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Interview workshop.
An interview is a conversation where questions
are asked and answers are given.
It's that simple.
The word interview refers to a one on one conversation
with one person acting in the role of interviewer
and the other in the role of interviewee.
Now this is the definition straight out of
Wikipedia and everybody I'm sure knows how the
interview is conducted between two people.
The interview tips are the tips that I have put
together for you guys and those I personally think are
very important for you to keep in mind.
Number one is research the company
and understand the job description,
before you actually pick up the phone and have
an interview or actually go on site and have
an interview. Then make sure you are focused on
the question that they will ask you about.
Tell me about yourself.
This is a favorite question of every hiring manager.
So make sure you know how, that
you are going to answer this question.
Regardless of what type of job you go
to, they will always ask you this question.
This is their favorite question.
Now you also must have proper attire.
Of course for guys you should have suit and tie.
For ladies, a nice attire, business looking attire.
Back up your resume by giving real life example.
Now we are not talking about backing up
like a system backup or file backup.
We are talking about whatever you
have written in your resume,
make sure you back those up
by giving real life examples.
So if you have mentioned that you have done system
management of 1000 servers, put in an example like where
those thousand servers where, where are they located, what are
the different types of those servers were?
Look in the eye of hiring manager when you are sitting
in front of the hiring manager. If you're not on the
phone, make sure when you are talking to him or her
when you answer, you should look that person's in the eye
but not stare at them but back and forth.
You should have an eye contact.
Then of course the last but not
the least is sell, sell, sell.
You are there to sell yourself.
Think that in your head you are selling, just like as
if you are selling some aluminum siding or selling a car,
you are there to sell yourself.
So whichever way that you have to put it
in, you have to consider yourself as a product.
Now I'm going to go into more
details about interview workshop after this slide.
Usually the interview lasts for an hour.
You will get a call from the hiring manager
or you will be on site meeting with him.
Well, let's call the hiring manager in our scenario,
let's call him Russell.
Introduce yourself to everyone.
If there are more than one people, of course tell
them my name is Imran Afzal and thank you so
much for your time today for this interview.
The hiring manager Russell will
introduce himself or others
if there are more people on the interview panel.
Well the first five to ten minutes will be
utilized to give you the company overview.
Like what does the company do, how long
they've been in the market, what they have
done or what they have achieved.
Make sure to research the company
before you go for the interview.
This will tell that you are
interested and have done your homework.
Now the next thing Russell will
tell you about the job itself.
He will go over the quick description of the job,
what they're looking for, why they are looking for, the
number of people in their team and things like what
they will expect from the new person.
Or you, make sure you write this
part because this information will help you
answer according to the requirement.
For example, let's say if Russell mentioned that we
are looking for someone who's like a team player
or someone who could improve their documentation etc.
Then later you could say that you have
worked as a team or have done a lot
of system documentation and stuff like that.
So you can add that to your conversation.
If you are in person during the in person
interview then make like a mental note about this.
Before Russell start talking or start asking you questions,
he will mention about the interview process.
He will lay out how the interview will be conducted,
how much time will it be spent on the technical
questions, how much time will be spent on the behavior
questions, and then in the end there will be some
time for you to ask questions.
So explaining this interview structure is what I would say
a great hiring manager do to stay on track.
Okay, so all said, all done.
Now one of the most favorite question every hiring
manager asks and that is tell me about yourself.
You should take anywhere from let's say five
to ten minutes to answer this question.
Now this is the opportunity to sell yourself.
You should break down your answer in five categories.
Category one start by introducing yourself again by saying
again my name is Imran Afzal, and I'm Assistant
Engineer by profession or whatever your profession is.
My expertise are like Linux VMware,
Windows, technical training, project management,
so basically just a quick summary of your skills.
In category two of tell me about yourself,
you'll say, I have been working with the company,
let's call it Art Vandelay Industries for the last
so and so years as Assistant Administrator or whichever
your title was or have been the title. Okay.
So if you're not in IT then again really
quickly go over your day to day task.
But don't spend more than like 20 to 30
seconds on it because they don't want to know
a lot about what they are not looking for.
Focus more on the technical side.
For example, if you are in sales
and you're probably working on POS system.
So say POS system or sometimes you
troubleshoot technical issues related to It.
If you don't do any technical work, then
don't lie about it, don't make up things.
Move on to mention about your lab, how you started
and how many hours you have spent to learn, how
many hours you have spent each week to manage it.
You break it, you troubleshoot it at different issues.
Next, mention your previous job, if you had one.
Once again, go over a quick
summary of your daily tasks.
In category three of your tell me about yourself,
I would say after the experience,
tell Russell about your education background.
You should be proud of what you
have achieved in academics, which college you
went to, and what was your major.
If you majored in accounting or any other concentration
aside from computers, then now is the time to
tell why you decided to move to It.
Now in category four of tell me about yourself,
bring up your interest. Like on your spare time,
you like to play soccer, watch movies, help
around the house, and tell him what you
really enjoy doing in your spare time.
Next, and of course the last category that I
have defined in tell me about yourself is tell
Russell why you want to leave your current job
to apply for this job. Perhaps your contract with
the existing company is coming to an end.
Or you are looking for a career advancement where
you can apply for your technical skills or simply
want to start your career in It.
Mention about your documentation skills because
remember, he brought this point during
the initial conversation, right?
Ask yourself what is that one quality you
have that your competitor does not have,
and tell that to Russell.
Next one we have is why do you want to leave,
or what are you looking for in your next job?
Now we have covered this question in the
last one of our last category, but many
times hiring manager would include this question again
so you could rephrase what you have said.
Then the part start off behavioral questions.
These type of questions are one of the ways
for Russell to find out your personality, whether you
are the right fit for this environment or not.
It can take anywhere from like 15
to 20 minutes to answer them.
He will ask you questions like how
do you handle a difficult situation?
How do you meet your goal if you face an obstacle?
How do you handle difference of opinion.
These are the type of
questions that shows your behavior.
Now remember, you don't have to be in a corporate environment
or to have an IT job to answer these questions.
We face these type of challenges almost every day
with our family, with our friends, or even during
a situation which is like unrelated to any relationship.
For example, let's take an example.
Yeah, you are at the airport, right?
And you are given two options either wait for, actually you
missed the flight and so you have an option to either
wait for a second flight which will leave in 8 hours
from now, and I'll get you from point A to point
B, of course, in 2 hours, let's say.
Or you could rent a car and drive for 6 hours.
So which one option is better for you?
And why pick one on the other?
So think of a situation like
these and answer these questions accordingly.
I'm sure in your life you have faced
these three questions in your entire life.
I'm sure about it.
Okay, now becomes the technical part.
Now let the fun begin.
You will be asked technical questions back
and forth from 20 to 25 minutes.
Sometimes technical questions are made
up of a situation.
For example, what if you have to run a script
at night but you are not available at night?
How would you manage that?
See it's a situational question.
But if you answer by saying,
of course, you schedule the job. Okay.
So now once Russell and the team
done asking all the technical questions, now
it's your turn to return the favor.
Ask them questions like what is a
typical day looks like for this position?
Or if it is a contract position,
ask if there's a possibility to become permanent.
This will show that you are committed and how will you
measure the success of a person that they will hire.
Right? These are the type of questions that you should ask.
Now, of course, you don't have
to ask exactly what I said.
You could come up with your own
questions, of course, depending on your situation.
Now, before you say your goodbyes and shake
hands, you should say a closing statement.
So this is all about the
interview that I wanted to cover.
But at the end, before you leave, remember this
anything you should say that will stay with Russell
and will keep him reminding of you when he
is actually going through interviews with other candidates.
Now, you must be thinking, what could I say,
or what could that be?
Well, of course, it all depends on
you and what you are good at.
As an example, I've given you a few
examples so you will relate to them.
A few of the examples like,
before I leave, I want to say one thing
Russell, if you ask me something and I don't know
the answer, then I'll tell you I don't know.
But I promise you that I will work
on it and I'll get you the answer.
So this is like an example of what you could say.
Or another example that I have is, before
I leave, I want to say one thing.
I might not be the smartest or most technical
person, but one day I will make you proud
of your decision for hiring me. Right,
so this is the thing that I'll stay with them, right.
Okay. And I can give you another example.
Before I leave, I want to say one thing Russell.
I might not meet all the requirements for this
job, but I definitely being loyal to you and
will be there whenever you need me.
So even if you want to pick
out of these three, that's okay.
But make sure whatever you say stays with him.
Let me tell you a little secret about my career.
A long time ago, when I went for my
first job interview, the hiring manager met me, and
he actually hired me without asking any technical questions.
Now, keep in mind, I did not have any experience.
So anyway, I was hired.
So a few weeks later, I started my job.
I asked my manager a few days later,
why didn't you ask me any technical questions?
He's like when? I was like, when I came for the interview, okay.
So he stepped back and he looked at me and he
said, because of your attitude, I knew you were hungry
to learn and willing to do whatever it takes.
So what I learned that day, guys, that it's
not what you say, it's how you say it. So good luck.
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