Finding Job in Times of AI Part 2 - How to Succeed In Interviews

This was the talk given at the First Friday Meetup here: https://www.meetup.com/firstfriday-curated-network/events/314278492/?eventOrigin=group_past_events

Transcript

1. How to Succeed in Interviews
2. The Law of Harvest Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
3. “If we want long term success, we need to live life by a set of principles” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
4. “There is a brotherhood of sorts among the growers of potatoes” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay “..We recognize we are in total competition with one another”
5. “All the preparation we can make almost daily we do in order ensure quality and we work hard at it otherwise we have a product that no one wants to buy” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
6. “make the sacrifices that’s necessary to get it done in that time frame” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
7. “..All the advances we see in.. ..in technology is not a substitute for other things” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
8. “if we violate the Law of Harvest so to speak we are doomed to failure inspite of all the advancements we see come along” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
9. “we try to make the best use of the new technology & equipment to fit our needs..” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
10. “..But we also learned There is no substitute for good sound decision making and preparation - which we always relied on and which we will always rely on, It’s more fundamental than changes in technology and equipment” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
11. “..growing mentality ..great things are going to be accomplished through advancements in technology.. ..to the point that human element is not important.. ..nothing can be further from the truth” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
12. “..we succeed only to the ability to change with changing times.. ..to be prepared.. ..to resist the temptation to make shortcuts in our own preparation, knowledge..” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
13. “..the more we rely on technology to substitute we make great mistakes..” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
14. “..we can’t control the elements.. We like the life.. ..we think it builds character in people” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay
15. Mohnish’s Professional Journey in Germany: Believing in Oneself & Staying Curious to shape one’s Growth(EU PR)
16. Personal Story - Transitioning from Blue Card Visa to Freelance Visa during Covid(2021) Became a Freelancer during Covid(2021) - Not a very Rational decision
17. A Key Underlying Principle Behind that helped me succeed in Germany even in Tough times like Covid Principle - Control the Controllables
18. How did I Get the Interview - Blog + Github Posted Job Opening + Resume + Talk A hiring manager that eventually hired me for a recent role remembered my talk from 2024 A blog had a link to the job opening which pointed to their Github page
19. Get the job(General Advice) - Care to know & Authentically connect with the interviewer Something I personally apply + Also a TA Manager also mentions here
20. In Interviews - Your Positive Energy + Genuine Care + Enthusiasm + Vibes matter • Many interviewers have appreciated the positive energy I go into the interview As mentioned by a TA Manager here
21. In Interviews - The Thoughtful Questions you ask can make the biggest difference • An interviewer where I got hired mentioned: “It showed us how invested you are” • Questions are a great way to radiate the enthusiasm you bring to a company • A genuine question that I always - ‘What are the challenges you are facign as part of your role?”
22. Interviewers look for Signals - Your body language + Cues + Tone matter. Signals & Peter Drucker: The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said here
23. In Interviews - Your ‘Full’ Presence + Paraphrasing/Reflection Builds Genuine connection Credits: This FB post here by Gordana Stankovic
24. Get the job(General Advice) - Communication(via emails and in interviews) is Paramount Credits from this post Credits from this post
25. Get the job(General Advice) - How you make them Feel + High Agency/Ownership(I’ll figure it out) Credits: This Linked post here
26. Technical Interview What hiring managers look for? - Structured Thinking + Pragmatic Problem Solving Abilities Credits for this post from here
27. Pair Programming Interview - Success Formulae/Principle: Set the expectations Proactively Upront & Meet It Credits as in this post
28. Pair Programming Interview- Success Formulae/Principle: Ask questions → extract requirements → guide decisions Credits as in this comment
29. Prepare better for tech interviews by reading company specific Engineering blogs https://github.blog/engineering/
30. Leveraging a Principle/Mental Model to write well crafted code Helped me Get a Job cost(tidying) + cost(behavior change after tidying) < cost(behavior change without tidying) Thank You, Kent Beck :)
31. What Helped me Get a Job - Applying Kent Beck Formula + Disciplined Commit Messages even in Side Projects From this commit
32. How they fare off the “beaten path” - The feedback was very key to help me land my next offer
33. How to Request for Interview Feedback - An Earnest and Proactive Approach requesting for feedback helped me Please make a humble & earnest request for feedback - my interviewer very kindly shared above feedback Please also note that the above was only shared when I followed up with them on this - Proactively - Genuinely cited that its a tough job market and every little feedback helps see my blindspots and Areas of improvement
34. Not Getting Through Interviews - Very Few interviewers admit their interview processes are not full proof Not getting through interviews - It’s not always about you
35. Pairing/Coding Challenge - Personal Learnings - Asking what a candidate is evaluated on is key to success • Interview rounds can get subjective - Success can mean different things to different people ◦ Hence ask explicitly to the team beforehand(as showin earlier) • What they generally look for in Pairing Inerviews ◦ Iterative Software Development ◦ Incremental Development
36. Key Differentiators/How To Standout in Tech Interviews - Useful code comments - Documentation - API’s - Runbooks - Playbooks - Ordered Commits Credits from this post
37. The Behavioral Interview - Values Alignment + Solutions focused + We over Me - Gain better insights from company specific blogs + LinkedIn Posts Taken from here
38. The Behavioral Interview - Values Alignment + Solutions focused + We over Me - For a Hypothetical Scenario you’ve not encountered - - Apply Pragmatism - Integrity - A golden rule: Your answers if they are authentically in line with company values that’s ideal Credits as in this post
39. The Behavioral Interview - Values Alignment + Solutions focused + We over Me - Come prepared with specific examples of how you’ve deal with past challenging work situations - Structure your answers for behavioral questions with - STAR Method(Situation, Task, Action, Result) - SBI - Situation, Behavior & Impact - Organised, concise, clear thinking and articulation
40. Cultural Interiew - Your alignment with the organization(values, mission, vision, purpose) as a whole Fabian a Hiring Manager in Germany that did 100+ Cultural Interviews via here Detailed Insights in this blog here featuring the same hiring manager, Fabian Really good candidates show an ability to self-reflect.
41. All Interviews in general - Your Conviction + Narrative + Vibe + Genuine Curiosity + Energy + Enthusiasm Matter Credits as in this post + Employed.world - Yashvir Chawla
42. The offer email that I got
43. Rejection is Redirection Credits this Youtube video here
44. Takeaway 1 - Apply Strategic Creativity: Processise + Systematize + Standardize + Refine your thoughts regularly via self reflection Quality of Thoughts → Quality of Decisions → Quality of Life
45. “If we want long term success, we need to live life by a set of principles known as the ‘Law of Harvest’” Credits: FranklinCovey Video Link: https://franklincovey.pathfactory.com/c/8th-habit-law-of-the-harvest?x=hEtm6V&lb-mode=overlay Takeaway 2 - Consider to Live by Law of Harvest for Long term success
46. Check Ins via Listening & Continuous Improvement Circles with each other Pic credits from here
47. What do we have what AI does not have? - Community + Human Connection Join the ‘Ubuntu - I am because we are’ community Discord Invite Link: https://discord.gg/hcetaQTD47
48. Thank you FranklinCovey and Grant Neibaur - Law of Harvest
49. Thank you to My Mother - My First Guru(Teacher) and everyone else
50. Thank you for holding the space to listen 🙂 Any feedback is much appreciated :) Mohnish, a fellow human from Mother Earth Github boddhisattva Work As Senior Ruby developer | Agile Coach/Scrum Master | Project Manager/Lead | Facilitator Blog https://awellroundedengineer.substack.com/ Email mail4mohnishj@gmail.com Personal User Manual http://bit.ly/personal_user_manual_mohnishgj LinkedIn https://de.linkedin.com/in/mohnish-jadwani-9a924619