The idea of an interview is fraught with nervous anticipation! With the right guidance and preparation, however, you can confidently navigate through the interview maze and land your dream tech job. Prosum walks you through some invaluable interview tips, including insights from Prosum recruiters, strategies for tackling tricky questions and red flags to avoid.
We all know what an interview is and what it consists of so let’s dive into the “Do’s and Don’ts”. Along with demonstrating confidence and humility, you should always be respectful. This might seem like a given, but sometimes when you are nervous you might interrupt or try to appear as if you ‘know it all.’ Spoiler: it’s okay not to know it all, it just matters how you maneuver it. Take this list for example:
Do:
- Research the company and the role extensively.
- Practice your responses to common interview questions.
- Showcase your problem-solving skills and technical expertise.
- Ask insightful questions about the company culture and future projects.
Don’t:
- Oversell your abilities or exaggerate your experience.
- Arrive late or appear disorganized.
- Speak negatively about previous employers or colleagues.
- Interrupt the interviewer or dominate the conversation
By following these quick interview tips, you can present yourself as a capable and professional candidate during the interview process.
Tackling Trick Questions
Tech interviews often include challenging or “trick” questions designed to assess a candidate’s critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. While these questions may seem intimidating, approaching them strategically can help you navigate through them successfully and make you stand out! Here are some interview tips for handling trick questions:
- Take a moment to understand the question fully before responding.
- Break down complex problems into smaller, more manageable components.
- Demonstrate your thought process and logic behind your answer.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if you’re unsure about something.
By staying calm and being methodical, you can tackle even the toughest interview questions with confidence and poise.
Red Flags To Avoid:
In a recent article by CNBC, former Google recruiter Lisa Johnson highlighted several job interview phrases that serve as red flags for employers. These phrases can indicate a lack of preparation, professionalism, or alignment with the company culture. Some examples of red flag phrases include:
“I’m not sure what the company does exactly.”
“My previous boss was terrible.”
“I don’t have any weaknesses.”
Avoiding these red flag phrases and focusing on positive, constructive communication can help you make a favorable impression during interviews.
Interview Tips Straight From Prosum Recruiters
We went straight to the experts themselves. Recruiters have conducted countless interviews – they are masters at timing, asking the right questions and getting to the root of a candidate’s qualifications and fit for a role.
Here is some great advice to follow:
Rick Tyner, VP Business Development:
Believe in yourself! Be confident while maintaining humility!
A key factor to a successful interview is self-confidence, while showing humility so your confidence does not get mistaken as arrogance. And the key factor of self-confidence is preparation!
Anna Kim Hall, Senior Technical Recruiter, Partner
Be yourself. Getting an interview request already lets the hiring manager know a little bit about your skills, now it’s time to let your personality shine through.
Eyvanna Connole, Senior Technical Recruiter
Become a master of the phone interview! Over the phone, it can be difficult to communicate to a potential employer that you are excited about the position while maintaining a calm and professional demeanor. One trick is to actually smile while you are talking, when you would like to communicate your enthusiasm verbally. Smiling while speaking actually alters your voice by producing a higher vocal tract resonance. This will naturally cause your tone to seem more up-beat and positive.”
If you are not sure what to prepare for an interview, practice answering intangible situational questions like:
- How would you send a package to the international space station?
- If you received an elephant (you can’t give it away or sell it) what is the first thing you would do?
Practicing questions like these will force you to use your critical thinking and ensure that skill is exercised and fresh in your mind. Though it’s unlikely you will be asked a question like the above during an interview, in the off chance you are, you won’t panic! Instead, you’ll have the opportunity to showcase your creativity, problem solving, and ability to think on your feet.
Two of the best ways to prepare for an interview are to get enough sleep the night before your interview, and eat a healthy meal. Though it may seem obvious that nutrition and sleep are major contributing factors to our “brain power” many of us are in the habit of skipping meals, and cutting our sleep cycle short due to hectic schedules and even nerves. Making nutrition and sleep a priority before an interview will ensure you put your best foot forward when speaking to potential employers.
Tom Farish, Recruiting Manager
Be Prepared
- Do a lot of research on the company, not just glancing over their website but learn about the people, check out their LinkedIn, read news articles, etc.
- Always prepare and practice answering the basics questions including being able to give a 1-2 minute introduction, strengths, why you’re looking for a position, reasons why you left previous companies, salary expectations, etc.
- Check out the LinkedIn profiles of those individuals who are interviewing you to get an idea of their background, educations, location, etc. This can sometimes give you a much better idea of the potential topics, questions, and their perspective during the interview as well as personal connections that can be made regarding previously living in the same city, same industry, college, etc.
The Basics
Show up on time and dress professionally for video interviews. Even being a minute or two late for an interview can be a big red flag whether it’s in person or on a video interview. It’s always best to wear business casual attire, at minimum, during any type of interview at every step in the interview process.
Building Rapport & Mirroring
Being on the same page conversationally by mirroring the demeanor and style of the person you’re interviewing with can help ease you into the interview and get both parties comfortable. For example, if interviewing with someone that’s smiling and making small talk to start things off it’s great to reflect that in your style. Conversely, if the interviewer is direct and to the point to dive into the interview questions straight away then it’s best to get down to business and pass on the pleasantries. Regardless, it’s important to try and make a personal connection with the person your interviewing with whenever possible.
Be Straight and To The Point
Most interviewers & hiring managers are busy so the more concise and direct you can be in answering questions the better. You can always end an answer by saying something to the effect of “Does that answer your question or would you like me to go into more details?” so that the interviewer has an opening to dive into it further if necessary.
Be Engaged
Be ready to ask questions at the end of the interview and express interest. Asking intelligent and pertinent questions shows your engaged and interest. Making them as relevant to the interview discussion as possible is important versus asking questions about salary or benefits information when you’re not speaking to an HR representative, for example. Also expressing interest in the position and asking about next steps or when they’d make a decision is a great way to close the interview.
Commonly Asked Questions About Interviews:
1. Do you still need a physical copy of your resume?
Yes, we know everything is electronic in today’s age, but you really do need to show up with a resume for an in person interview. Most likely the interviewer has a copy, but if they don’t and they need to reference something, it’s awkward to have to look up something on the computer in the moment.
2. How important are the interviews with recruiters in the interview process?
Very important! Recruiters are here to help, they are here to guide and coach so the interview with a recruiter is great practice, but they are also assessing your skills, your fit for the role and your authenticity. It is your chance to ask questions about the role and have an honest dialogue about what you are looking to do, but showing the same decorum as you would in a regular interview goes a long way with professional conversation, showcasing your skills and showing true interest in the role.
3. Are there such things as unanswerable questions?
There are certain questions that aren’t allowed to be asked, so don’t feel obligated to do so. EEOC outlines illegal questions during an interview, so become familiar with them and be prepared with a professional response. While marital/parental status is a question that is not allowed, it’s not to say that your family status might not come up during the course of the interview. For instance, if you are asked why there is a gap in your resume, a truthful answer could be, “I was balancing important family obligations at that time.” Or at that time, “I acted as the primary caretaker in my home.” Those are professional, honest answers without personal oversharing.
The Prosum team is here to help tech professionals connect with their next great opportunity. Trust our team for great advice like interview tips, career ideas and skill-building. Search our open roles, send in your credentials and let’s have a conversation to get started.
