Giving a Good Interview

Good interviews are rare and they really stand out!" said Sue Dahling Sullivan, chief of staff for the Citi Performing Arts Center in Boston, during a recent gathering of the Career Counselors' Consortium Northeast. Over the years, Sullivan has conducted many hundreds of interviews for a wide variety of positions in both the profit and non-profit sectors. Here are four of her crucial tips for job hunters seeking interview success:

1. Know the cast of characters. Make certain when you're invited for a job interview to ask who you will be meeting, their roles within the organization, and your schedule. Diligently prepare by researching each individual. Check out their LinkedIn profiles, search for them on Google News, and do a general Google search.

With this knowledge, figure out their interest in the position for which you're interviewing, and what concerns they likely need to address in the interview. Be prepared to discuss how you have worked with people in similar roles, and to demonstrate how your actions reveal your understanding of their needs.

2. Be thoughtful. Take the interview discussion beyond the content of your resume and the company's job description. Listen carefully to pick up subtle cues that your interviewers impart, and take the initiative to thoughtfully address them.

Know your own story so well that you can bring up examples of times when you have done what it takes to address the particular concerns that you are receiving. Don't just say that you can do the job, but rather tell how specifically you would use your knowledge/experience to make a difference in this new environment.

3. Be passionate. Sometimes you'll interview for a job because you're passionate about the specific work you would do. Alternatively, you might be passionate about the overall cause or mission of the organization or company you seek to join. Either way, it is important to display an emotional connection to whatever it is that this job represents to you. Why do you...