I recently landed a job offer after about a year on and off job hunting. I went through a ton of phone screens, video interviews, case study assignments and several in-person rounds and these are the notes that I’ve come up with.
That being said, I think these tips will be most applicable to early career, non-technical, whitecollar jobs. Most of the companies I applied to used internal recruiters and most of the roles I applied to I’d call “stretch roles” based on my background and experience.
Typical Interview Process:
1. Application
The goal here is to get your resume read and to move on to the phone screen phase. Make sure your resume is at least somewhat aligned with the job description/requirements.
Make it easy to read and make it full of good examples. How did you go above and beyond in your role and by how much? Anybody can follow directions from their manager but how did you go beyond that? How did you crush your goals? How did you take initiative and improve a process? How were you a resource for those around you?
TLDR: Make it easy to read and use accomplishments instead of responsibilities
2. Phone Screen with Recruiter
This is typically a quick call to make sure both parties are aligned. Share a quick background, career goals, salary expectations, etc.
Most of this call should be taken care of with preparation. Write out (AND PRACTICE) your elevator pitch. I ended up getting my practice through interviews but it got me flustered and I probably lost out on some opportunities by not being prepared.
Be ready for the common questions:
“Tell me about yourself/your work history”
Lead them through your resume but tell them the things that your resume doesn’t say. How did you make your bosses/coworkers’ lives easier? How did you go about taking new responsibilities? How did you become an expert/resource for the people around you? Show that you go above and beyond and that you want to learn.
“What are you looking for in your next role?”
Use the job description and responsibilities to help answer this (hopefully it actually aligns with what you’re looking for) Try to give examples or types of work/projects you enjoyed working on in the past and why you liked/disliked them.
Tip: You’re excited about an opportunity to learn.
Be Prepared for Possible Weeding Questions:
Does the job require Excel? Be prepared to tell them what your favorite part about excel is (it’s pivot tables).
Is SQL preferred but not required? Be able to describe the difference between left and right joins.
Googling “Common _____ Interview Questions” goes a long way
Drop some keywords that are in the job description and prepare some questions about the role and company. If your career goals are aligned with the company, you meet the basic requirements and you sound excited about the role – you’ll likely move to the next round.
TLDR: Practice. Align your goals/background with the role. You are excited about the role and want to learn (This is what might get you past being underqualified).
3. Phone/Video Interview with Hiring Manager
This is a deeper dive into the fit for the role. You’ll likely get some tougher questions to test your knowledge and experience. Learn more about the day-to-day of the role, reiterate your interest and excitement in the role.
Use this call to really think about if this role (and manager) would be a good fit for you. See below for more questions you can ask.
4. In Person Interview with Team
This is it. The last round. Come in confident that you’ve made it this far and try to frame it as you interviewing them. Be friendly and be someone that you would want to work with/around.
For onsite interviews, come prepared with specific questions in mind for each person you’ll be speaking with. You can usually ask your recruiter if you should touch on certain topics with certain people you’ll be meeting with. Tailor your questions to each role:
Upper Management:
- Questions around company goals and direction.
- What are some of the goals for this year/quarter and how has progress been?
- What excites you the most about getting this role filled?
- Do you read business books for self improvement? Do you have any that really stood out to you?
Hiring Manager:
- Questions around how you can make their life easier, expectations and management style.
- What is one area of your jobs you wish you had more time to focus on?
- What are you expecting from me out of this relationship, what type of people do you work best with and how would you describe your management style?
- (If position is backfill) Can you name a time the person in the position really went above and beyond?
Peer:
- Questions about the day to day, work hours, different perspective about your boss
- What are your normal work hours like? Do you ever get to work from home?
- What is your favorite thing about working here?
- If you could change/improve one thing about the job, what would it be?
Member of another team:
- Questions about team structure and how they interact. Also a chance to get a (somewhat) unbiased view of the team/company
- What is an example of when the previous person in the role really went above and beyond for you and your team?
IMPORTANT: When interviewing in person, try to ask relevant questions throughout the session instead of sending a barrage of questions at the interviewer at the end. Don’t interrupt them, but take advantage of lulls in the conversation or ask right after you finish answering one of their questions. It makes the experience more conversational and makes you look more interested.
I really hope this helps. You might face a lot of rejection (I certainly did) but it could be for a million different reasons so try not to sweat it. This information obviously won’t be applicable to all situations and roles, so take from it what you like.
The only thing you can control is your preparation and your attitude (which can get you quite far). Good luck!
Conclusion
Remember, tailoring your resume and cover letter to each job application and effectively communicating your remote work readiness are key. Persistence and continuous learning are your allies.
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