Interview Tips- Bending the rules!
In my last 15 years of IT Leadership career, I have had pretty good success with finding some really amazingly talented people and also personally being able to land some pretty fruitful opportunities. This article mainly contains the tips geared around IT interviews but the principles can be most definitely extended to other fields as well.
Over the years, one common theme which emerged strongly to me was how much does a candidate assume on what is the protocol and what’s not. With that assumption comes a self-imposed restricted playfield. I sincerely hope these tips might encourage and help the candidates to play for a win. These are not your classical interview Do’s and Dont’s but rather a collection of recommended detours which may just maximize your chances.
Tip#1- Know your end goal and select the industry/company accordingly- If the end goal is to make more money- then a wall street firm with a backend IT office will offer you pretty good compensation benefits. The end goal of pure learning and skill enhancement- a product-centric small to a mid-sized company might be a better fit. Don't like the fast pace and have family commitments- perhaps a bigger firm with a lot of manpower and more of a process-heavy culture will do the trick. During different stages of my career, I have had varying end goals and doing a bit of thinking around different company flavors and benefits, it almost always worked out. Of course, there are a number of other factors but you get the point- know what you need and find a couple of good fits.
Tip#2- Not a crime to reach the interviewers before the interview- I found an interesting email in the inbox from a candidate who was supposed to be interviewed a week later. The crux of the email was- he wanted me to share any 1 technical area of my choice so that he can prepare in advance. At first, I found it extremely strange and assumed that the candidate lacks confidence and wants to get an unfair edge over others. However, at the same time, I admired his out of box approach and courage to reach out proactively and I ended up sharing an emerging area. The person showed up a week later with handwritten notes worth a week’s study and research and demonstrated exceptional knowledge around the same. When I asked about his email- he explained that he wanted to show how well he can take a new topic and develop expertise due to his learning skills. Needless to say- he ended up being a rockstar on my team. There is nothing wrong with being proactive and using an unconventional method to demonstrate a skill.
Tip#3- That boring resume format- Most of the companies unfortunately rely heavily on some automated resume parser system which means that chances are that your resume is a classical text-based one with standard headings and an overall template. While it's ok to stick to it during initial submissions but there is no rule that you cannot bring a good and visually appealing one during the interview or share a copy offline via the recruiters. On more than one occasion, I have been handed over some of the best graphical resumes before the interviews. Remember it's your story and you get to decide how best to represent it, so go with the best version of that.
Tip#4- Know your interviewers- Can't stress on the importance of this one. A lot of candidates will glance at the LinkedIn profile of their interviewers to get a sense of their profile etc. Those who actually genuinely study the profiles a bit in detail not only correlate with the interviewers better but can also predict what to expect in many ways. I have had people who came prepared to ask some really interesting questions about my career path which led to some very productive and engaging discussions. Dale Carnegie 101- Everyone likes it when someone takes time to know them and shows a genuine interest. On the other hand- If I know someone has been in a manager role in the recent past and their profile and content are geared towards those lines- then I know I can expect a lot of leadership and communication questions versus someone who has been engaged technically with emerging trends will most likely ask a lot of questions on those lines.
Tip#5- It's not over till it's over- One of the most popular advice people give is that drop a follow-up thank-you note in order to get into the front of the line and make a good impression. While that may definitely work with a lot of people and there is no harm in doing that, however, remember that your last chance to sell yourself doesn't really have to end when you leave the interview. I adopted this pattern a few years back and I strongly feel that it was one of the key reasons which converted my interviews to job offers. Pretty simple to implement actually- In all probability, at some point in time you will ask your interviewers( and would have been recommended)- what are your challenges or key problems? While most of the candidates do this to showcase how they can help with the same, the reality is that during an interview there is not nearly enough time to process and respond with a good answer. I usually made a note of any and all challenges/problems mentioned and then in my follow up email- included a good concise explanation of how my skills can help them resolve their challenges, etc. The trick is to drop this email not too late- preferably within 24–48 hours of your interview. It gives you time to think, shows that you actually respond after processing things for a bit, and know-how to wrap up your sales pitch beyond the interview walls. With a nice polite thank, you note- a brief reiteration of how you are a good fit and what you bring to the table might just be the cherry on the top!
I hope the above information might be useful for some to rethink their interviewing strategy and play this game for a win!
