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Use the “RATS” Method to Ace That Next In-Person Interview
Not be confused with ROUSes
Interviews can be stressful. Especially group interviews — you need to stay engaging for an hour to an entire group of strangers.
People look great on paper but when they get to speaking about themselves rarely do they come across as great as what they put in their resume.
Interview questions are pretty random, but people want to know that you can do the job. This article isn’t about acing tech interviews at Google — that’s a specific expertise I do not have.
I’m going to relate a methodology that I believe will help you during that next interview. I made it up, so you won’t find it in any book or article.
The steps are pretty simple and they can be summed up using an simple acronym: RATS
You sit down for an interview and they ask you a question. Just picture a giant rat standing in back or sitting down next to them and use this cheat sheet to answer the prospective employer.
(R)ephrase/Repeat the Question
When you rephrase or repeat the question back to the interviewer you are showing that you are actively listening. This means you are focused on the interview and the person and are not distracted.
