A large number of candidates will approach an interview as an obstacle to overcome. Instead of preparing to have a conversation with your interviewer, you’ll find that interviewers often don’t recall perfect answers.
They’ll instead remember if you were able to understand what the underlying issue was and whether you understood the real issue the team were trying to solve. Prepare by getting a clear picture of who you’re working for, what the role entails and the evidence you’ve got. This will make you feel confident and reduce any nerves.
Know the work
Whilst doing some quick due diligence by reading up on the About page and latest press releases will show you’re on top of your research, the best candidates will go further. Look into what they’ve been doing recently with their product, any public posts from engineers, what people are complaining about on forums, what they said in their earnings call, or what metrics they’re measured on. A good tip is to write a short paragraph on what the team are likely to be constrained by.
Are they trying to move quickly but deliver quality? Are they trying to grow but increase profitability? Do they have technical debt to pay off or new features to build? Once you can clearly talk about what they’re constrained by during the interview, you’ll feel less like you’re applying for the job and more like you’re joining the team. Research the people interviewing you too. What have they been talking about recently? Any open source projects? Any writing? Try to identify one specific thing you noticed (“I noticed you open sourced your feature flag library last quarter”).
Have a concise story
Behavioural questions are rarely about the situation itself but how you made a judgement based on limited information. The best stories are concise and specific. Think of three or four situations you’ve been in at work where you had to make a judgement. Be prepared to talk about what you were constrained by, what options you looked at and ruled out, what you did and what the outcome was.
Don’t try to make this sound like a success. Interviewers will trust you more if you can talk about a time you got it wrong and how you adapted. Practise telling your story out loud so that it feels natural. You want to come across as confident when speaking under slight pressure.
Practice with a friend/colleague
Only practice with someone who is happy to interrupt you. This will help you see where your explanations fall apart. Film yourself answering three common questions and watch the first 30 seconds. Most candidates will find they’re spending too much time setting the scene.
A great high impact activity is to think of three questions you really want answers to. What does success in this role look like in the first 90 days? What is the biggest risk to one of the teams current priorities if we take longer to hire? These will give you more insight into the environment.
Look the part
Ensure you’ve got everything set up for a virtual interview. Test your set up the day before with the exact lighting, audio, background and screen share. Have a contingency in place if you can’t use your main tool.
If you’re going in person, get there early so you can get a feel for the office. Whilst there, just spend the remaining time reading through one page of your notes. Dress one step smarter than the team usually dress. If the company has clear norms then follow them. Ensure you can clearly pronounce names, speak calmly and take your time to answer. This will show you’re calm.
Follow up
Within 24 hours, send a short message referencing one thing you talked about. Explain in one or two sentences why the conversation has increased your interest in the role.
If you said you’d follow up with an example of your work or more details, make sure you do so quickly and keep it simple. Most candidates will see the thank you as an obligation but if you see it as a short extension to your conversation, it’ll give you another data point on how you communicate under normal professional pressures.
This preparation isn’t about putting on a show. It’s about creating evidence and having a clear understanding so you can focus on the person you’re speaking to. Those who do this will rarely be the ones who felt they aced the interview but they’ll have a clearer idea of whether the role is right for them.
