The recent events in the tech industry left some without a job and looking for a new one, and others thinking and pondering about what might be next for them. Thus, in the last month or two, I've found myself talking to quite a few people about interviewing tips, and wanted to share some of my ideas and experiences in my blog, hoping they can be useful to those looking to interview!
Before I jump into the tips, however, I would like to offer a few words of encouragement, for what it's worth. If you are feeling discouraged or worried, please remember the following:
1. It's all relative. While it's true the job market is not blossoming at the moment, companies are still hiring - perhaps not at the same speed as more recently, but jobs still exist and business opportunities are most definitely there for all.
2. Can this be a blessing in disguise? Where have you not looked at yet that you may look at now that the usual suspects seem to be experiencing hiring slowdowns? E.g. I was talking to someone who has only worked for big corporates in their career of 15+ years. They now realized that they would in fact like to use their experience and expertise to build their own business. They've always wanted the flexibility of having their own business, to spend more time with their kids, and to build something from scratch, but put that desire in the back burner, caught up in the ebb and flow of every day life.
3. Can you match your area of expertise with where there are gaps in the market? A general trend (of hiring slowdowns) does not mean that there is a negative impact in every line of work or in every location. E.g. I recently spoke to someone who was worried about a company (which was their target organization) having recently gone through layoffs, but when zoomed in, they realized that actually they are still hiring for engineering roles in Dublin. They had closed down some engineering departments in other countries, and in Dublin, it was a different department that was made redundant and they actually announced new roles in engineering expanding their footprint.
Now to the tips, structured in three segments: 1. Before the interview, 2. During the interview and 3. After the interview.
1. BEFORE THE INTERVIEW:
Know your stories and tell them out loud (to yourself!) at home: In an interview, you are going to be asked to answer some questions by talking about a past experience to demonstrate a certain ability, learning, etc. So when preparing for the interview, build your story bank with a few success stories e.g. with a certain client, a past experience you learned from a failure story, a story that demonstrates your skillset in the relevant field, a turnaround story (e.g. if you are managing a team, think about e.g. how you managed a low performer; if you are interviewing for a sales role, think about e.g. how you caught up to and hit your sales targets after starting off slow due to fill in a reason.) Tell the stories (to yourself) succinctly, in a structured manner, and with a story arc.
Prepare some frameworks to keep yourself centered: If you are like me, you might have a tendency to think out loud, go on tangents, and lose track of time when talking about something you know well and/or are passionate about --- and especially when feeling nervous like in an interview environment. Some other people conversely might freeze and lose the ability to think on the spot when nervous. What can keep both of these types maintain control and keep themselves within structure is to pre-think about some frameworks to use when answering questions. One that I use is People - Process - Results. So if I am asked a question about e.g. how to manage a team, I might say, "First, I think about the people - insert what I would do. Second, I think about the process - insert what kind of processes I would establish. Third, I would optimize for outcomes - elaborate on what they could be." Then at the end, I say, "so, in short: people, process, results." You don't have to call out the framework as such, but it's helpful to use it at the back of your mind to structure yourself, avoid digressions, stick to the answer at the face of nervousness, and lastly, to ensure the interviewer understands and remembers your answer. Some other frameworks (for business interviews) are 3Cs, 4Ps, Porter's 5 forces, BCG Matrix, SWOT Analysis, Skill-Will Matrix, GROW model, etc. You can also always customize an existing framework or create your own from scratch!
Know your value proposition, understand the value you bring to the company: It's important you have done the research and understand where you think you fit, what gap you will fill for the company / team in question. This will not only help you steer some of the hypothetical questions (e.g. "What would you do, if...") accordingly, but it will also ensure you possess and project good self-confidence. It might be helpful for you to talk to people from the company / team beforehand, (if you have the opportunity) to understand what the current mix of the team is, and what, therefore, is or would be a good fit. For instance, if you are asked what you would do if you were behind on your sales targets mid-quarter, and you happen to have found out during your research that the team has quite a few people with account management background but not enough with business development background, you might choose to talk about how you would double down on business development and bring in new sales (assuming this is a skillset you have, of course!)
If there is anything unusual about or something that jumps out of your CV, prepare to explain it: This seems like an obvious one but I've interviewed a surprising amount of people who either were taken aback by a question about their CV suggesting they did not know their CV by heart or did not have a compelling, good answer to a question I would ask about it. E.g. if there is a gap between jobs, remember why that was and think about how you will position it. "I was really over it and decided to quit and enjoy life," is possibly how you would frame it to a friend, but in an interview you might say something like, "I felt like I had learned a lot and there had come a point where my learning was saturated. I don't like to stagnate so I talked to my employer and decided to quit to take a break, reflect, think about what is next and work on some personal projects such as a, b, c." Other examples are, if you changed careers from e.g. artist to engineer, if you changed too many jobs in too short of a time, e.g. 3 jobs in a year, if you have decided to add some personal spice to your CV e.g. countries traveled, your personal website or blog, an interest in game theory. There is nothing wrong with having unusual, unique things on your CV - in fact, they might even make you stand out as long as you tell your story in a genuine and compelling manner.
Prepare solid, succinct, sharp answers to the three Why's. Why this company? Why this role? Why you? I have done quite a few interviews for Google, and I especially ask the question, Why Google?, in most of my interviews. Yes, I am not shocked that people want to work for the best and coolest employer in the world, but I want to see if the person has given their own reasons any thought. I want to see how they talk about their unique desire to work at Google. A common response is "Well, it's Google". And yes, once again if my friend told me that, I would think, "But of course, silly of me to ask in the first place" but if I am asking it in an interview, I want to hear your unique thinking behind it, your own story. Is it because it's a great brand? Is it because it's at the center of technology and you have so much passion for technology demonstrated by what you have done and studied etc.?
When I ask people, "Why you?", they commonly tell me why the company / job / role would be good for them, but what I want to understand is why they would be good for the company. Why should I hire them (as opposed to someone else)? Think about what makes you special and why out of so many people the interviewer is interviewing, they should choose you.
Research the company, know what might be keeping the CEO up at night: While you might not get the question, "What do you think is keeping the CEO at night'?" directly, understanding the challenges the company, the industry, the competitors could be faced with not only will make you feel more ready for the interview but it will also equip you with material that can be used to answer questions around competitors, the industry, the company's appeal (refer to the three Why's above: why this company? why this role? why you?) and growth prospects.
Research the industry: Know who the competitors are and where the company stands against competition. What is the market size? What is the company's market share within the industry? What are the competitors doing that they are not doing?
Understand the role and be prepared to answer RRK (role related knowledge) questions: Reaching out to people from the company and ideally the very team the position is in for coffee chats will equip you with useful information and visibility about the needs, the gaps, and the strategy of the team -- all things you can use to not only gauge fit but also answer RRK questions during the interview. The most important thing for me under this headline, however, is making sure you let the interview know that you have done your homework. If an interviewee has done their homework, it implies that 1. They are serious about the role / company 2. They are hardworking and have a learning mindset 3. They will also do research e.g. before they meet a client, if hired for the role.
Prepare questions to ask the interviewer: This is not only a tactic to appear interested and show that you are smart with your questions. The questions need to be genuine and your interest needs to show! I've had some people ask me questions that they answer themselves (within the question), or ask me questions and clearly not listen to my answer. If you really want the role and are preparing for the interview, there will be some things you are curious about along the way. Jot them down and ask those questions. This is your opportunity to learn more about the team, the role, the culture, etc.
2. RIGHT BEFORE THE INTERVIEW:
Relax: As with any performance (and interviewing is one too!) it's important to do your best to relax your mind and body so that you can function at your most optimal. Different people relax in different ways, but breathing exercises, a quick workout, a shower, a visualization exercise, self-peptalk are some examples of what can be done to reach a state of relaxation.
Do your powerpose: Power posing was popularized by Amy Cuddy in her viral Ted Talk titled, "Your Body Language may shape who you are" (watch here). Cuddy suggests that our body language governs how we think and feel about ourselves, and thus, how we hold our bodies can have an impact on our minds. As such, by commanding a powerful pose such as the Wonder Woman posture, you can make yourself feel more confident and powerful. Similar advise is given by yoga anatomy experts where if you expose your chest in an open position, you are making yourself available and open, as well as ready for a challenge / risk. If you have a closed posture (e.g. a forward fold), you are turning inwards, reflecting, closing yourself up to outside interaction.
Show up a few minutes early and get situated: This advise is pretty self-explanatory. Get there early to greet the receptionist, find the bathroom if you need it, get situated in the room, pull your notepad out, and let your nerves calm down. This is also true for a digital interview, you might log in a few minutes before to make sure you are happy with the camera and sound checks, ensure the connection is working, etc.
3. DURING THE INTERVIEW:
Make eye contact (even on camera): Eye contact makes us feel connected and engaged, so it's important you engage the interviewer when you are speaking, and you show interest when they are speaking. No need to go into the details of eye contact offline, but online can be tricky! Sometimes looking directly into your interviewer's eyes on camera will not translate on the other side. You have to be looking at the camera for them to perceive it as you are making eye contact. The best way is to place an external camera at eye level, not too high on your screen or not too low, so that you are indeed looking at their face when speaking. You can also put your laptop or computer on a box or pile of books to elevate it so the camera is at eye level.
Listen to the interviewer and, if necessary, check your understanding: This seems like an obvious one but I can't tell you how many times an interviewee answered a different question and not what I was asking. It's important you listen carefully, take notes, if that helps (especially useful with case scenario questions that can be longer and detailed in nature) and then say, "do you mind if I play back the question to you to check my understanding?" and succinctly repeat and confirm. Of course, only do this with questions that are more complex and detailed in nature (again, case scenarios are good examples) and not with a "Tell me about yourself" type of question. It'd be absurd, if you said "Wait, let me check my understanding. You would like me to tell you about myself, is that right?"
Take a moment to think: With complex questions, hypotheticals, behavioral questions that begin with "Tell me about a time...," it's absolutely ok and in fact encouraged to take a minute to collect your thoughts, search your memory, structure your answer. Do make sure to let the interviewer know. "If it's alright, I'll just take a quick minute to collect my thoughts." It might be a bit too much to be doing this with every single question, if there are more than 5 questions. And please only take a minute, not too much longer. I once interviewed someone virtually who said I'll take a minute after each question (which was absolutely fine!) and ended up taking longer than 2 minutes each time and in the last question, they took 5 minutes (yes, I was watching the clock!) It was awkward and definitely too much.
Keep track of time: Make sure you have a watch or sit across a clock (especially if you are interviewing online, you can easily control this by having a clock in front of you off-screen) to be able to have time awareness. Don't overspeak and take too much time for one question, and don't give few word answers either so you can help the interviewer space out the questions.
Engage your interviewer, where appropriate: If the interviewer is asking hypothetical questions, it's ok to ask the interviewer some questions as you think, such as, "Can I assume x, y, z?", "Do we know about x, y, z?", "Can you give me a e.g. number / location / brand I can work with?"
Try to avoid cliche-speak: Avoid cliches at all costs UNLESS you are one of the few people in the world who can pull it off. Statements like, "My biggest weakness is being a perfectionist" or "I like to work hard, play hard" generally don't impress interviewers and might even turn them off.
Smile and have fun! Smiling is contagious --- if you are having fun, your interviewer is likely to have fun too, and they are likely to think of the experience as pleasant. Plus, you might as well just have a good time yourself, no matter the outcome of the interview. I appreciate this might be a nerve-wrecking situation, it might be your dream job, dream company etc. but bringing in a little bit of lightness into the situation and enjoying yourself will help you perform better.
Show appreciation: The interviewers, the receptionist, the recruiters all took time off their days to facilitate this interview, so do say "thank you for your time" and whatever else they helped you with, inspired you about etc.
Ask about the next steps: Before you leave the interview, feel free to ask about the next steps. It shows self-determination and curiosity - you are not just going with the flow here, you'd like to understand what to expect. Even if the next steps aren't too specific, it will be good to hear from the interviewer what you are in for so that you can avoid being in the dark. And they might even give you more information. I asked an interviewer what I should expect in terms of next steps and they said, "Look, you did really well, I am going to recommend we hire you, we have one other strong candidate and one more to interview today so we should know by end of week. We really need to fill the position fast so we don't want to dilly dally. You should wait to hear from the recruiter within 3-4 days." I left the interview feeling flattered and excited. Another interviewer told me they had some of the interviewers on the panel on holidays, and I was the first out of 6 they were going to interview, so the process would take long. So when I didn't hear from them the following week, I was not anxious.
AFTER THE INTERVIEW:
Send a short thank you message: It's nice to follow up with an email and say thank you, refer to your conversation so it's not a generic email noone likes. Keeping it short is important, they already are assessing you based on your interview, and these are busy people, no need to write an essay!
Follow up on anything that may have been asked of you / promised by you during the interview: If there was something you were asked to do or that you said you would share, do make sure to follow up.
Be patient and don't read too much into response times: Time and again, I hear people develop theories and go on rollercoasters based on if and when the recruiters, interviewers, hiring managers got in touch, how long it took them to respond to an email, whether they kept in touch and provided updates during the process or not. The truth is there is a lot of randomness here. Different recruiters, hiring managers manage their hiring process differently. It might be that people are on holiday, they are sick. It might be that they are really busy. Or it might be that they wanted to keep all of their leads warm by keeping in touch but in fact they were still looking for the optimal candidate and not rejecting the ones they interviewed already in case they have to go back to the first pool if they don't find a better suited candidate. I know it's super hard, but just try to relax, do your follow ups appropriately and don't put your eggs into one basket. Have a hedge strategy so you are not obsessing over turnaround times.
Connect with me at merve@leadrisecoaching.com if you have any questions / comments / thoughts on my interview tips.
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