{"id":17913,"date":"2020-11-10T20:35:00","date_gmt":"2020-11-11T00:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=17913"},"modified":"2025-10-03T11:07:01","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T15:07:01","slug":"how-to-interview-well","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Do you know <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hiring-plan-2\/\">how to interview<\/a> well? Are there tips from <em>What Color Is Your Parachute <\/em>that you can use?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>What Color Is Your Parachute<\/em>, or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/the-parachute-book\/\">Parachute book<\/a>, is a practical guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-find-the-right-job\/\">finding the right job<\/a>. It includes tips for the entire hiring process, including how to interview well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read on for more about the job interview process and how to interview well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p><em>Editor\u2019s note: This article is part of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/hub\/professional\/work\/team-building-guide\/\">Shortform\u2019s guide to team-building<\/a>. If you like what you read here, there\u2019s plenty more to check out in the guide!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-job-interview-process\">The Job Interview Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Once your online presence or resume has secured you an employment interview, the next step of the job-hunt is to ace that interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are several guidelines for the job interview process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During an interview, an employer will be evaluating what you say and how you behave. Keep in mind that <strong>the only goal of the first interview is to get yourself a second interview<\/strong>\u2060\u2014you\u2019re not trying to get hired yet. Here are some tips for how to interview well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Keep your word. <\/strong>If you asked for the interview, tell the interviewee how much of their time you\u2019ll take up. Choose an oddly specific time, such as 19 minutes, because it sounds precise, and then keep to it. Set a vibrate timer for two minutes before your time limit and when it goes off, wrap up by saying that you\u2019re sticking to your time limit and you like to keep your word. This creates trust and impresses the employer, making it one of the best interview tips. Unless the employer begs you to stay, leave on time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Remember that interviews are a two-way conversation. <\/strong>An interview isn\u2019t purely about marketing yourself\u2060\u2014you should learn just as much about the employer as they learn about you. Start the interview by asking questions about the organization, and only if you like it should you move on to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/marketing-yourself\/\">marketing yourself<\/a>.&nbsp;This is one of the keys to knowing how to interview well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Speak and listen in equal measures. <\/strong>Studies show that people who talk and listen equally are hired more than those who talk too much or listen too much. The author suspects that this is because if you talk too much, you seem like you might ignore the organization\u2019s needs. If you listen too much, you seem like you\u2019re trying to hide something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>4. Anticipate common questions. <\/strong>One of the best interview tips is being prepared for common questions. Every question an interviewer asks you is related to one of these five underlying questions:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Why are you interested in my organization specifically?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What will you be able to do for us? What <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-good-are-you\/\">are you good<\/a> at, what do you know, and if you were hired, would you solve problems?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/your-genius\/\">Who are you<\/a>? Will you fit in with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/building-a-positive-workplace-culture\/\">company culture<\/a>?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What\u2019s unique about you? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/what-makes-you-special\/\">What makes you different<\/a> from the other applicants?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What will you want to be paid? Taking into account my budget and existing pay structure, is that possible? (There\u2019s more information on salary negotiations in Chapter 6.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Try to answer all questions with information that would answer some of the above questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since interviewing is a two-way conversation, you\u2019re going to have approximately the same five questions for the employer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What are the tasks involved with the job? Ask this question aloud.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the skills you\u2019d need in order to excel at the job? Ask this question aloud.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Are you going to fit in with the company culture? Use your observational skills to answer this question.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What\u2019s unique about me that I could share? This is where you bring up your traits\u2060\u2014the hows of your skill execution. Wait for an appropriate moment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will they offer me an appropriate salary? (There\u2019s more information on salary negotiations in Chapter 5. Don\u2019t bring it up until it\u2019s clear that the employer wants to hire you.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You may also want to ask some questions about how the company sees itself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Employers are nearly always going to ask you to tell them about yourself. This question is a test of how you handle an open-ended situation\u2060\u2014your answer will reflect how you might respond to open-ended challenges on the job. Here are some tips for how to interview well and answer this question specifically:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Talk about your skills and knowledge instead of your personal history\u2060\u2014the employer is more interested in what you can do than where you grew up.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Emphasize that you can do the three <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/benefits-of-public-speaking\/\">most important skills<\/a> necessary to do the job.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t respond with another question, such as asking what in particular they want to know about you. This makes you seem like you don\u2019t have an answer and are stalling.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Have your answer well-prepared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>5. Answer all questions within 20 seconds to two minutes. <\/strong>Studies have revealed that this is the ideal amount of time to spend per question. Time management is an important part of knowing how to interview well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>6. Reassure the employer that you\u2019re not a risk. <\/strong>During an interview, an employer is trying to figure out if you\u2019re going to be good for the company\u2060\u2014bad hires are expensive. The employer may be just as nervous as you and they\u2019re probably worried about the following in particular:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>You\u2019ll affect the company\u2019s or hirer\u2019s reputation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ll have some sort of a terrible character flaw.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You don\u2019t have the experience or skills to do the job, or it\u2019ll take you too long to figure out how to do it.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ll only stay at the job temporarily.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ll be minimally productive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ll need instructions rather than being able to act intuitively.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You\u2019ll take too many sick days and not work full days.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Employers have two concerns: challenges and solutions. They want you to be a solution, not a new challenge. They want you to be worth more than they pay you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of your research, try to figure out who the employer would consider to be a bad employee. Then, in the interview, demonstrate that you\u2019re nothing like the hypothetical bad employee. For example, if the employer has had problems in the past with people showing up to work late, arrive early for your interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>7. Behave appropriately. <\/strong>An employer is observing all your actions on a small scale (for example, whether or not you\u2019re fidgeting) because these actions might transfer into your large-scale behavior, such as how you do a job. It might take them only 30 seconds to 2 minutes to see something small that will bias them against you. Therefore, pay attention to details, otherwise knowing how to interview well won&#8217;t pay off. Employers will be looking at:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Your personal grooming.<\/strong> Take a shower before your interview, wear clean, professional clothes, brush your teeth, don\u2019t wear too much perfume or cologne, and if you have tattoos, consider covering them if you don\u2019t think the employer will approve.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Nervous habits.<\/strong> Make eye contact, give a strong handshake, and don\u2019t fidget. If you don\u2019t know what your nervous habits are, videotape yourself during a practice interview and then watch the video with the sound turned off so you can concentrate on how you\u2019re acting non-verbally.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Confidence.<\/strong> Speak audibly, speak unhesitatingly, give more than one word as an answer, don\u2019t interrupt, and don\u2019t be critical of yourself.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Politeness.<\/strong> Be polite to everyone you encounter in the interviewing process, whether they\u2019re the receptionist, a server if it\u2019s a lunch meeting, or the interviewer themselves. Don\u2019t be critical of anyone, don\u2019t order alcohol, and remember to thank everyone, both as you leave and by sending a thank-you card later.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Personal values.<\/strong> Don\u2019t demonstrate negative character traits (arrogant, lazy, whiny, dishonest, irresponsible, unenthusiastic, unstable, and so on). Do demonstrate positive ones. For example, if you mention that you\u2019re impressed by an employer&#8217;s safety record, that shows that you value safety.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Smoking.<\/strong> A Seattle University study found that if two people are equally qualified but one smoked and one didn\u2019t, the smoker will get the job only 6% of the time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of these judgments will feel petty and unfair, but that\u2019s just how the world works and being aware of them is one of the best interview tips.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>8. Never speak badly of anyone. <\/strong>If you bad-mouth previous co-workers or employers, that suggests that you might do the same about your potential new employer and co-workers. If you had a conflict with a previous employer that you know will come up eventually, try to address it in advance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, say something along the lines of, this never happens, but for some reason, my previous employer and I just didn\u2019t click.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>9. Concentrate on the future. <\/strong>Employers want to know how you\u2019ll behave if you\u2019re hired. The only way of finding that out is to ask about how you\u2019ve acted in the past and assume you\u2019ll act the same way in the future. Therefore, every time you answer a question, try to anticipate what future behavior they\u2019re trying to predict and address it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>For example, if an employer asks if you\u2019ve done similar work before, she\u2019s probably worried you don\u2019t have the experience or skills to do the job. Answer by mentioning your transferable skills and say that you\u2019ve learned quickly in the past.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This approach works on illegal questions (race, sex, age, and so on) too. For example, if an employer asks about your health, probably what they\u2019re really asking is how much work you\u2019ll be able to get done. You can address that question instead by talking about your productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>10. Assess the interview\u2019s progress. <\/strong>Typically, an employer will start by asking you about the distant past (education) and then move slowly forward in time until the distant future (where do you see yourself in ten years). Once you start talking about the future, then it\u2019s time to ask more questions about the job such as what the duties are, who you would report to, and how training works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>11. Ask final questions. <\/strong>After your final interview, if you like the employer and you think they like you, ask about the next steps. You can ask outright if they\u2019ll offer you the job. Or, you can ask when you\u2019ll hear from them and if you can follow up if you don\u2019t hear. Some employers don\u2019t like being asked about follow-ups \u2060(it opens the door for nagging\u2060), but it can also be a safety net\u2060\u2014they\u2019re not responsible for remembering to get back to you.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the very end of the interview, thank your interviewer and shake her hand firmly. Ask her, and everyone you met, for their business cards, or, if they don\u2019t have cards, ask them to write down their names and addresses. You\u2019ll use that information to spell their names properly on the thank-you cards you\u2019re going to send in the next step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-how-to-follow-up-after\">How to Follow Up <strong>After<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s one to-do right after an interview:<strong> Send thank-you notes to <\/strong><strong><em>everyone <\/em><\/strong><strong>you meet, not only the person you interviewed with. <\/strong>There are six reasons to send a thank-you note:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>It reminds people who you are (many people may have been interviewed).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It reinforces that you have people skills.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It reinforces your interest in the job.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It gives the interviewer something to show anyone else who will be involved in the hiring decision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s a chance to mention anything you forgot during the interview or to correct a bad impression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It\u2019s a chance to mention that you\u2019d appreciate it if an interviewer could recommend another avenue if the interview didn\u2019t go well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do you know how to interview well? Are there tips from What Color Is Your Parachute that you can use? What Color Is Your Parachute, or the Parachute book, is a practical guide to finding the right job. It includes tips for the entire hiring process, including how to interview well. Read on for more about the job interview process and how to interview well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,34,30],"tags":[150],"class_list":["post-17913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-communication","category-work","tag-what-color-is-your-parachute","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"So, an employer wants to meet you. Congrats! Here&#039;s how to interview well along with some of the best interview tips from the Parachute book.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"So, an employer wants to meet you. Congrats! Here&#039;s how to interview well along with some of the best interview tips from the Parachute book.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-11T00:35:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-03T15:07:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rina Shah\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d07435826f13a8f422d5d333dceac287\"},\"headline\":\"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-11T00:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-03T15:07:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/\"},\"wordCount\":1999,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"What Color Is Your Parachute?\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Career\",\"Communication\",\"Work\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/\",\"name\":\"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-11T00:35:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-03T15:07:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"So, an employer wants to meet you. Congrats! Here's how to interview well along with some of the best interview tips from the Parachute book.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"description\":\"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Shortform Books\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png\",\"width\":500,\"height\":74,\"caption\":\"Shortform Books\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d07435826f13a8f422d5d333dceac287\",\"name\":\"Rina Shah\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/560b3bc3d51625f9becff4fded992607b156f274aa36bc07f8a4285a1d72cdc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/560b3bc3d51625f9becff4fded992607b156f274aa36bc07f8a4285a1d72cdc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Rina Shah\"},\"description\":\"An avid reader for as long as she can remember, Rina\u2019s love for books began with The Boxcar Children. Her penchant for always having a book nearby has never faded, though her reading tastes have since evolved. Rina reads around 100 books every year, with a fairly even split between fiction and non-fiction. Her favorite genres are memoirs, public health, and locked room mysteries. As an attorney, Rina can\u2019t help analyzing and deconstructing arguments in any book she reads.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/rina\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book - Shortform Books","description":"So, an employer wants to meet you. Congrats! Here's how to interview well along with some of the best interview tips from the Parachute book.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book","og_description":"So, an employer wants to meet you. Congrats! Here's how to interview well along with some of the best interview tips from the Parachute book.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/","og_site_name":"Shortform Books","article_published_time":"2020-11-11T00:35:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-10-03T15:07:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Rina Shah","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Rina Shah","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/"},"author":{"name":"Rina Shah","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d07435826f13a8f422d5d333dceac287"},"headline":"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book","datePublished":"2020-11-11T00:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-03T15:07:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/"},"wordCount":1999,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg","keywords":["What Color Is Your Parachute?"],"articleSection":["Career","Communication","Work"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/","name":"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book - Shortform Books","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2020-11-11T00:35:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-10-03T15:07:01+00:00","description":"So, an employer wants to meet you. Congrats! Here's how to interview well along with some of the best interview tips from the Parachute book.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/how-to-interview-well\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to Interview Well: Tips From the Parachute Book"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","name":"Shortform Books","description":"The World&#039;s Best Book Summaries","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Shortform Books","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/logo-equilateral-with-text-no-bg.png","width":500,"height":74,"caption":"Shortform Books"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d07435826f13a8f422d5d333dceac287","name":"Rina Shah","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/560b3bc3d51625f9becff4fded992607b156f274aa36bc07f8a4285a1d72cdc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/560b3bc3d51625f9becff4fded992607b156f274aa36bc07f8a4285a1d72cdc8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Rina Shah"},"description":"An avid reader for as long as she can remember, Rina\u2019s love for books began with The Boxcar Children. Her penchant for always having a book nearby has never faded, though her reading tastes have since evolved. Rina reads around 100 books every year, with a fairly even split between fiction and non-fiction. Her favorite genres are memoirs, public health, and locked room mysteries. As an attorney, Rina can\u2019t help analyzing and deconstructing arguments in any book she reads.","url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/author\/rina\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/what-color-is-my-parachute-22-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17913"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":146167,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17913\/revisions\/146167"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}