The next stage will likely be a screening interview with the hiring manager. Here's how to prepare.
The job search screening process
As a hiring manager, I screen my final few candidates. I'd rather spend half an hour with them now and understand more about them than waste my colleagues' time later. I set a test and ask one question:
"Please tell me about the past, present, and future you, including why you're applying for this role."
It's a deceptively simple test. Within ten minutes, I can understand whether they can explain something clearly to others and how they construct a narrative. These are critical skills in today's market, and AI can't help you.
The perfect candidate takes about 15 minutes to complete the task. They work forward from the first relevant point in their lives to the present, summarising why they are applying and then explaining where they see themselves in five years. I have had several candidates take the full half hour on what they did fifteen years ago, and other candidates complete the task in fewer than five minutes, giving no hooks for further questions.
Taking around half the time gives space for a few questions and then for the candidate to ask a few questions themselves. These questions are just as telling as their life story. Good questions will centre on the role and what I'm looking for in the candidate, allowing them to modify their story to fit.
In each case where the candidate completes the task well, they progress to the full interview. I'm equipped with questions to ask, and they are equipped with the relevant qualities we're looking for to help shape their interview answers.
Your screening may play differently, but the purpose is the same - do I want to spend more time with you, and do I want to pull together a full suite of interviewers for the process when time is at a premium?
If selected for screening, the advice in the previous step applies, but additionally, ensure that you do your homework on the organization. Know them, their competitors and their industry because your hiring manager will.
The best way to do this is to subscribe to industry magazines and websites. Often, these are free. If you're staying in the same industry, perform a business model canvas analysis on the organization you're applying for and add to your notes for this opportunity. When you do this, you can answer questions from the hiring manager in a way relevant to them and their challenges.
Tip: From your perspective, this interview will likely be with someone with more knowledge of the role than your initial discussions. They will likely know the personalities, challenges, and unique skills you're looking for, so ask them. Ask why the interviewer is following a particular line of questioning. For example, an interviewer once asked how I managed projects going off-course. When I asked whether this was happening at their organization, he told me they were, and the interviewer gave me some examples, which I could then frame my response to. In this case, I moved to the next stage of the process.
Even if your interviewer doesn't open up, it pays to at least think about why you're being asked the questions or asked to discuss specific situations. These questions give more away about the organization than any research you'll do.
Secondhalfer tip: Remember, you're up against talented people still learning. They are interested, creative, and eager to learn new things. You must be curious and show you are keen to learn even if you've done what they need fifty times before. Nobody wants to spend a couple of hours with someone telling them how it's all simple or they should be doing things that way—even if it's true.
Finally, when asked if you have questions, you will want to know:
What the next steps are and
What does their ideal candidate look like in terms of skills, experience and style
As always, make notes while on the call (they can't see you) and refer back to them at the next stage. If you don't reach the next stage, ask for feedback. You won't always get it, but feed it back into the process when you do.
For example, if they tell you that your experience managing people doesn't come through, you can fix this in the next iteration of your CV and applications.
Navigation
Here are all the Project Job posts in order:
Comments