How to have successful job interviews?
What does this mean? Ideally, we should know what to say about ourselves, what to highlight about our work experience, and how to answer basic questions. The secret? Know yourself, write, rehearse, and trust yourself.
Let's Start with Personal Questions
E.g.: What was your greatest achievement? What was your biggest failure? How do you work in a team? What is your process? Tell me a little bit about yourself. Tell me about your most recent experience. How do you react to criticism? Tell me about a situation where you applied "x" soft skill.
These types of questions represent a great opportunity because they allow you to take the initiative to start talking and highlight those aspects of your profile that benefit you, that is, that bring you closer to the role. They can also be a threat, because if you don't know what to say and you go off on tangents, the first impression you give may not be the one you wanted. The difference between opportunity and threat lies, precisely, in preparation.
I advise you that in the process of looking for a job, you write a summary about yourself that honestly tells who you are, what you do, what your professional career has been like, why you think you are the ideal person for the job and what motivates you to be there. Do it in Word, Drive, Notion, a notebook, wherever you want, but write it down. You don't have to answer with personal answers, but depending on the company you are applying to, you may have the flexibility to mention a hobby or more or less personal information, especially to break the ice at the beginning and connect with the person interviewing you.
It doesn't seem like it, but "tell me about yourself" can be a black hole on a blank piece of paper the first time you sit down to write. Of course, it will be difficult to answer this somewhat existential question overnight, that's why it is important to know yourself well, to define what you want, and to pay maximum attention to your skills and strengths. If this is too difficult for you, you can ask your Manager or your colleagues for feedback on your person and your work, so they can give you a kick start. Write in Word, Drive, a notepad, or wherever, the answers you can give. Think you are writing a radio script.
Navigating Between Difficult Questions
Let's dedicate a separate paragraph to what is perhaps the question most feared by many: What are your weaknesses? Don't go into crisis, because you could answer with one of two extremes: give a sincere answer like "I don't like to socialise with people" or a too-fanciful one like "I'm too much of a perfectionist."
Instead, you could say, "Sometimes I have trouble saying no and that leads me to take on responsibilities that I don't always have time to fulfill. But I'm working on it, optimising my time and setting better priorities." It's an honest answer, a weakness you can work on and change. The key is that you show that you can be critical of yourself and execute an action plan to improve on it.
As for the classic "What are your salary expectations?"... the answer is... it depends. Leaving aside the endless debate surrounding these issues, my advice is to research market salaries (i.e., salaries for the same position with your same seniority at other companies). Based on that, answer a "salary range" that goes from X amount (minimum) to X amount (maximum) or simply a minimum amount. Two tips: Express the value on the gross salary (i.e., without discounts or deductions) and make sure your minimum is real (if they offer it, you would accept it).
However, if for some reason you don't have that information and you are looking for your first experience, don't be afraid to say "it's my first experience in the field and I don't know how much they are charging. I tried to find out but I don't know anyone." It's valid. A good recruiter knows it's okay not to know everything.
Facing Attitudinal Questions
Like: Tell me about a time you disagreed with your team or your Manager. How did you resolve it? These questions can be a bit tricky because there is no right or wrong answer. The person interviewing you just wants to get to know you and imagine working with you.
Don't be afraid or take it personally. Once you understand, that the person interviewing you doesn't hate you and is just doing their job and you are there to tell the best of yourself, everything flows better. Like all other questions, these also require planning. Think about and then write down situations where you have had differences with a partner, where you have had to defend your point of view because you believed in it, where you have made a mistake and acknowledged it, and where you have resolved, facilitated, and moderated. Attitudinal questions seek answers that talk about your personality, how you solve problems, how you face difficult situations, how you deal with frustration, and how you receive feedback. Recognise what you learned, and what you would do differently next time, and name those who helped you. That's why it's so important to know yourself well.
Las preguntas actitudinales buscan respuestas que hablen sobre cómo es tu personalidad, cómo resolvés problemas, cómo te enfrentás a situaciones difíciles, cómo lidiás con la frustración, cómo recibís el feedback. Reconocé qué aprendiste, qué harías de diferente una próxima vez y nombrá a quienes te ayudaron. Por eso es tan importante conocerte bien.
Let's Talk About Technical Interviews
Challenges also spark controversy in the IT world, everyone has a valid opinion and is free to choose to accept them or not in a selection process. That being said, it's no surprise that they are very common in UX design. It is very important that your deliverable documents your design process, not just the result. You can arrive at the same result in many different ways, techniques, and steps, the important thing is how you think. The important thing is why you made the decisions you made and how you arrived at what was, for you, the final version of the deliverable.
On the other hand, if your thing is Development, check this GitHub repositorywith a lot of practical content for Devs.
Getting Your Turn to Ask Questions
It is important to keep in mind that an interview should be a conversation and therefore a two-way street. Not only can you ask all your questions, but you should. This shows your genuine interest in the position and the company and your value as a professional. There is usually a space for you to ask whatever you want at the end of the interview. It is your opportunity to evaluate the company as well as the company evaluated you. Some of these questions can be: - Who would be my leader/manager? - How is the team composed? - What is a workday like for someone with my position or a similar one? - Are there growth opportunities within the company? - Is there a career plan? - How do they handle deadlines?
I hope my advice has served you well and that you can apply it soon to get the job you want. If you are interested in delving deeper into the subject and acquiring a lot of tools for your interviews, you can sign up for the Job Interview Planning Workshop. See you there!
Thanks for reading!
