When someone asks you the question “Tell me about yourself?” This is an icebreaker question and is only meant to get the conversation going.
Recount your current role, pick two or three key responsibilities and technologies, and relate them to the job you are interviewing for.
Essentially, you want to give someone your “elevator pitch” about your current role and list some of the technologies you work with that also relate to the role.
When interviewing for a job role, some people tend to get nervous, speak quickly and at a higher pitch than normal.
During an interview, make a conscious effort to slow down your speed of speech. This will give you time to formulate your response. If you talk too fast, it’s easy to lose your train of thought.
When you get behavioral questions, such as "Tell me about a time?" or "Give me an example?", stick to the CAR acronym.
This stands for Circumstance, Action, Result.
In your response, you want to describe the CIRCUMSTANCE or situation, explain the ACTION you took, and detail the RESULT of your action using specific examples. Using the CAR acronym will help keep you on track when answering questions and keep your responses to the point.
Two of the best interview questions you can ask are:
“Hypothetically speaking, if I secure the role, what are some of the first tasks and projects you would assign to me?”
“Can you tell me about some of the tasks and projects the current team is working on?”
These questions will determine the specific tasks that the role will require the candidate to be responsible for. This is the perfect opportunity to explain how you may have had experience doing similar tasks.
It always helps to be prepared for an interview.
Do your research on the company and make sure you can explain what they do in one sentence. Preparing also means knowing about yourself and your career.
We recommend coming prepared with at least two recent projects you’ve worked on that relate to the role you’re interviewing for and two recent technical challenges you’ve overcome.
When you get the question “What are you looking for in regards to salary figures?”, make sure you give one number. Don’t give a range or tell them what your friend down the street is earning. It's a simple question and requires a simple answer.
It’s also worth knowing who you're talking to. If you’re talking to a recruiter, don’t focus on low-level, in-depth technical responses to questions.
If you’re meeting with a technical person, don’t talk at a high level. Get down into the nitty-gritty details.
As a final piece of advice, don’t interview for your next job role; have a conversation.
Ask questions about the problems, projects, and challenges the team and organization are facing and focus on how your skills and experience can help them resolve these issues.
