Previously at Uber, Skyscanner, Skype/Microsoft. I love to help people grow and share what I learned. I write longer articles on software engineering at blog.pragmaticengineer.com.
Very nice post, thanks for sharing! All of this is great advice.
Interview Your Interviewer
As a long-time hiring manager, this is such a good tip! Not only do you get to learn more about the interviewer and the job, but you also get to stand out from the crowd. I would say less than a quarter of all candidates do this. This who do, I can tell are curious, focused and it makes for a much more interesting interview for both of us.
A good question that I very rarely get asked, but would recommend others to do is ”what is the thing you like the best and you dislike the most about what you do?”. You’ll be surprised at the type of honest answers you get.
One more tip I have is be excited/interested during this session. After understanding more about the company, position and team, reflect on what things sound exciting and make you especially interested. Again, from experience, many candidates focus purely on the “dry” questions and try to keep emotions in check, suppressing even the positive ones.
Share when you’re excited or pleasantly surprised! The hiring manager is looking for people who complement the team well and positive/curious/excited people always do.
Very nice post, thanks for sharing! All of this is great advice.
As a long-time hiring manager, this is such a good tip! Not only do you get to learn more about the interviewer and the job, but you also get to stand out from the crowd. I would say less than a quarter of all candidates do this. This who do, I can tell are curious, focused and it makes for a much more interesting interview for both of us.
A good question that I very rarely get asked, but would recommend others to do is ”what is the thing you like the best and you dislike the most about what you do?”. You’ll be surprised at the type of honest answers you get.
One more tip I have is be excited/interested during this session. After understanding more about the company, position and team, reflect on what things sound exciting and make you especially interested. Again, from experience, many candidates focus purely on the “dry” questions and try to keep emotions in check, suppressing even the positive ones.
Share when you’re excited or pleasantly surprised! The hiring manager is looking for people who complement the team well and positive/curious/excited people always do.
Those are awesome tips! Thank you for sharing!