07 · Interview like a professional · Chapter 24 of 35
Prepare for role-specific questions
Generic interview practice is not enough. Map competencies, refresh fundamentals, practice aloud, and handle uncertainty without bluffing.
10 min read
- 01Map 5–8 competencies the posting suggests will be evaluated.
- 02Refresh concepts, tools, and workflows you claimed. If you listed Excel, be ready to describe a lookup, a pivot, or a tracker you built.
- 03Practice aloud. Silent reading hides the moment you do not actually know.
- 04If you do not know, say how you would investigate: who you would ask, what you would open, what you would not guess. Credible reasoning beats confident guessing.
Question types and how to aim
| Type | Example | Aim |
|---|---|---|
| Behavioral | Tell me about a time you had competing deadlines | STAR, one result |
| Situational | A customer is yelling in the lobby. What do you do? | Steps, safety, documentation |
| Technical | How do you look up a late PO? | Actual system path, not theory |
| Motivation | Why us? Why this? | One researched fact + your proof |
| Weakness | What are you working on? | Real, not fatal, with a system |
| Curveball | How many windows in Seattle? | Show structured thinking, then smile |
I haven’t run that exact report in NetSuite. In our ERP I would start with the open-PO aging view, filter by promised date, then call the vendor with the PO number on the screen. If your system names that view something else, I’d ask the buyer to click it with me once and write the steps down the same day.
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