Advice on Interviewing

I’m hiring again and so I wanted to share some advice for anyone diligent enough to find this blog.  As time passes, and this post moves further down into the archives, I’ll be even more impressed if someone can subtly show they’ve done their digging before we meet.

So, here’s my advice when applying to jobs / interviewing (with me), that I think will also hold true across most companies / hiring managers.

• Show you care about this job.  Connect with me on LinkedIn when you apply, or find my email online and shoot me a note on what interests you about the job.  3-5 thoughtful sentences is sufficient, no need to write a book.  You’ll be in the top 5% of applicants right off the bat!
• Make me think.  I’m a curious person who loves to learn.  If you can tell me something that you’ve learned that I probably don’t know, and share it in a logical way, you’ve won me over.  Think about what you have an insider’s take on and try to weave it into the conversation.
• This is a pro tip I kind of wish wasn’t true, but flattery will get you everywhere in life.  Interviews are no different.  Show you’ve done your research, tell the interviewer they’ve got an interesting background and why.  Ask for advice.  Tell them you read their blog and found XYZ interesting.
• Be yourself.  Interviews are like doctor appointments to some extent.  Be honest and open so that both sides can assess fit.  Don’t take a job that’s a bad fit.
• Don’t let nerves hold you back.  I’m going to be a hypocrite here as I definitely allow anxiety to dictate my abilities sometimes.  That said, please don’t be nervous, I’m usually a pretty nice person and promise not to be too tough 🙂
• The most important thing is to bring 1-2 ideas that are relevant to the business that we aren’t doing yet.  What would you do, why do you think it’s a good idea, how do we lean test this, what does success/failure look like?

Here are the things I’m trying to hire for (more or less in this order):

• Personality – Are you someone who’s enjoyable to be around, with high ethical standards and a “get to” perspective?
• Growth mindset – Can you learn fast and get over failure?  Do you want to get better and seek out feedback?
• Work ethic – Are you willing to do the hard (and very unglamorous) work required to succeed?
• Rational – Do you think logically through problems in a balanced way?  Can you reason, and be reasoned with?  Are you a rambler or a clear thinker?
• Zest – Are you excited about the things that you do in life?

Tactics you should use:

• Write a thoughtful cover letter.  Don’t send a form cover letter, what is the point?  Just write 3-5 sentences about why you want to work at my company / with me.
• Make sure your resume is close to perfect.  Not typos, consistent formatting, etc (get an investment banking analyst or corporate lawyer to look at it).  Please include your GPA if you graduated in the last 10 years.
• For a video call – use your computer (not phone), dress biz casual or formal (shave if you’re a guy, don’t wear a t-shirt or hoodie!), make sure you’re in a quiet place with decent lighting, try to find a room without tons of mess behind you.  Make eye contact.
• Write a thank you note after we chat within 24 hours.  2-5 sentences on stuff that stood out to you, and why you’d want to move forward with this opportunity.  In a startup you have to hustle the extra bit to succeed – most people write “Thanks for the time!” and usually get the response “You too, we’re moving forward with another candidate, sorry.”
• If I give you a project to do, please push back if it’s going to take more than 60 mins unless we are paying you for it.  I don’t want to create an arduous interview process and sometimes need some feedback.
• Don’t feel like you have to ask questions at the end of the interview if you don’t have any that you care about.
• Ask for feedback if you want it.  I’ll usually tell you what’s on my mind (good and bad – please don’t ask if you don’t actually want to hear anything bad…also bad feedback doesn’t mean you’re out of the process, I’m just offering it so you can get better).
• Being on time is 1 minute away from being late.  1 minute late is almost always a deal breaker.
• Show that you’ve done your research on our company, myself, the industry, etc.

Ironically, I think anyone who finds this post probably doesn’t need 90% of this advice.  However, if it makes one high aptitude person more prepared for an interview so we can better assess one another – I’m glad I wrote it 🙂