Have you ever had interview phobia? For me this happened when I was asked a logic puzzle question that wasn’t the sort of question that I was used to beign asked. For others it is math questions, computer science 101 questions, and things along similar lines.
Everyone has to get through interviews. This includes the hiring team members and the candidates. Here are a few simple tips that will help you become an ace at technical interviews.
1. Job descriptions and resumes should be about what is really going on. I’m not talking about exageration, I’m talking about stating what really matters. If you write a resume it should include what you can do on day one. If there are things that you would like to do then point that out too. The same is true of job descriptions. Whatever has to happen on day one should be there, but the wish list items should be noted as such. One big problem that I’m seein these days is that hiring teams doctor the job description to sandbag for bad recruiters. In one case a job description listed a type of software product as a requirement. The job didn’t even involve the product. It was listed becasue the hiring team assumed that recruiters would not be able to find someone without a clue. The problem is that the clue might create a false positive or a false negative. Imagine the pre-interview that happened with the recruiter, it probably involved a little exageration too (about that software too). This is the sort of thing that keeps technical assesment companies in business. Bottom line: cut to the chase and things will go better.
2. Be honest and answer the question. I don’t know can be the right answer. Hiring team members will often discuss the question with you. If they interview you machine guy style then they problably can’t answer the question themselves (if they can it is because they’ve got the answer memorized). You might even ask them a thoughtful question that you’ve got memorized right back and see if they can answer it. The fact that you can think and not just BS is going to win you more points so honesty is the best policy.
3. The reality is that an interview begins with conversation and that if there isn’t one then it will not move forward. People who are uptight tend to clam up and the conversation shuts down. Note to hiring teams: creating an adversarial interview is not the way to make that happen. Note to job seekers: thinking about the interview as a game of chess isn’t either.
4. Know your audience and make sure you are in front of the right one. Start by talking to the right people about the right job, not one that sounds cool or interesting. Then make sure that you ask whoever gets you to the inteview questions about their interview process, who you will be interviewing with, what their expectations are, and if there are any things that should do to prepare. Interviewing someone for job works exactly the same way in reverse. Hiring teams should provide expectations, both over the phone and on the company career site, and should spend time familiarizing themselves with the candidate they are interviewing (BEFORE the interview starts).
