How to Prepare for a Cultural Interview
Tags: webdev, beginners, career, codenewbie
Published: 2022-04-14 15:13:54

Whether you love 'em or hate 'em, interviews are part of the job hunting game. Personally, I find they run the gamut. They can be great opportunity of making connections and gaining insight into an exciting opportunity. Or they can be the most awkward and anxiety inducing half hour of your whole life. To make sure you have the best interview, I've compiled a few tips for job hunters that I've gained from my own experience. Hope they help!

1. Do your research: Take time to look up the company you are applying for to understand their mission, what their services are, and why you are interested in working there. The last reason may seem redundant but it's important for the recruiter to understand where your passions lie and what you can bring to the table as a candidate. 

The size of the company has a huge impact on how you conduct your research. Researching bigger companies can yield a larger output of information from resources like Fishbowl, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, etc. But what if you're applying for a start up? Sometimes a smaller company will attach a video about the company to their interview invitation along with their site. Take the time to watch the video and peruse their site. 

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Go through their site and take note at what stands out to you. How is the responsiveness of their site? Does their interface make sense? Is it accessible? Does the routing make sense? Are things stylistically obstructed? 

In conversation, the interviewer will refer to the company site in one way or another. They will even flat out ask about your impression of the site or if there should be any enhancements. Having some notes about the site indicates an attention to detail and that you took time of your day to properly research the company.

When I was applying for a job, the position was for a start up. I was in the midst of the interview process where my next interview would involve meeting the founder of the company. I knew I wanted to make a good impression but was limited in the amount of information I had. I immediately went to youtube and found interviews with the founder and began watching them all. I was able to learn more about the founder's background and access a deeper understanding behind why he started the company. 

The more I learned, the more excited. I found a lot similarity that the founder and I shared in art and tech. Understanding their own background also generated questions I had for them just out of mere interest. So when the time came to meet them, I was pleased to say I made a good impression. I was not only about to explain answer the questions that were asked of me, but I had come to the interview with my own personal question about them, their background, and the founding of the company. The interview felt more like a conversation, and I was lucky to have the fortune of meeting them.  

 
2.Review your resumé: The recruiter might have your resumé in front of them or they might expect you to fill them in on your background. Either way, it's a good idea to remember a brief but informative summary on your background and technical skills. This can be as simple as explaining how you got into the tech field, what you're passionate about, and the languages you specialize in. 

When I'm telling my story to a recruiter, I try to shake off the nerves and remember why I'm here interviewing in the first place. They want to know you as a person, not just the profile printed on a resumé. I know the skills I bring to a team and the potential I have as a developer to grow even more. Remembering the unique perspective of your insight and skills can help you in showing the recruiter your best authentic self. 

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3.Research the recruiter: When preparing for an interview, the recruiter will usually be given to you by name. Depending on the size of the company, you might be interviewed by someone who is an engineer, CTO, or even a potential coworker. Looking someone up via LinkedIn and understanding their title can help gauge the type of questions you could be asked and gain better insight about the work dynamic. 

Often times, I will be interviewed by two people who are from different departments. In this case, the job I'm applying for will probably involve collaboration between those departments. So it is important that I understand their roles and how they interact with the role I'm applying for. 

Understanding the dynamics of the people who interview you can prevent you from making silly errors and distract you from asking questions. 

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This leads me to my next tip! 

4.Ask questions: 
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I try to come into every interview with a handful of questions off the bat. I'll write them down and have them in front of me in case I blank out from anxiety. My questions are usually involve general topics and validation for the role I'm interested in such as :

- What is the tech stack for this position?

- What is the work dynamic? (i.e. will I be my own department? Will I work within a team? Who will I be working with on a day to day basis?)

- What does onboarding look like?

- What does a day in the life of a (job position) look like at (company name)?

In the introductory stage of the conversation, these questions will normally be answered for the most part. This allows me to go deeper with my questioning like following up on a detail from the job posting or questions on topics that matter personally like: 

- How does the company value mental health in the office?

- How is a healthy work/life balance promoted?

- Tell me about the opportunities for mentorship.

Having questions on hand indicate that you're actively listening and interested in the position. It also shows you're not there to listen to a run down of a job listing, but rather, going out of your way to make a connection by showing your own interests and topics that matter to you in the work place. 

5.Don't be afraid to ask the recruiter or interviewer questions: To stand out as a candidate, a good option is to ask the recruiter questions about the company from their own experience. If I'm feeling daring enough, I will ask a recruiter why they chose to work where they are. Or what they like about the company the most. If I'm being interviewed by a staff member, I will ask them what they love most about working at the company. Or even the opposite: what's the toughest part of their role. 

The answers that you can receive can make you gleam a lot about how happy the employees are and what the work dynamic can be from their perspective. 

6.The wild card question: Every now and then, once everything has been said, an interviewer will throw in a few personal questions. These can come as a surprise because you're so focused on making a good impression, that you can forget the simplest and most personal facts about you like your favorite phone app or your favorite book. Questions like these are often at times asked for a recruiter to understand your own passions and to even see if you're mindful of the tech you use. Here are a few usual and a few wild card questions I've been asked so far:

- What's your favorite book?

- Why do you want to work in tech?

- What are you working on now?

- What is your favorite project you've worked on and why?

- What does your set up look like (do you use extra monitors? What's the brand of your keyboard? Any extra technical set up?)


The following are a bit more technically mindful:

- What is a favorite site of yours and why?

- What is your favorite app on your phone and why?

- Mac or Android (and why?)

There isn't a wrong answer to any of the three questions I just listed. You may be asked this because the recruiter wants to know if you're aware of the tech products you're using and if you're using your technical background to understand why you're using them. They want to see if you can list any features that stand out to you, or even identify how you can personally recreate them or enhance them. They want to see if you're paying attention to tech, where your interest lies, and that you have your hand on the pulse of what's new and innovative.

Conclusion:
  As a web developer with an interest in mainly frontend engineering, the questions I receive may vastly differ from the questions a backend engineer may receive. It is why I properly titled this post "How to prepare for a cultural interview". I knew I couldn't speak to all experiences such as technical interviews and or even all cultural interviews because not one company has the same interviewing process. Which means you can't fully prepare for an interview which is why they're so scary. They involve you to think on your feet while showcasing the best side of yourself which can be daunting. But if you put aside time to look into the company, and come to the interview with questions, it is natural that your authentic self will break through. Because you've done the work to get where you are to be in that interview. And at the end of the day, it's never one sided. You are also interviewing them to see if the position is the right fit for you. 

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