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Greater Than Code

156: Authenticity in Interviewing with James Edward Gray II

01:30 - James’ Superpower: Spending time chasing his daughter and her robots around. Helping with her robotics club at school.

02:37 - “Just Be Yourself” is Terrible Advice

03:50 - What Are You Trying to Accomplish in the Interview

06:00 - Be Authentic: Which Parts of Yourself to Show

  • Be a Strong Communicator
  • Be an Avid Learner
  • Don’t be a Jerk

07:25 - Turn Your Interviewers into Your Advocates

12:42 - Technical Interviews

  • Saying “I Don’t Know” is OK

16:00 Interviewee as the Interviewer

  • Make Sure You Want to Work Here
  • Answer Questions Honestly

18:53 - Prepare for Common Interview Questions

  • Rephrasing Weakness

23:34 - Intrinsic Motivation

29:29 - Storytelling in the Interview

  • Being Confident in Your Accomplishments
  • Interviewers Explain Why You Are Asking the Question

37:15 - Management Techniques

45:00 - Why Technical Interviews are Challenging

Reflections:

John: Setting the context for being approachable as an interviewer is important.

Rein: Some of this advice works all the time, and some of this advice only works when you have been able to develop a personal connection with the interviewer/interviewee.

James: Think about if this is a place you want to work while interviewing.

Avdi: Turning your interviewer into your advocate can help them also be able to tell you if this place will be a good fit for you.

Jessica: It’s not just about being able to interview well as the interviewee, but we need to choose a company that can interview well too. Ask your personal contacts about what it is like to work at a certain company.

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Special Guest: James Edward Gray.

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