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What school failed to prepare us for
The title of this article is a question I found myself asking throughout the years as I have gone through many interviews and seen the many ways companies operate.
As you go through school you might even ask yourself, “Wait, hold on, how do I even get a job?” There lies the problem.
Let me tell you, you are not alone.
Even as you work through a few jobs, you will notice there are a bunch of different interview processes out there that you might come across. We expect our youth to just know how to get a job without having a clue of what to expect. I want this article to help prepare people.
The goal of this article is to help anyone on the search for a job, to make sure you feel prepared for what could be coming down the pipeline depending on where you are interviewing. I will even throw in some tips and tricks I found useful during each part of the interview process.
I always find comfort when I know how things are going to work and what to expect, and let me tell you, there is no better feeling than feeling that way about a job interview process.
So, let us clear that stress up and jump right into it!
“We would love to start the interviewing process. Are you open for a phone screening?”
First of all, congrats on getting to this step! I know you have all submitted hundreds of applications, so it feels great to hear back from a recruiter on that application. Let’s get this bread!
Welcome to stage one, I do not imagine there are many jobs out there that do not start with a phone screen as that has been the boiler plate starting point for every interview process that I have ever done. If I am mistaken, let me know in the comments an interview experience you have had (Get that comments section going 🙌).
This interview is super simple. Here is what to expect:
The recruiter will call you and ask you a bunch of qualifying questions. They ask these questions because they want to first confirm who you are and if you fit the general job description.
They will then go on to ask you to ask them questions you have about the role. Tip: Take full advantage of this time. This will not only show them you are excited about this opportunity, but it will also show that you came prepared with info on the role/company.
If all goes well it will start to feel as though you are chatting with the interviewer as you would a co-worker. This is good! You have broken down the wall of apprehension every recruiter has about new candidates.
They will then request to see if you are available for a full-on phone/video interview with them or another recruiter (if you are really trying to impress, stating first the desire to set up the next round of interviews is a great move).
Boom, next interview is on the docket. Way to go champ. Time to get ready for what could be ahead.
“We have you scheduled for a 30–60-minute call/video call with me and another recruiter”
You are reading that heading and thinking, “Wait I thought I already interviewed with the recruiting team, I thought I was going to be talking with someone new?”
Well, the piece of information I did not mention above was that phone screens usually are very short and do not include many interview questions. At least not enough to pass you along to the next stage quite yet. Do not worry, we will get you there.
In this hour-long video/call you will most likely be speaking with the original recruiter as well as probably another member of the recruiting team. Companies like to make sure a lot of people interact with potential new candidates to get a wide range of opinions on the candidate.
Here is what to expect is this round of interviewing:
This round will contain a lot more interview questions directly referencing your past work experience as it relates to this role you are applying for.
They will also ask you hypothetical questions about how you might deal with certain situations at work. It is best to answers these with specific examples of how you handled those situations in your previous jobs.
They also might ask you questions referring to why you would like to work at the specific company/in this role. This is a great time to bring out all your research you have done on the company beforehand.
Lastly, they will open the floor to you to ask questions you may have. Have questions prepared plus questions you thought of on the fly as you processed what they talked about in the interview. I know it is hard to remember sometimes, but you are interviewing them too. You need to know whether this company is right for you, so make sure you ask them the tough questions as well.
This will conclude the interview. This is, as I refer to, the crux of the interview process. Crux is a term they use in rock climbing that is used to describe the hardest part of the climb (Look, you learned something totally random just then!)
The interviewer will probably say something along the lines of, “We will follow up about next steps.”
Sometimes you will hear even less or sometimes you will even secure an interview time right there on this call.
But if you are subscribed to The In-Between Newsletter, you definitely secured the next round of interviews, so let’s move on to the next stage!
“We would like you to meet the team that you would be working with”
Welcome to the longest part of the interview process. I know, I know you are already two interviews deep and you thought it was all downhill from here. Well start peddling as this step is important to do well in.
This part of the interview process will be drastically different depending on what role you are applying for and what company. I will make this section easy however and give everyone a high-level breakdown of how this stage will probably go.
What to expect:
You will probably be set up for multiple back-to-back in-person or video call interviews with different members of the team you will be working with. Usually, a manager, a person that is not your manager but could be assigning you work, and usually another higher up of some kind.
It will be a similar format to what you experienced in the last round in terms of questions, but what will be different is these people will have the notes from the last round in order to give more detailed questions as it relates to the role. This is where you will talk more “shop,” as they say, because the difference between the recruiters and the team is the recruiters do not actually work in the roles this potential team does. So, prepare yourself for this round to be a little more technical in nature depending on the job.
A great tip I tell everyone is that personality will shine through in this stage. If you are smiling, eager to learn, and have a great attitude about the process, I can guarantee they will inherently like you as a candidate more. That does not take away from the skills of the role, so study up, and make sure you have applicable examples of how you can help the company and succeed in this role.
Once you have gone through the multiple rounds within this one stage it will be coming down to crunch time. Some jobs have more rounds, some have less.
So, what is next?
Next & Final Steps
You have done the heavy lifting, and now the company is conferring to determine whether to offer you or not. In this stage they might reach out to you and ask for some follow up information or have more questions. This is a great time to re-state things that will be helpful for their decision.
Then, sometimes before or after the offer, they will request you do complete a background check. Which is very standard across just about any job.
And then all the sudden… Boom! You get the best email ever stating they would like to offer you the position at their very company!
You have done it! Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment.
Onward & Upward
As you can see the interview process can be long and have many different variations to it, so it is best to always be prepared. I hope this article taught you something and gave you that feeling of preparedness.
Now, before you sign that offer letter, make sure you negotiate and compare the salary to other roles within the industry. Maybe I should give you my insights on wage negotiations? 🤔
Nah, we will save that for next time. Give you something to look forward too.
Cheers!
Ep. 18 Wait, How Many Stages Are in the Job Interview?