I've spent the last few weeks building a mock interview grader, which meant reading a lot of practice answers and watching how a rubric scores them. I assumed long, wandering answers would be the main problem. They weren't.

The lowest scores went to answers that stopped right before the result. They'd set up the situation nicely, the team, the deadline, what was at stake, and then end with "so yeah, we got it done." There's nothing in that last line an interviewer can write down.

Second worst was "we". "We migrated the service" tells them your team did something. They're hiring one person, so they need to hear which part was yours. So here ME goes from TEAM 😃.

The weakness question surprised me most. "I'm a perfectionist, I care too much about getting things right" scored around 10 out of 100. There's simply nothing in it to grade: no example, nothing you did about it, no result. "I used to avoid hard feedback, so I set up weekly one-on-ones and had three tough conversations last quarter" scored in the 80s. It isn't a more flattering weakness. It just has an action and an outcome.

Honest caveat: the grader is an AI model, so the same answer can move a few points between runs. The order never flipped, though.

The fix that held up in testing was boring. Write the last sentence of the story first, with a number or a decision in it. If you can't, pick a different story.

People often push to say it’s a team effort but remember in the interview it’s always about you the discussion is about .

Working on something that helps in prep and in resume modification. Will keep you posted , need an opinion do you feel these kind of tools help you?

Quick background: I applied to a payments role at a fast-growing startup. After a video interview, I was invited to an on-site, about 6 hours shadowing different team members, trying out their tools, and a quick chat with the CEO. Then I waited about a week, followed up twice, and today the coordinator invited me back for a 3-day paid work trial next week, 8 to 3 each day, with a contract.
For anyone who's done a work trial:
Did it end in an offer for you?
What did they actually have you do?
What helped you stand out, and what would you do differently?
Any red flags I should watch for?
Any advice is appreciated!

Is there any common signals at interview which we can know as a rejection or acceptance?

I did an interview recently with about 75min. Kind of conversational, said HR will contact me in about 2 weeks, but no response in a week.

Thanks!

I had an informal interview over lunch with a company and thought it went well. After a week and a half I had not heard anything so I reached out to a friend that is high in the company and he said they thought the interview went well but they were turned off by the fact that I would allow my current employer to counter. Why wouldn't I? I made it very clear that I was happy in my current role and if they wanted me it the compensation would have to be great. They had no issues with this but it sounds like the counter Offer was a deal breaker. Anyone else had issues like this?

I had a second round interview last week for a job I wanted badly, and after obsessively stalking this sub afterward I thought I was done for. I thought I expressed myself well during the interview, but the interview only lasted around 20 minutes, they barely asked me any follow-up questions, they didn’t show me around the office, and there wasn’t really any talk of concrete next steps with HR or anything (all terrible signs according to this sub). Even so, today they called and offered me the job! They said I was an extremely strong candidate and it was an “easy choice”, so I guess the efficiency and brevity of the entire process ended up being a good sign, despite what everything you read online would have you think.

Just wanted to share some good news amidst all the doom and gloom.

So, this sub was a huge help for me after the company i worked for went bankrupt and i was job hunting for 4 months. I actually ended up with two job offers, and am now 7 weeks into my new job i wanted to pay back by giving advice from what i learned.

Note: Job is retail - corporate level

So, first, your resume. The thing you'll read over and over again is to personalize your resume for each posting. The other thing i kept reading was for your resume to not just say what you did, but what the impact was.

With regards to those two, I definitely updated my resume to read things like: managed X amount of people, hit inventory targets of $X Million, etc. I also added a full page of my biggest projects to my cover letter. However, I did NOT personalize each resume. I got it to a point where I was happy with it, and just changed the name of the company and position I was applying for on the cover letter. I'd say i ended up with. 10% success rate on landing an interview, which i thought was decent for how things are.

The screener interview: Generally speaking, this should be an easy interview. Assuming you are suitable for the job, just be personable. Be ready to give a brief history of your career, and to answer why you're applying for this specific job. Seem excited. Have basic questions about the company, but not technical stuff. They won't know the answer.

The REAL interviews: I went through 3 rounds with 5 different people at one company and 2 rounds with 3 people at the other. BE PREPARED!!! what does this mean? I have a blog i found which has 50 questions, and how to answer them. That doesn't mean your answers should be canned. It means you have given thought to what you want to talk about. Example: How would you handle a stressful situation? Know what you want to talk about to answer that question. Think of things you've done in the past.

Everyone says STAR method, and i get it. But you will sound like a robot. Make it work for you, the way you really speak. I cannot stress this enough: you need to sound like a human. The best piece of advice i got for how to handle yourself in an interview is to be conversational. Example: what is your history with excel? Answer: I'm very good at excel because xyz. What kind of systems do you use there? This way you are getting information, learning about their pain points, and you can highlight how you can help.

Smile, laugh, have fun. That may sound silly or obvious depending on your perspective, but it makes the interviews go by a lot smoother and you leave a good impression. Chances are you're competing with plenty of people who have the skills. Have the personality to stick out.

Dont be afraid to open with something conversational. It's first thing on a Monday? Hi, how are you. How was your weekend? Nobody will dock you points for being sociable.

Some of my favourite answers that stick out: what is your 90 day plan? I'd spend 30 days analyzing the situation, what works what doesn't. 30 days planning what could be done to help improve. Spend the last 30 days implementing.

How would you deem yourself successful after 6 months? People would come to me to ask for help, asking for advice.

Lastly for the interviews: have questions ready!! Write doesn't 2 or 3 before the interview, but keep thinking during the interview if there are more. The question i kept in my back pocket that I liked was " what kind of skills would you expect the successful applicant to have?" After the answer i'd point out how i fit those skills.

Last point on negotiation. Dont be afraid to ask for more, but be reasonable. You're not going to get 50% more than the offer, but maybe an extra week of two of vacation. Maybe benefits start on day 1, instead of after 3 months. Be respectful, and be ready to take a no, but ask.

Good luck everybody, you got this!

I’m unable to clear interviews.
Getting nervous very quickly.
End up stuttering a lot.
Every interview I’m giving is ending up on a different note than what I expect.
Just what should I do to clear tech interviews?

Interviewed at a start up for a SWE job. Made it to the final round onsite. I made it clear from the beginning I will be out on travel for a few days, and the recruiter said “we like to move fast”. When I asked if I can schedule the onsite for a week after my last round, they just went silent and said they’ll have to see what they can do (they wanted me onsite the same week). Genuinely didn’t know what to do. I cut my trip short to fly out to the onsite instead.

I do the onsite, it’s an 8 hour onsite. During the onsite the CSO asks me questions in a really rude manner, almost yells at me when I ask for clarification, with gestures like holding his finger up to shush me, talks over me when I’m trying to answer. The entire onsite is also just a weird vibe, all the employees are giving me weird looks I genuinely thought I had something on my face. There’s only one engineer, the hiring manager, that was genuinely nice and interested in what I had to say.

However after the first round they ask me to leave so they can discuss. They invite me back and tell me I’m getting sent home. They offer to share feedback. They say:

They expected more from me. Given my YOE it seemed like the work I’ve done was not what they’d expect from someone at my level. The projects I worked on didn’t seem meaningful. (Which btw, I prefaced I work on sensitive projects and cannot share impact or specific implementations. They kept asking stuff that was near proprietary level and on things that my current company does that I don’t work on. So often I had to answer by saying “I cannot answer that”). They also said they were concerned by the fact my projects never “went anywhere”. I just work on what I’m given, I’m not responsible for what happens with what I’m built.

I appreciated their transparency on why they decided the send me home. But I am not quite sure how to take this to improve myself on other interviews. Because as far as I know I passed the initial technical and behavioral rounds and didn’t even get to the technical portions at the onsite.

I ended up being stranded in the area of middle of nowhere bc my flight back wasn’t for another 8 hours. Sat with that feedback for a bit and decided to take a break from interviewing because this was a long and grueling process and unsure what I learned from the experience.

it’s going to be 30 minutes with people from my first interview, a 40 minute written assessment and some
math, then a 30 minute meeting with the whole team.

it’s for an IT business analyst position so i guess they’re just checking my competence and stuff but do you think that’s a good thing? i’m also not sure who else they’re going to interview- but two hours seems like a long interview lol

Hi guys,

I recently got laid off on Oct 5th due to restructuring and got put in a 1 month holding period until Oct 30th when I’ll officially be unemployed. Prior to being laid off, I was actually interviewing for an internal position with a hiring manager who originally gave me an offer of a near identical role last year. Ironically, I chose the counteroffer role that I’m currently being laid off from. So, the current standing is that I just finished the final case interview where I thought I did pretty well on and the hiring manager said they’ll make the final hiring decision by the end of the week.

I am currently in a crossroads regarding whether or not I should tell the hiring manager that I got laid off BEFORE she makes the final hiring decision. The other option is to tell her after she makes the decision, if I get the offer. The third option is to not mention it at all, but I don’t think that’s a valid option due to dishonest nature of it and the truth would eventually come out. So here are the pros and cons I thought of if I disclosed my layoff before and after the hiring manager makes the final decision:

Disclose Layoff Before Decision:

Pro: Garner compassion. I know this might be laughable in this current job market but she did give me an offer last time around and I thought I did pretty well during my multi-interview rounds. The Hiring manager does seem to be the compassionate type. When I received the offer last year, she said she wanted to help me get my foot into a more senior role in a tough job market. Also, she actually fought really hard to maximize my package when she offered me a role last year, so I feel like she values me.

Con: Raising a red flag as a reason to choose another candidate, especially if this a competitive talent pool

Disclose Layoff After Offer (If Applicable):

Pro: No biased impact of initial hiring decision

Con: The hiring manager could rescind the offer if she thought I wasn’t being transparent enough. However, this has the same effect of me disclosing it beforehand, and having me eliminated.

My thought is that the hiring manager would know I got laid off sooner or later if I was the successful candidate so right now, I’m trying to determine if the pros outweigh the con if I were to disclose my layoff before her decision. Does sympathy in this context outweigh the layoff stigma? What would you recommend? Thanks

Just had my final in person interview for a role that’s had an extensive application process; it only lasted around 20 minutes but it felt natural and flowed well, and they let me ask an extensive amount of questions.

For context, I had just completed a virtual interview with the same individuals this past Friday. This has been a pretty involved process with the recruiter they used for the role; about five steps of screenings, questionnaires, time trial projects and a virtual interview with today’s in person being the final step. Am I reading into it too much?

Did an interview today for a finance role with a government contractor and they said they’re wrapping up other interviews this week. They said I should know if I get an offer next week. Now to patiently wait

I had a first “ interview “ with a company and both side exclaimed excitement and confidence with the results. I went ahead to try and get my second interview scheduled with their senior

my message read: “would it be at all possible to schedule for sometime after the 21st? I completely understand if this isn't possible.”

Their response: “Ok, I'm rescheduling you for Wednesday, October 21 at 1:30 pm PT.”

My response: “I am available on October 22 or any day after October 21st, I apologize.”

I received no response to that, so after a couple days I reached out over email, instead of text, to make sure that we reschedule it for a day I am actually available. Again, no response. So I text the day after that, one last time to try and clear this scheduling conflict. I message the individual I had my first interview with, just to see if there is maybe they have a better way of reaching the second interviewer or if they can reach out on my behalf, again no response. I have an iPhone so this whole time, I can see my text messages being read and not replied to.

Well, today was the day, and I was sitting in an MRI machine only to be told my phone is buzzing in the locker I left it in. They are calling. Obviously I cannot answer, I am locked in a machine, in which I cannot answer my phone. Obviously I’m upset because I did everything in my power to try and resolve this before the issue arose, and was unheeded entirely. Now they are “giving” me ten minutes to call them back, and I’m drafting my rejection.

Am I a dumb 20 year old, or is this as heinous as it feels?

Interviewed for a position at a small company (30-40 employees in total). Went through initial screening, first interview and second interview. Did decently on all of them. That last interview (the second interview) was with a CCO and other lead and it was on Oct 19 Monday. Sent them a thank you email on Tuesday. Still nothing. Dying since this is the dream company.

I had a first round interview early last week with a recruiter but getting nervous cause I haven’t heard back. Is it too early to reach out for an update since it’s officially been 5-6 business days? I feel it went well but who knows.

Edit. I have mail tracking and saw they opened my thank you email several times since I sent it.

I had several interviews recently where the initial call (screening) I was asked the normal interview questions and then the later rounds I was with hiring managers who just explained what the job position was. The only question I was asked was would I be comfortable doing XYZ. I still managed to shoot myself in the foot by barging in and trying to tell them a little bit about me but it still seemed to go well.

This seems strange since I'm used to being grilled. Are they using me for practice or are they just pretending to be interested just to get through the process? The interviews were only a couple of days ago and both jobs take a couple days to get back.

Have you experiend an interview where they do most of the talking like they're trying to sell you on the position more than anyhting and still got the job?

I have an in-person possibly final interview at an early stage startup tomorrow. I've been preparing for two days now on how to present/pitch their own product back to them.

I feel I'm pretty well prepared as far as content and plan of action goes. Any tips on how to stay chill and nail it? I've been working remotely for such a long time, this feels a bit jarring although it's right up my alley and it's a sales motion I've done for over 6 years.

I normally crush job interviews, so this most recent experience really feels like a blow to my self esteem.

After months of looking for a full time position I finally got an interview. To say I was elated would be an understatement. I was the perfect candidate for the position and it was aligned with everything I sought from culture, mission, and benefits.

Leading up to the interview I studied all the technical information I would expect them to ask. I got an email when I confirmed the appointment that the interview panel would consist of 3 people: HR, the positions direct supervisor, and another department head. Since I wanted to be prepared to look good in front of all three, I wrote some insightful questions about how my position would interact with these three (given I had the chance to ask).

During the interview, my nerves got the better of me. I got thrown off a bit since the HR department didnt have anyone present. No big deal.

Then I was really confused because the two department heads conducting the interview wasnt sure which position I was interviewing for.

Ultimately, my biggest downfall was it seemed that they hadn't looked at either my cover letter or my resume. I expected my experience and work history to really be my biggest selling point. I tried to be personable and give direct answers that bounce off the position responsibilities in the listing. But I left out so much stuff. I even messed up some of the easy questions by talking too much without really answering. Just a lot of awkward silence towards the end.

I could tell by their demeanor and air that I would not be expecting an email with a positive confirmation for the job. Which just really hurts....

I know I'd be the perfect fit for the role. I just had a bad interview. I was too nervous. I wish I could just get a do over.

I really needed this job. I have a kid on the way, and my girlfriend and I need a new place before the semester ends in December. My part time gig isn't making ends meet. The pressure to provide for us is really weighing on me. I just.... really wanted a win... :(

Company has stated that this position is in demand, so I'm a optimistic. It will be a group interview. Hopefully they don't try to bust my balls and weed me out lol.

The recruiter called me after the end of the final round to ask how it went. She then proceeded to ask if I was okay with a certain salary before I requested 10k more. The price is still within the range; in fact, it's quite in the middle, but now I'm just afraid I busted my chances.

The interview went great, however. Fast forward a week later, and the recruiter said more interviews are being held, but that I'm still under consideration.

I’m a product manager interviewing for a senior product manager role. In all of my roles, I’ve made it clear I do not code. I am advanced at gathering and writing requirements, working with SE’s to convey what those requirements are, and working with stakeholders to determine release timelines, QA testing and UAT, etc. i have about 8 years experience doing this.

I just got an interview for a senior product manager role for a govt. agency and the first interview is with Senior Software Engineer and Solutions Architect. Job posting did not say anything about coding, but this seems odd for first interview. Am I screwed? Looking for feedback.

Hi everyone,

My company is going through restructuring and cutting several positions, including mine. They opened a few new roles, and I was encouraged to apply for one (higher grade), being told I was one of two main candidates.

The timeline is moving fast. I applied, and my interview is tomorrow. However, I’ve now learned from
sources that they are interviewing 5 to 6 people total, including two internal employees who already have safe roles and in the same team of this role but are seeking a promotion.

Since I’m scheduled as the last interview of the day, I'm wondering: Is being the final candidate a disadvantage and is 30 mins really fair?

A few details:

-One of the hiring managers knows my work well.
-Multiple leaders have reached out to vouch for me.
- I am also in 2 talent pools.
-I’ve already sent them a 90-day plan, budget analysis, and mockups.

Thank you for your advise.