So I managed to line up 2 job interviews by phone and in person for engineering posts related to orbits/sensors. The closest one is within two days from now. I’ve already had practice from my university in talking but they were interested in skills I have not practiced in a over a year primarily like stuff in coding with c++ and some other software(b/c of expired license). Besides looking back over my projects in college anyone know the best way to refresh(not necesarily cram) knowledge about programming just to pass a competence check? Also for technical questions by phone should I be prepared to talk more about how I did something in a project versus the details of what I did?
So not directly in your field, but be prepared for the soft skills questions. Communication and conflict management. I’m big on don’t bluff when you don’t know something. Anyone who never tells me he doesn’t know something is on my do not hire list. Though I make sure to ask things outside their stated experiences to give plenty of opportunity to say they don’t know. And the piles of BS I’ve gotten from a couple of candidates was almost as bad as not admitting their limits. Someone who can’t communicate when they are in over their head is dangerous to me. I need to know when things have stalled, so we can get the right additional people engaged and get things moving again.
the biggest thing is to relax and be yourself. and for sure don’t use the famous “I’m a people person” line.
It’s one thing to be interviewed by multiple people. They will compare notes to see if you are consistent.
Be prepared for a panel interview of 3 or more people. (I love these). Be engaging, and for goodness sake don’t come off like a used car salesman.
Dress the part. Dress pants, dress shirt, and tie. If you have a suit jacket that matches it, wear it too.
And I 100% agree with the part of “if you don’t know, don’t snow.” - say, “I don’t know that one, but I’d be happy to get back to you on it.”
I’ve interviewed people who were in jeans and in shorts… and who obviously padded their resume. Those kinds do not get hired. A few simple questions around the topics made it obvious they padded.
Always send a thank you email but have someone else proof read it if possible. I have seen the thank you email used as a tie-breaker and I have seen offers withdrawn because the thank you email had spelling errors.
Also research the company and have several questions to ask.
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I’m involved in our team’s hiring decisions, and this can’t be emphasized enough.
“I don’t know” is an acceptable answer! Especially when followed up with eagerness to learn and grow.
Also, don’t forget: you are interviewing the company as much as they are interviewing you. Ask insightful questions about company culture, values, ethics (things you can probably find on their web site - get deeper about something that interests you). Don’t ask about when you can start working from home, the specs of the laptop they’ll be issuing you or whether they’ll pay your cell phone bill. You can ask those, once you make it past the first round.
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The best advise one can give is good interviewing is just like good dating. Being oneself and honest is what’s required to build trust.
Since your already made it to the interviewing round; they like you enough to get to know you and that’s the whole point of the interview; verify if your a fit for the culture and to develop a level of trust.
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Having hired dozens of engineers in my career and sat in on many interview cycles for engineers, executives and others here’s my best advice, some of which has been given already.
- Be yourself. Do your best to highlight your strengths but don’t be afraid to let them know an area you would like to improve upon. (Weakness).
- “I don’t know” is so much better than “I’ll just snow or BS”. Like others, I wont’ hire someone if they know it all. They don’t. I can usually tell when someone is BS’ing me.
- Highlight any team work, project work or any leadership roles you might have had and most of all how you solved any problems along the way. Give concrete examples but be succinct. The most important skills today are 1) teamwork 2) communication 3) problem solving and 4) technical expertise. I once fired a brilliant computer scientist because he refused to work with the team.
- Most companies will have to teach your their environment, culture and technology so ask about them. Taking an interest in your employers products and services is a big win in the interview. Do your research on the firm so you can ask intelligent questions.
- Some anxiety and nervousness is expected, but just try to relax and be yourself. Remember you’re interviewing them as much as they are interviewing you.
- Lastly, I agree with the thank you card suggestion. This is just one more way to differentiate yourself from other candidates. In this world of email, voicemail, texts and tweets who doesn’t like getting a hand written note these days?
Best of luck in the interview. Let us know how it goes.
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My go-to is usually some variation of:
“I haven’t had the opportunity to do that yet but I pick up new things quickly and I would love to learn.”
“I don’t know but I can find out.”
My personal strategy is to be very positive during an interview and if I have to say something negative (for example I don’t know) - to turn that around and end it on a positive note.
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For the phone interview, if you take notes, use a pencil/pen. Hearing a keyboard usually comes across as trying to google something. Those have been some of the most hilariously out of context answers. And usually we have googled our own question to know what is out there.
And I’ll second the bit on research the company, and ask intelligent questions. It shows an interest in the job, and an interest in learning.
One thing I often do is try to impart some knowledge on some of the questions they missed in the 1st interview. If they remember that at the second interview, it is easy points. If they have looked up other things they missed, and can answer now, that helps even more.
I will say, try to relax. It usually helps you understand and respond better when you are relaxed. If someone starts the interview stressed, I try to get them more relaxed and responding better, but it doesn’t help the first impression. If they start relaxed, and are doing good technically, I may see if I can induce a little stress, and see how they handle it. Though I have to be careful not to come off as someone they don’t want to work for.
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