3 Steps to Transform and Approach Job Interviews

👋 Welcome to this week’s edition!

Today we’re going to cover interviews from a candidate’s point of view. It’s a science, it’s an art, it’s an underestimated part of job searching that is not taught in school and that done well can completely change outcomes especially when competition is so high. You’ll learn:

• 🚫 What are the key problems with interviews

• 💡 The types of solutions you can adopt to prepare and get more information (top tools and resources)

• 🌎 Ideas on how to adapt based on cultural and language barriers

Let’s dive in!

👩‍💼Learning how to do Interviews

After ten years of experience with interviews, both as a candidate and a hiring manager, I've noticed that this step in the hiring process remains confusing for everyone involved. Perhaps this confusion comes from trying to achieve too much in the limited time and with the limited tools available during an interview. The lack of clear standards and the unavoidable influence of personal bias also add to the uncertainty. These factors together make it tough to fully and fairly evaluate a candidate’s suitability for a role during an interview.

A few years ago, I hit peak frustration and decided to tackle the interview puzzle, aiming mainly to help candidates crack the interview code. With a bunch of cool ideas jotted down, I had plans for a product that never came to life. That's when I turned to writing. In fact, one of my first pieces, Is it Hiring or Speed Dating? (what I learnt from doing more than 1,000 interviews) tried to pack in all the lessons I picked up over the years.

Practice has been pivotal in enhancing my interview skills, and among the best pieces of advice I can offer is to engage in interviews not solely when a job genuinely interests you. Consider participating in interviews as a form of training, akin to a workout designed to keep your body fit. While companies may frown upon this approach, it's crucial to acknowledge that they, too, engage in a similar practice. When companies interview dozens of candidates for a single position, they are not only benchmarking but also honing their own interviewing skills. Therefore, it's only fair for candidates to adopt a similar strategy for their benefit.

🚫 First: Understand the Three Key Problems

1. Lack of Preparation - A significant issue, I believe, is that neither schools nor universities teach the crucial skills of job-seeking and interviewing. This educational gap often leads individuals to overestimate their job-seeking abilities—a trap I've fallen into as well. As the job landscape evolves, different companies and people necessitate varying approaches, a factor often overlooked leading to misguided evaluations and judgments.

One widespread mistake I consistently notice (and have frequently committed myself) is the absence of adequate preparation. Recognizing this, I've developed a Notion template dubbed "Job Hacking OS". This tool guides users through the job application process in a structured, step-by-step manner, assisting in:

• Clipping and saving job descriptions directly from the web to a dashboard for easy reference.

• Identifying and highlighting crucial skills and keywords to focus on during preparation.

• Keeping a tab on the status of applications, important dates, and setting reminders to stay organized.

• Maintaining a CRM of your professional network, including key individuals who may assist with referrals and connections.

If you'd like a detailed walkthrough, check out this video where I explain the functionalities and benefits of the Job Hacking OS template.

1. Lack of Adaptation - Our unique individual characteristics, varying cultural backgrounds, and even different moods significantly influence the way we communicate and perceive information. For example, did you know that our glucose levels can impact the outcomes of an interview? Higher glucose levels, typically after meals, often correlate with more positive evaluations. Understanding these nuances is crucial.

Everyone approaches communication differently, sometimes affected by our cultural background or even our mood at the time (for instance, did you know that blood glucose levels can influence interview outcomes?). This means that to communicate effectively, it’s essential to:

• Anticipate these differences

• Adjust your communication style accordingly

• Understand and respect language nuances, especially for non-native English speakers who might communicate differently under stress

• To help navigate through these intricate dynamics, consider reading the article I wrote, focusing specifically on tackling cultural differences at work.

1. Lack of Information - Preparation is limited when information is scarce. In the past, candidates often entered interviews with little knowledge about the interviewer or the company, hindering their ability to prepare effectively. However, in today’s digital age, much of our personal and professional lives are accessible online. This transparency provides a valuable opportunity for candidates to learn about their interviewers and companies beforehand.

In many cases, it's quite common to walk into an interview not knowing who you'll meet or any detailed information about the company. This lack of information can limit your preparation. Thankfully, in today’s connected world, much of our personal and professional information is accessible. Without overstepping boundaries, you can discover valuable information about your interviewer and their professional history, allowing you to tailor your approach and bring relevant information to the table during the discussion. By doing so, you not only demonstrate your preparedness but also your commitment and interest in the role for which you are interviewing.

While I still think there's a huge case for introducing this in a structured way in university, today we live in a world where there's more options on the table to tackle this problem.

🧑‍🏫 Second: Solve Preparation

I would break them in three main categories:

1. 1:1 Coaching - While individualized coaching has long existed, the escalating competitiveness and globalization of the job market have resulted in both heightened demand and increased availability of such services.

2. AI Tools - A relatively recent innovation, AI tools are a primary focus of our discussion today. They offer versatile applications, functioning either as standalone solutions or in conjunction with 1:1 coaching, thereby providing a multifaceted approach to interview preparation.

3. Hybrid Solutions - This category represents a synergy between human expertise and artificial intelligence. Hybrid solutions either involve human experts utilizing AI tools or AI-driven platforms that incorporate options for subsequent 1:1 coaching sessions, blending the best of both worlds to offer comprehensive support to job-seekers.

Here’s a shortlist of the providers out there:

Poised - This is a great option, which I've previously reviewed here, and the main reason why I would recommend it is that it doesn't only help you prepare interviews, but it can also record the real ones and give you real-time feedback (i.e. as you cover key points you wanted to get across, plus follow you across other meetings you have in your day to day, and help improve communication across the board. The output of the analysis is very deep and also covers your tone of voice, pace, what you did well and what you can improve. It also provides a dashboard with trends so you can see how you do over time.

I think this is the most effective way to tackle the problem from a wider point of view.

Yoodli - Another great tool, similar to Poised, with a few differences. One I like a lot is the 'Drills' feature, where you get 30 second exercises to improve impromptu speaking - you can never prepare for 100% of a conversation, and an important matter of judgment is how you solve unexpected problems.

Google Interview Warmup - I know it's Google, but I think this is terrible. You get to choose which type of job you're preparing for - though mostly tech related (Data Analytics, Digital Marketing, Cybersecurity, IT Support, Design, General, Product Management) and then are asked a mere 5 questions that you can record voice answers with. You'll get a short report with highlights of job related and most-used words, and key talking points. That's it. Better than nothing, but won't be a game changer in any way.

InterviewBuddy -  is an online face-to-face interview prep tool that helps candidates with mock interviews conducted by experts who help candidates prepare for the interview in a stress-free environment.

LeetCode - is an interview prep tool that helps candidates prepare for interviews for the software engineer role. The tool also provides a plethora of questions related to different programming languages with varying levels of difficulty.

Glassdoor - is a popular interview prep tool that helps candidates that offers interview advice and information on different companies. Candidates can view the difficulty level as well as the type of questions that the other candidates have faced during their interviews.

Pramp - helps people prepare for interviews in the fields of programming and coding. The tool pairs you up with a peer after you specify what you want to practice. The interviews take place in a collaborative environment. Your peer and you will interview each other for 30-45 minutes. The tool provides various interview questions such as product management, behavior, system design, and many more.

AmbitionBox - is an interview prep tool that provides candidates tips based on their chosen company. It allows you to select from options like technical interview questions, behaviour questions or personal questions. Provides interview questions and answers from real interviews. Provides interview questions for colleges as well. Cost: Free.

Winning Interviews - Another great 'hybrid' solution, where you get to upload video recordings of answers to the top questions, and then get a mix of an AI and Human expert diagnostic report, including:

• Feedback on each answer

• Suggested talking points

• Language and speaking style assessment

• Comparative delivery metrics

• Identified areas needing confidence boost

• Videos with senior interviewers posing role-specific questions for a human touch.

• Frequently asked questions for specific roles at top organizations, crafted from over 1000 competencies analysis.

Interviewing.io - Anonymous mock interviews with engineers from Amazon, Google, Facebook, and other top companies. Your interviewer will be a senior engineer with extensive experience interviewing people at FAANG and other top companies. You'll run through exactly the kinds of questions you'd see in a real interview.

As you can imagine, there's a plethora of other solutions coming up with the AI hype train, here's a list of others you can check out:

🔍 Third: Solve Information

As observed, many of these tools are immensely helpful in interview preparation, providing insight into specific questions previously posed for particular roles or companies – a valuable feature indeed. Some tools even offer access to current employees, further enhancing their utility. However, there are two crucial types of information you still need to arm yourself with at this stage:

1. Company Knowledge: Understanding the ethos of a company is pivotal. Familiarize yourself with the organization's core values, recent product releases, business model, and employee testimonials. Answers to questions like, "What drives the company?" or "How do employees feel about the work culture?" not only aid in tailoring your responses during the interview but also enable you to ascertain whether the company aligns with your career aspirations and values.

2. Role Insight: Preparing with role-specific questions is good, but diving deeper into the trends associated with the position can give you an extra edge. Stay informed about the latest skills, buzzwords, and tools pertinent to the role for which you are interviewing. This proactive approach demonstrates your commitment and understanding of the industry's dynamic landscape.

3. People Intel: Gathering information about the individuals you'll be meeting during the interview process can be challenging yet incredibly beneficial. Always inquire about the interview process, including the number of stages involved and the people with whom you’ll be interacting at each step. Acquiring this knowledge not only helps in personalized preparation but also assists in establishing an immediate connection with the interviewers.

So where can you get this information?

1. Linkedin - Both for company and for individuals, surely the first place you should go to. You can get information about the hiring manager by seeing where they worked, what recommendations they gave and received (although not always useful, many sugar coatings here). If they have some mutual connection, you can try to reach out and get advice or tips - depending on the level of relationship you have it could be tricky, but done well it will never play out badly because it will just show that you are serious about the process and are trying to collect information. Another great tip, is to outreach to other employees at the company, which may not know specifically about the role, but could help give you unbiased views with an insider perspective.

2. Crunchbase - If you're interviewing for a startup, it would be good to know if they have funding, who they got it from and eventually how well they're performing. The latter can be private information (or public, in some countries or cases if the company is listed in the stock exchange) but it will help you a) understand if you're entering a risky situation b) show you have an entrepreneurial mindset.

3. Other Social Media - This is a grey territory, since you're supposedly getting into personal lives and it may not be at all relevant (or ethical, according to some). However, if it's public, there's no harm, and increasingly companies are looking at this information about candidates too. Whilst holiday pictures won't be useful, understanding the person's key points of view can be relevant, and many times work and personal lives do cross so you will be seeing announcements and work related matters here too.

4. Glassdoor - We've already talked about it before, the core functionality here is to get past or current employees reviews and opinions - a must.This is a screenshot from the AmbitionBox (Glassdoor for India), which provides a nice add-on with info from where people are getting interviews (i.e. referrals, company website etc). This made me think of the hidden job market, which I’ve also written extensively about here.

5. Google and Press Releases - Always do a Google search for top and recent news about the company, or the people you will be meeting. Any relevant press reviews or videos? They will be helpful for specific information you can reference to, and will show you have been doing serious research.

Conclusion

Evaluating skills and individuals is inherently challenging, irrespective of the technology or the level of expertise of the professionals involved in the assessment process.

Consider this: on average, a job opening attracts more than 200 applicants. Making it past automated screenings (a topic for another discussion) undoubtedly boosts your odds, yet the competition remains fierce. In such a saturated field, standing out is imperative. To distinguish yourself, you must not only convey a robust desire for the role but also demonstrate that you possess qualifications surpassing those of other candidates.

However, securing a position extends beyond merely showcasing technical proficiency; it’s increasingly about exemplifying the right attitude. In a rapidly evolving job market where roles and organizational needs shift swiftly, traits like resilience, adaptability, and proactivity are prized—often more so than extensive experience or mastery of specific skills. As I often say, "Grit trumps talent." These qualities are essential as they not only underline your capability to navigate through change successfully but also highlight your readiness to tackle unforeseen challenges head-on.

Are there any other tips or solutions you’re currently using?

Let me know in the comments and happy to provide also a discount for Job Hacking OS if you’re interested.