you apart from your peers. It especially stands out when candidates have endorsements or recommendations on their profiles and have a catchy headline illustrating what they’re interested in pursuing.
- Maintain consistency throughout the interview process. When a talent sourcer puts you through to the next round, it’s common for them to give you some feedback and coach you on what to improve on for the next interview. However, don’t take this to mean that you should change your answers to certain questions or makeup stories to fit a certain profile. Make use of our advice, but maintain a consistent style and approach: We will definitely notice if you begin to give different answers.