Northrop Grumman hiring team shares their job interview tips

So you've been selected for a job interview. It can be exciting and daunting.

So before you begin the interview process, read through these helpful interviewing tips from Northrop Grumman's Talent Acquisition team - and learn more about what to expect and understand the different types of interviews you might encounter.

Tell them about yourself

One question that seems a pretty obvious way to start an interview is often the one where people tend to have trouble. “Tell me about yourself.” Sometimes your mind goes blank because you don’t think you need to prepare, after all, you do know yourself. This response should be 1-2 minutes long and should reflect your ability to put words together succinctly and to speak with confidence. Try to highlight your strengths and weaknesses and remember that they want to know more about you. What recruiters don’t want is the chronological retelling of your whole life story. Instead, the answer to this question should be a very short overview of your life, emphasizing highlights of your professional experience that are relevant to the job for which you’re interviewing. It is basically an elevator pitch about yourself.

The phone screen

The phone screen is usually a brief 30-minute informal interview centered on behavioral scenarios. The general format of these questions are presented as: “Given a certain situation, how would you respond?” Use the opportunity to demonstrate your communication skills and personality, aiming to generate enough interest in you for the Talent Acquisition partner to have a desire to know more about you.

The interview

The next phase of the interviewing process will likely be an interview in person or virtually with the hiring manager, and these interviews are more technical. The manager would be expecting specialty knowledge including technical terms, the current trends, and something about your area of expertise. Knowing the basic information about the organization is a good way to show a genuine interest in the company.

Find the connection

Consider checking the LinkedIn profiles of the people who will be doing the interview to see if there is a connection with them, whether personally, educationally, or professionally.

Connect with the job

Correlate capabilities in the resume with what is required in the job description as a "successful candidate." Show how the credentials can help achieve the overall job objective and goal. Be prepared to share long and short term career goals in a meaningful way.

Ask questions

Have at least three questions prepared to ask the interviewers about the company and scope of work.

Virtual Interview

Extra steps can be taken to ensure a successful virtual interview:

test the technology prior to the interview to make sure everything is working on your end
test the camera to ensure that you are taking advantage of the best angles and lighting
dressing professionally during this type of interview is important as well
consider the background of the environment in which you’ll be interviewing, both audibly and visually

What to wear

Be your professional self and take it up a notch to formal business attire.

Follow-up

Send a "Thank You" note in a timely manner, and use the opportunities to remind the interviewer why you should be hired. Make sure to ask the Talent Acquisition Business Partner if they can forward your thank you note to all interview participants.