Interviewing

After you’ve secured an interview, either at a job faire, through an application, or someone suggests you for a role, it’s time to prepare.

What type of role is it? Try to get a sense of the business style and vibe of the company you’re interviewing for. If you’ve been talking in person, try to think about what the recruiter was wearing. Were they wearing heels, blazers, and more, or, where they wearing a black t-shirt, jeans, and black sneakers. Try to emulate, but don’t copy, their style. However, always try to dress up a little more than they did because you might be meeting someone else and you want to be presentable. If you’re concerned, you can always just dress up more. I’ve shown up wearing a blazer to an interview where the interviewees were wearing shorts, and while it was awkward for a moment, I got the job. However, as I’ve gotten more interviews, I’ve realized that there is a casualness to the interview attire. You should be dressed up, but also able to fit in with your interviewees. I like to think that I’m quietly signalling that I’ll fit right in with your workforce.

Prepare with Reddit. One of my best techniques when preparing for an interview is to search up ‘top 10 interview questions reddit and I’ll read through some posts, seeing how others answered the question, and copy over the most common questions.. I’ll jot down some notes for each answer, then go onto the company’s site, browse a bit, see if I can find out anything about my potential role, and refine my answers as needed. Then the important part, I practice out loud.

Practice aloud. If you really want to be great, put a mirror next to your computer so you can see yourself. Sit up straight, take a breath, pause, repeat the question, breath, pause, and then answer. I like to go through my list one at a time, writing down better answers as they come up. Once I’ve gone through all questions, at least 10, I’ll take a break and then go through them all one at a time in a row and refine afterwards. You won’t have these answers in front of you so you should be familiar with your basic question and points for each question. However, don’t memorize. These are the top 10 questions, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be others or different phrasings of the same question. Be flexible.

Use AI. After, and only after, you’ve refined the questions, input the document into an AI and ask it to refine the questions as this can sometimes reframe an idea better and clarify things for you. See how it does, and take everything with a grain of salt. Then ask it for some follow up questions to your responses. This is valuable. Try to on the fly answer those questions but no need to write these down.

Use Reddit to find end questions. End questions are the response to the question at the end of every interview where the interviewer asks you if you have any questions. You should have 1-3 questions. What these are depend on you, however, some people suggest asking what should be improved about your resume, what the responsibilities in the first 3 months is, and more. However, I like this paired question.
If you could wave a magic wand, what is one thing you’d fix at your workplace? Also, what is your favorite part of work and doesn’t require any fixing?
– I like this question because it brings up both the red and green flags during the interview. Pay attention to how they answer this question. Do they have a lot of negative things to say or mostly positives. Do they all glance at each other and give non-answers. This question has made me eliminate companies from my list, even when I got the offer, because I knew that the red flags they were mentioning were non-negotiables for me.
– I also like this question because it can be quickly answered. Often interviewers don’t leave enough time for some of the more heavy weight questions that are often recommended, maybe 1-2 minutes. This question lets you get a heads up about any issues. However, the second part of the question is also important because it gives you a good ending to the interview. After you hear what they have to say about the great parts about their interview you can say something along the lines of this
Well, that sounds fantastic, I can’t wait to see/experience [insert thing just mentioned that you’re actually interested in]. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you all and I hope to hear from you soon. No need to elaborate more, this needs to be 10 seconds max. Don’t explain why you’re interested, just say it. Let the interview end and let them get to their next session. You’ll do great.

The common Reddit questions. I do not like asking the common Reddit questions like What does success look like, or What will my first 90 days look like, or What about my resume stands out. These are all heavy questions. Again, there’s likely only 1 minute on the clock and people are already packing up. You don’t want them to get into a debate or force the interview into overtime because then they rush through to the next one, or just don’t answer, and there’s no time for them to jot down some notes on what they did and did not like about you. You’ll just be a blank, and if they’re conducting 50 interviews that day they’ll have a hard time remembering you.

Always have backup questions. In rare cases, interviewers will schedule extra long interviews so there is time for you to ask 1-3 questions, or, they’ll ask you for them so they can respond via email to them, so you should always have 3 on hand. However, it’s hard to remember in the moment what your questions are, so hand write them onto a post it note and attach it to your resume.

Don’t bring a big bag to your interview, try to leave it in the car, or if you had to change just before, and you took public transportation, just leave the bag by the door when you come in. Don’t ask it put it somewhere because then someone will have to retrieve it for you, and it can be forgotten. The only thing in front of you should be a semi-hard professional folder, with a few copies of your resume neatly inside. Also, a pen, some post-its for notes on the front, and a post-it with your questions, hand-written, stuck to the inside of the folder. They need to be hand-written to show that they’re your questions and you’ve put some thought into them, and you didn’t just copy and paste some random questions.

Wear a watch. That way you can be appear present. If you’re constantly checking your phone for the time, it comes off as addicted to the phone. Just get, or borrow, a watch for the day so you can discreetly check the time. Even if you’re virtual because the phone screen will light up your face.

Always finish with the magic wand question. If there is an abundance of time at the end of the interview when they ask if you have any questions you’ll need to do some quick math. Were your interviewers quick and to the point or did they like to ramble when given the opportunity. If they’re quick and to the point, feel free to ask an additional question, however, if they talk a lot, just stick to the magic wand question so you can still land that strong end. Also, even if it’s 15 minutes, if you have a panel, each individual is likely going to answer your question so just stick to one. You can ask more questions once you’ve gotten the job offer right now you need to know if you should even keep them on your list.

Don’t enable the rambling. I’ve heard over and over to let your interviewer speak because people like to hear themselves speak and you’ll leave them with a positive feeling. I don’t agree with this. If you are in a panel, the other interviewers will feel annoyed and try to intervene on your behalf, and won’t appreciate it if you are enabling it or encouraging it. If you are being interviewed by a single individual, and they are just venting to you, try your best to not encourage it, however, sometimes it can’t be stopped. Also, I wouldn’t really consider that company any more as it might mean the posting is already decided and they are doing an interview with the alternates as a formality. Finally, most people don’t leave feeling refreshed after venting to a random person unless it’s their therapist. Can you talk at length with another about a passion project, yes, but that’s essentially an interview question and you’re displaying how much you know. Just don’t try to seem smarter than you are as they can tell. If you are encouraging the interviewer to talk about themselves or engage them in any conversation outside answering their questions, they will mark you down as faking it. Don’t do this.

Display your knowledge, let the interviewer breathe, ask questions, and respond. Let them ask all their questions. Ask your 1, maybe 2, questions but don’t push for the second. Be presentable, tidy, casual, and slightly formal. You’ll do great, just prepare, breathe, and do your research.