More interview tips…
I know as SQL Server / IT pros we tend to focus our interview efforts on our technical proficiency. Having been on many interview panels, I can say this - by the time you’ve sat through a phone screen, a SQL Server test, and finally you’ve been brought in for interview, we already know that you have the technical skills to do the job and what we’re looking for is the right fit for the team.
I may ask you some harder questions on my chosen subject, I may challenge you about some of the answers you have given for the technical test, I may interrogate you about why you left a perfectly good job. The aim here is not to prove that I’m right and you’re wrong, it’s to see how you handle the situation. Can you argue your case persuasively and confidently, can you think on the spot, how do you react when your views are challenged?
I use the dialog that we have to get some idea of how you might be to work with and what your attitudes are. Exactly what the right attitudes are can be hard to tell, but I can tell you what they aren’t! Here are some of the reason’s why I might have questions about a person’s suitability for my team. What often surprises me is that candidates fail on some of these before they’ve even met me…
Too much honesty
One candidate when asked why he’d like to work for a client’s company thought it appropriate to say that he was looking forward to working with lots of pretty girls… I think you can guess how their interview went.
We’re not pub buddies
Others have talked to me in interviews as though they were sharing a beer with me in the pub. Using bad language, or slang. Telling me that you’re tired after heavy night out is not the kind of conversation that I want to have with a prospective employee. In an interview I want to see a professional manner. I’m not your buddy, I’m scrutinising your every behaviour. If you can’t adjust your conversational language according to this situation, how will you manage if I put you in front of a client or the CTO?
Bad body language
There is a lot to be said about body language. I know it’s one of those things that may have nothing to do with your ability, but it does make a difference in interview. You may have no interest in the fact that this company has a discount on its products for employees, but if you want the job you’ll act interested. That means don’t slouch. Don’t gaze out the window. Don’t cross your arms, it comes across as defensive.
Defensive or confrontational
If we disagree on a technical point, I don’t mind. There is a chance that I’m mistaken. But what does concern me is if a candidate cannot get their point across without raising their voice or getting frustrated. In my teams it is always important that technical staff can speak to anyone within the business whether they’re technical people or not. There will be business people who will pressurise you, customers who want more than you can give or team members that disagree with you. If you can’t handle this, then you’re not going to be someone that’s right for my team.
Turn your phone off
I think that leaving your phone on during in an interview is bad form. But it’s possible you may have forgotten to turn it off. If this is the case and someone does call, don’t be tempted to answer it. Send it straight to voice mail, then turn your phone off.
One cannot not communicate
Paul Watzlawick, a famous communication theoretician said that you cannot not communicate and this is just as true in interview as it is in any other social situation. If you turn up in a scruffy suit, you are communicating. If you are reading a tabloid newspaper in the lobby, you are communicating. If you pull up to the car park in a pimped out car, you are communicating. You get the idea. Like it or not people make judgements about you whether or not you open your mouth. It’s important to project the right image for the job you want.
What do you think? What tips would you give to a prospective employee?