Passing the Wix interview
What I wish people would know and do before an interview with me
Passing the Wix interview
If you’re reading this article, your chances of passing an interview with me (at Wix) have already drastically improved.
I have been interviewing for more than 20 years. At the beginning of every interview, I’m hoping the candidate will pass.
In many cases, the candidate is not suitable for the role and/or the team and/or the company. This is natural and makes sense. Perhaps we need a better screening process, but in many cases, only face-to-face talk can reveal if there is a match between us.
Sadly, many candidates just don’t come as prepared for the interview as they should and could. Mostly because no one taught them how to.
There are no secrets here. We want you to succeed. We want you to bring the best version of yourself to the interview so we can make sure we aren't missing great candidates.
In this guide, I will reveal what I wish every candidate would know before and during an interview. This is the how-to pass an interview with me!
If I could summarize it all in one phrase — come prepared. Let's see how.
Know the Game
What are we looking for in a candidate? Obviously, it depends on the role, etc.
In general, I am looking for a candidate with a proven capability to learn, a team player, and relevant proven capabilities (depending on the role) for doing the job.
In more junior positions, I am looking for potential within the candidate. Potential can be demonstrated both in the candidate’s CV and during the interview.
Know the Product
I love my workplace. I love the product we are building, I love our promise to our customers and I love the people I work with.
If you are interviewing for Wix (or any other company), know the product, install it, play with it, investigate everything you can about it.
I want to hear from you why you wish to work here? What excites you in our product? What would you improve? After all, you want to come and make a change.
Sadly, many candidates don’t bother using/playing/reading about the company and the products that we are building.
So if you arrive at an interview without basic knowledge of the company/product you are basically saying “I’m not sure why I’m interviewing for this company specifically, I’m just looking for a job…”
Know the Interviewer
If you are reading this — you are on the correct path :)
Before the interview, do some research on your interviewer/s. Check their Linkedin profile and articles, blog posts, or profiles on other social networks. What do they like to read, listen or comment on?
Yes. It sounds a little creepy and a bit stalker-esque. But I give a bonus point when I see someone is checking me on Linkedin. It shows that the candidates are doing their homework.
Do you share mutual friends? hobbies? interests? history? school?
Unconsciously we are looking for people like us. It doesn’t sound good, but if you share the same name, the same city, the same pet, the same university, the same sports team, the passion for a certain topic/technology, or even the same podcast — The interviewer will feel much more “connected” to you. After all, you both love to read the same book.
Once you get to know your interviewer, when you will meet them, they will feel like “old friends”, and if your commonalities will be surfaced in the interview — Well done. You are both in the same tribe. Just make sure you are not overdoing it.
Know Yourself
Not surprisingly, in every interview, one of the first things you will be asked is to speak about yourself. So make sure you rehearse what you will talk about -
What are you looking for in your next job? Make sure you read the job description before and there is a match … otherwise you are wasting everyone's time.
What excites you?
What is your relevant history/experience/capabilities for this position?
(Don’t forget to name drop your mutual “shared items” with the interviewer)
Know the Interview Questions
Most interviews contain past projects and professional questions.
Know your past projects! Recall them in memory, write them on paper, know how to draw them (if relevant).
What was your part in them? What was challenging about them? How did you handle it? What were the processes? What were the design patterns? The technology choices? How would you improve them in retrospect? Why didn’t you improve it?
Practice and know how to talk profoundly about at least two projects — Just don’t say “it was 3 years ago, I don’t really remember…”.
If you have a side-project — talk about it. Interviewers love-side projects. They are clickbait for interviewers. They demonstrate your passion, They should be your comfort zone, so you should be able to discuss them end-to-end and in many cases also the things you learned while working on them.
If you are writing about something in your CV — you should be prepared to explain it — What do you know about it? How/Why did you use it?
If you are interviewing for a developer interview, you better practice writing code and algorithms on a computer and a whiteboard — there are so many tools, sites, and books on the topic. For example, LeetCode, CodeWars, and Cracking the coding interview.
If you are not coming prepared — You are not respectful of the interviewer, and you are not respectful of yourself. You can do better! You will look lesser than the other candidate which did come prepared …
Make sure you know how to draw your project/design/product/flow clearly. Practice.
The same goes for other roles/disciplines — know your domain, whether it’s DevOps, AB testing, prototyping, wireframes, Agile, User Stories, Scrum, MVP, KPIs, OKRs. Yes. All the buzzwords that demonstrate that you know your domain. Make sure you mention them, we are waiting to hear them and mark them as “checked” in our head or paper, but once you mention them, be prepared to explain what/why/how about them. This is how you present yourself as a professional.
Know the Interview Tools
If you are reading this in 2021 — you are probably being interviewed remotely by Zoom or other online video platforms.
Make sure you have everything in place — proper wifi, peace of mind, a quiet location, and no weird background.
Make sure you know how to use the tool, use the chat (we will send you links via chat), and you know how to share your screen. Make sure you will not have any notifications on your desktop from other applications like messenger, WhatsApp, etc.
In many cases, we will use more tools during the interview — make sure you use them and practice them before the interview. It will give you peace of mind during the interview and let you focus on your knowledge and not on how to operate the tool.
For example, we usually use excalidraw for drawing, coderpad for coding.
Know your Behavior
You want to connect with your interviewers.
You want them to like you.
You want them to say — “I would see myself having a beer with this candidate” or “I would feel comfortable getting stuck with this candidate for 2 hours on a business trip”.
So come as relaxed as you can — If you need to eat before the interview — do it. Have a bottle of water with you. Make sure you went to the bathroom before.
Breathe deeply. Smile. People love smiling people.
If it is a video call, make sure you position your eyes on the camera, so we see your eyes and not your ear. Try using your hands. Don’t hide them.
Let the interviewer express themselves and don’t cut them off. Like all people — We love the sound of our voice and especially our name. So use it.
Don’t bullshit. If you don’t know something — Don’t hesitate to admit it.
Know your Questions
We expect you to ask questions! If you are not asking, it makes you indifferent.
Ask about the day-to-day in the office, about the business, about the people, about the roadmap, and the expectations from you.
Summary
- Come prepared
- Know the game
- Know the product
- Know the interviewer
- Know yourself
- Know the interview questions
- Know the interview tools
- Know your behavior
- Know your questions
