My Notes on Interviewing
Recently I have been through a few interviews that are using the style that many Fortune 100 High Tech Companies are using. There are basically behavioral Interviews with pre-work and testing. Some Hiring Managers are better than others at applying this interview method, so here are my notes. And best wishes on your job search!
The job description:
Study the job description and write down examples in each of the areas of expertise, this is good pre-work. Ask the Hiring Manager for expectations or knowledge areas, values or principles that they will be qualifying you against. Good Hiring Managers will give you this information up front, others will not, so ask! Write out examples in each of the expectation areas.
The phone screen:
There is a phone screen, typically done by the Hiring Manager that will determine if you are worth the time and money to setup a series of face-to-face interviews. This phone discussion is typically one hour and is behavioral, however they are seeking key principles in your knowledge, so don’t let the questions fool you. If they are being nice, they are judging your people skills or probing for interests outside of work. If they spend 15 -30 minutes talking about themselves, listen and be interested in their experiences.
The test:
The recruiter, HR or the Hiring Manager will also send a test, either an essay or a technical test. Obviously, take this test seriously and do your best. For essays, they give you two topics to choose from and use a work experience that describes your knowledge. For technical roles, it will be a coding test. For essays, stay focused on the topics included in the job description when choosing your example.
The phone screen with the Hiring Manager and the test will set you up for the face-to-face interviews.
The face-to-face interviews:
Now you know the value or principles they will be qualifying you against. There are five main areas they are looking at, use examples that apply to the job description or apply to the expectations. For technical roles, expect to white board a high-level design or pseudo-code.
(Credit to Sherri Thomas's video on the five main areas: https://videoportal.intel.com/media/0_980ctsr9)
1. Can you do the job?
a. What is your biggest challenge?
b. What did you do?
c. What was the end result?
2. Bonus Skills
a. What else do you bring to the table?
3. What is your biggest weakness?
a. If possible, be proactive and start closing gaps on your weakness.
4. Will you fit in the team?
a. This is a tricky area, it is hard to know the team before you meet the team. Smile, be the best you possible. Understand the overall corporate culture and do your best to connect to the interviewers. This is where potential bias can come into this interview process and the result can be “not a good fit for the team” with really no good explanation or simply an excuse not to hire you.
5. Why are you here?
a. Be passionate about the job and the group.
