Welcome to Day 11! Today’s task focuses on enhancing your understanding of the interview process from both the hiring manager’s and the job candidate’s perspectives. In his talk “Lessons From Both Sides of the Interview Table”, @conorfi provides a comprehensive guide to the interview process, offering valuable insights and practical advice for both hiring managers and job seekers.
Pay attention to Fitzgerald’s experience as both a hiring manager and a job candidate, as he provides valuable insights and practical advice for both sides of the interview process.
For hiring managers, take note of Fitzgerald’s emphasis on assessing a candidate’s skills, willingness, and cultural fit. Also, follow his step-by-step guide to the interview process, covering preparation for making a hiring decision.
For job candidates, focus on Fitzgerald’s discussion about evaluating your current situation, researching industries and companies, updating your materials, and preparing for common interview questions. Additionally, consider the importance of demonstrating passion, positivity, and persistence throughout the process.
After watching the talk, reflect on the key points and takeaways that stood out to you.
Share your key takeaway from the talk, summarizing the valuable insights and practical advice you gained.
Engage in any discussions with other community members’ replies that are of interest to you or where you can relate to their posts.
Why complete this task?
Gain valuable insights: By watching this talk, you will gain valuable insights into the interview process from both the hiring manager’s and the job candidate’s perspectives. This knowledge will help you understand the interview expectations and challenges, making you better prepared for future opportunities.
Enhance interview performance: From watching this talk, you can improve your interview performance. Hiring managers will learn techniques to identify the most suitable candidates, while job seekers will gain insights on how to present themselves effectively and stand out in interviews. Applying these strategies can increase your chances of interview success.
Discover a comprehensive guide: The talk provides a comprehensive guide to the interview process. It covers various aspects, including preparation, evaluation criteria, common interview questions, and the importance of passion, positivity, and persistence. This will enable you to approach interviews with more confidence.
Free Access: Here’s an extra incentive to participate! This talk, which was previously exclusive pro content, is now freely available to all members for this task and throughout June 23. Seize this opportunity to benefit from the valuable content without any additional cost.
Another gem! As a candidate, I follow most of these tips out of routine. If I land an interview, I’m going to do a deep dive into the company’s website, product, and media in preparation. Another thing that I do that wasn’t mentioned here is downloading the job description when I apply so that I always have access to it. Some companies remove the JD from websites when they have enough candidates to interview and you could lose valuable information about the position, benefits, etc.
As someone that’s interviewed junior engineers, my biggest pet peeve is being asked a question that was covered in the JD or in other correspondence. I wouldn’t dismiss a candidate because of it, but interviews are short–let’s save that time for a deeper exploration/conversation.
My favorite thing that Conor F. said was that both parties should be excited by the prospect of working together. Don’t forget to share why your excited by the opportunity.
The biggest take-away I had from this was a reminder to utilize the STAR system to answer questions:
S ituation
T ask
A ction
R esult
I knew of this general method, but had forgotten about this simple acronym to keep it all straight. Otherwise, it was quite a nice refresher for how to approach an interview situation from both sides of the table.
The worst part of hiring is that you only get to say yes to one person, and you have to let so many more down.
Please remember that hiring managers are looking for the exact right fit for the role, not judging your worth as a human being or even necessarily your skill as a professional.
As a candidate, my takeaways for this talk are about to researching the company, preparing questions and showing interest in the position. I think it´s very important to be prepared and show interest in the company, this can give us a plus in the interview.
My takeaway was to use STAR method when answering questions. And always be yourself during the whole process, so that when you do get asked about your favorite sandwich, you’re able to answer that simple question.
I also appreciate the comment @simon_tomes shared from LinkedIn. It’s something I have to remind myself every now and then, that getting a rejection is not personal, it does not represent my value as a person or my skillset. They are just trying to fit a role…
