You Got This | Tips to ace a job interview

The job interview experience is not an easy one, but the good news is that with the proper approach it could become steady. In this talk, I will cover the tools and a process to thoroughly prepare you for the interviews so you will nail them with confidence, enthusiasm, and less anxiety. So join me at this session, and let’s discover together how to ace a job interview in three (and a half) steps that will bring your dream job.

Transcript

1. Tips to ace a job interview Magda Miu | @magdamiu Engineering Manager @Adobe Android Google Developer Expert
2. My employment history Android Developer Nov 2010 - Aug 2015 Mobile Technical Lead Sept 2015 - Dec 2019 Squads Lead Developer Jan 2019 - Sep 2021 Engineering Manager Oct 2021 - Present
3. 3.5 STEPS How to prepare How to continue How to be chill Before the interview After the interview The day of interview 2 3 1 🧐 The “secret” element 3.5
4. Behavioral How you have performed and behaved in the past in both positive and negative situations [past experiences & hypothetical questions] Assignment How do you approach, document and present solutions for a use case [context-problem-solution(s)] 01 02 Types of non-tech interviews
5. Before the interview 01
6. How to prepare Learn about the process Learn about the company Learn about yourself
7. Personal SWOT Analysis Strengths Advantages like: skills, achievements, certifications, education, connections Weaknesses Skills that should be improved (technical or work habits) Opportunities Events, conferences, new role/project, industry growing Threats Impediments at work, changes, weaknesses lead to threats S O W T
9. • Have a pitch ready • Prepare yourself to give feedback • What kind of questions to expect: ◦ Behavioral questions ▪ Tell me about a time when… ◦ Hypothetical questions ▪ What if you need to… ◦ Small talk questions ▪ Talk about hobbies, books, movies, trips • Areas to consider ◦ Difficult person, situation, project, task, decision ◦ Creative solution or approach to solve a challenge/issue ◦ Handle ambiguity ◦ Failures and lessons learned ◦ Success stories or achievements ◦ Give & receive feedback ◦ Prioritisation & rollout a process ◦ Collaborate, delegate & empower ◦ Mentoring & learning What to prepare in advance
10. Identify the elements that are important for you at a job (like: work-life balance, move to the next level on your career, learning & development, mentoring, etc) and address questions related to those areas: • People ◦ Team structure ◦ Stakeholders ◦ Manager • Processes ◦ Project (legacy code, dependencies, architecture) ◦ Tasks management ◦ The lifecycle of a task ◦ On-call procedure ◦ Onboarding experience ◦ Learning opportunities ◦ Performance review ◦ Career growth What to ask
11. The day of interview 02
12. Focus on the interview experience During that day, work to take a very limited number of decisions • Know in advance what to eat, drink, wear in that day • Make sure you're feeling comfortable • If online do not wear clothes with lines, patterns, or bright colors and avoid accessories that could be noisy Have a clear plan in place • Online: ◦ Decide if it’s the case to have a virtual background. If yes, consider not wearing white clothes ◦ Setup your camera, microphone, lights, and run some tests before. Check the internet connection • Offline: ◦ Make sure you know the location and how to go there ◦ Have at least 30 minutes buffer What to have next to you • Prepare a notebook and a pen or have an opened blank document on your computer • Your resume & the job description • A big glass of water
13. Setup • Make sure you understood the question (clarification and confirmation) • Be aware and define your assumptions • Don’t be afraid to admit you do not know or to request some extra “thinking time” • Be mindful about your body language STAR method • Situation - describe the event or situation that you were in • Task - explain the task you had to complete • Action - describe the specific actions you took to complete the task • Result - close with the result of your efforts CAR method • Context - background of a specific situation • Action taken - the action you took • Result - the results you achieved Think on Your Feet® approach - emphasises structure when communicating • Analyse - think what you want to share • Separate - structure ideas using keywords or steps • Dynamism - connect the ideas and build the story How to answer
14. “Tell me about a time when you performed well under stress.” Situation One time, at my last job, my coworker had a family emergency and needed to miss work for some time, and her project was left unfinished and without a manager. Task My manager instructed me to take on the project, and I had days to complete a project that originally should have taken several weeks. Action I was able to delegate a part of my goals to some of my teammates. Result With the reduction in my daily goals, I was able to dedicate more time to the special project. This allowed me to finish it on time and with complete accuracy. My manager appreciated my attitude and drive, and I was given a promotion and pay raise. STAR template in action
15. “Describe a situation when one of your team members complained about his job.” Context/ Challenge At the previous company, I had a team member who just joined the team and mentioned after 1 month that he would like to change the team because the current context is not ok for him. Action Taken I recommended him to prepare a list with SMART objectives and expectations and we addressed together each point to discover concrete actions to make. Results The result of that conversation was an actions plan on which we worked together and follow up to check the progress. The colleague started to achieve his expectations and improved his engagement. CAR template in action
16. After the interview 03
17. • Ask about when you could get the feedback for that interview • Send a thank-you note • Note the questions you received during the interview to reassess your answers • Make a retrospective to evaluate your experience ◦ Have you set realistic goals for preparing for this interview? ◦ Do you need to do your pre-interview research more thoroughly? ◦ Have you presented yourself in the best possible manner? ◦ Identify some actions to start, stop, continue doing on the next interview What to cover at the end
18. 3.5 The “secret” element
19. • Remember to have courage and challenge yourself • Enjoy the journey, not only the destination • If it’s difficult, take a break, then start over Be confident and enthusiast You Got This ;)
20. CREDITS: This presentation template was created by Slidesgo, including icons by Flaticon, and infographics & images by Freepik Do you have any questions? Website: magdamiu.com Twitter: @magdamiu LinkedIn: /in/magdamiu/ THANKS! Slides on LinkedIn & Twitter