A couple job interview hacks from someone who has to give a job interview every single goddamn day: (disclaimer: this goes for my process and my companyβs process, other companies and industries might be different)
1. There are a few things I check and a few questions I ask literally just to figure out if you can play the game and get along with others in a professional setting. Part of the job I interview for is talking to people, and we work in teams. So if you canβtΒ βplay the gameβ a tiny bit, itβs not going to work. Playing the game includes:
- Why do you want to work here? (just prove that you googled the company, tell me like 1 thing about us, I just want to know that you did SOME kind of preparation for this interview)
- Are you wearing professional clothing? I donβt need a suit just donβt show up in a ratty t-shirt and sweatpants.
- Are you able to speak respectfully and without dropping f-bombs all the time? Not because Iβm offended but because I donβt want to be reported to HR if you wind up on my team.
- Can you follow simple directions in an interview?
2. Stop telling me protected information. I donβt want to know about what drugs or medications youβre on, I donβt want to know about you being sick, I donβt want to know if youβre planning to have children soon, I donβt want to know anything about your personal life other thanΒ βcan you do the job?βΒ
3. When we ask,Β βWhat questions do you have for me?β here are my favorites Iβve heard: - What does the day-to-day look like for a member of your team?
- If one of your team members was not performing up to his usual standard, what steps would you take to correct that?
- What can I start doing now to accelerate my learning process in this job?
- What are some reservations you have about me as a candidate? (be ready for this emotionallyβ¦.it will REALLY help you in the future, and Iβve had people save themselves from a No after this, but can be hard to hear)
- In your opinion, what skills and qualities does the ideal candidate for this job possess?
- What advice would you give to a new hire in this position/someone who wanted to break into this industry, as someone who has worked here for a while?
Those are just my tips off-the-cuff. I work in sales in marketing/SAAS, so these can be very different depending on the industry, but I wish the people I interview could read this before they show up.Β
