Interviewing Tips
After being on both ends of the interviewing process, I feel like I’ve had a lot of clarity on what works well. I’ve been frustrated by submitting my resume to many companies and hearing nothing, and I’ve also been frustrated by going on multiple interviews and coming up short. On the flip side, I’ve been frustrated by the candidates that come through and get so close but fail in one aspect by one person on mu committee.
So I hope these tips help you to interview well.
Preparation
- Practice coding on a whiteboard. It is an abnormal place to prove your coding skills.
- Try a study group of people switching the role of interviewer and interviewee to help determine your weak spots.
- Think deeply about your career goals. For example, “I want to make an bigger contribution” and “I want to lead a team” aren’t mutually exclusive but the first one comes off as a better attitude. To find people that want to lead are a dim a dozen; to find people who want to help without worrying about station is more difficult.
- Correct your negative attitude now. If you generally have a negative attitude, work on that everyday. I suggest replacing the phrase “have to” to “get to”; for example, “I have to do the dishes” vs “I get to do the dishes.” That helps staying grateful and positive. I want reports who want to be there, make an impact, and be selfless in the service of others.
- Examine your previous workand be ready to talk about ways your projects could have gone better.
- Try to anticipate questions they will ask you about your previous work.
- Be prepared to answer any gaps in your resume, any field jumps, and why you’re looking to leave your current role.
Interviewing
- Dress to the culture (i.e. don’t wear a suit and tie to an interview at Apple).
- Enjoy the experience. You get this opportunity, and even if you fail, you have some experience to learn from.
- Your interviewers want you to succeed; they’re not trying to get you to fail.
- Imagine you’re helping a friend. If you have brain freeze on a problem, imagine a friend is casually asking for your help to explain something.
- Don’t rush your answer. You can pause for a reasonable amount of time to think through a problem or better yet, think through it out loud or on a whiteboard.
- Stay positive; don’t shit on previous employers. The interviewer is trying to determine you attitude towards work and life. Every time you have a negative attitude on any part of the process or any of the questions, it reflects poorly on you. They’re trying to make a decision on a limited amount of data about you, and the assumption is that one tiny thing wrong could be just the tip of the iceberg.
- Clearly define your part. If your work was part of a team, make sure you can clearly communicate the portion of work you did and what your responsibilities were.
- Determine if you want to work there. You are also interviewing them to see if you want to work with this team at this company.
Post-Interview
- Do a post-mortem. After the interview, take notes on what went well and what didn’t. It’s hard to do in the moment, but it is easier to have more clarity after the fact.
- Send a thank you note. This may seem old school, but thanking the hiring manager is good manners. For reference, a hiring manager spent time picking out the panel of interviewers and then followed up with everyone to talk about your interview. They invested quite a bit of time, and it is also disappointing when you like a candidate but can’t offer them a job.
- Don’t worry about it. Some times, people can be rude and not tell you that you didn’t get the job. It is only polite to give someone a timely, definitive answer, but if they don’t, don’t take it personally.
In conclusion, good luck. Interviewing is not enjoyable by both the interviewee and the interviewer, but when the right match is found, it’s a beautiful thing.
If you like, follow me on Twitter and YouTube where I post videos of espresso shots on different machines and espresso related stuff. You can also find me on LinkedIn.
Further readings of mine:
Staccato Espresso: Leveling Up Espresso
Coffee Solubility in Espresso: An Initial Study
Espresso Simulation: First Steps in Computer Models
The Tale of the Stolen Espresso Machine
Affordable Coffee Grinders: a Comparison
