3 Valuable Lessons From My Worst Interviews

“It’s been five minutes. You still have not thought of an answer?”

Interview One

My interviewer is Raymond, and we are holding a phone interview.

It was impromptu, but he politely asked if I was okay to have the interview. I mouthed a ‘Yes’ and he asked the usual what do you do in your current position. I answer, hitch-free. We make small talk. Then he asked ‘How do you increase the net pay of an employee without increasing the gross?’ I freeze. He says take your time. Let’s talk about your other duties while you think about that. Five minutes later, he goes ‘You still have not thought of an answer?’ To which I stutter an ‘I feel so blank.’

From his sigh, I knew that was the end of the road for that application. He asked about my expected income and ended the call.

Lessons Learned

• If an interviewer calls at a bad time, do not feel pressured to oblige them. You can say you are unprepared and reschedule.
• Voice out that crazy thought in your head. It does not have to be the correct answer. It can drive the conversation to another point where you do best.
• Do not shy away from asking for another shot. Yes, you may not think of an answer immediately. However, instead of letting the interviewer get bored waiting, bring up another interesting technicality of the job which you know a lot about.

Interview Two

I had applied via LinkedIn to this amazing global startup. I worried about whether my CV will represent me well enough to move to the next stage. Well, it did, and I got an email with instructions and an attachment for a test. The duration to submit my answer was three long days. I was ecstatic. My excitement led to reading the test questions over 10 times on the same day. Within the next three hours, I work out my idea into an answer.

With about 50% conviction, I submitted.

One month later, I got the ‘we went with another candidate email.’

Lessons Learned

• Submitting an answer with a 50% conviction is a bad idea. Unlike a phone interview, where you can drive the conversation, this is the only chance you get. A 70–80% assuredness of your answer is the way to go.
• Never assume that you understand the question in an assessment. Make sure you do. Asking friends for guidance is not cheating in this case. The interviewer knows you might need help, hence the free-form assessment.
• Do not let excitement get the better of you. When given three long days to answer, take your time. Day 1 to understand the questions. Seek guidance where you do not understand. Draft an answer on Day 2. Edit and fine-tune on Day 3 and submit.

Interview Three

This was literally my dream job staring me in the face. My CV worked its magic, and I received a link to answer some quick-fire questions. With lessons learned from the last time around, I answer exceptionally. The next round of assessments was a virtual interview. I became a whale gorging down all I could find about the company online. D day arrived, and I felt very full.

My mind was all ‘Bring it on!’.

‘Hi, my name is Makamba. I currently work as a Global Recruiter for XXX Inc.’ And You? I introduce myself and right off the bat talk about how excellent I am at my job. Then she asks what I can bring to the table and I ramble here. I recap the things I saw in the job ad. Information overload.

The company is scaling up and mostly looking for an employee experience specialist who can take on onboarding many employees while giving each an amazing experience. I reply with an ‘okay, the job ad said, HR Generalist’.

The recruiter knows what the job ad says. I failed to see the hint.

She asked about my expected salary and ended the interview.

The next day, I got a “Thanks, but no thanks” email.

Lessons Learned

• Follow your interviewer (s)’s lead. See how it plays out. There will be other times in the interview where you’ll chip in on how marvelous you are. Not during the introductions.
• Over-reading mostly leads to information overload. Study the job description and tie it to things you already do. Keep your answers short but packed with real-life examples.
• When an interviewer gives you a hint, grab it. I failed to do so. The job ad said generalist, but I was told they need a specialist in a particular role. That was my chance to sell how that’s my specialty. Never answer with an “okay”. You are a generalist but have had massive success in that responsibility. Cite examples.

In Conclusion

An interview is not a court arraignment. Smile. If the interviewer says something funny, laugh. Build a rapport. Say something funny as well. Ask about their time with the company. You already know humans like to talk about themselves. Don’t sleep on that. Ask interesting questions that move the interview in a circle. You do not have to follow the proposed straight line drawn by the interviewer. It takes guts and shows intelligence.

Show them what you’ve got. That’s the entire essence of an interview.

If you had earlier answered a question and you think of examples to buttress your earlier made point, say ‘Now that I’ve had time to think about your earlier question, I have experienced so and so in 2018. I handled it this way and got this result.’ You have shown the interviewer you’re not forgetful and dislike leaving any stone unturned.

I have bared my epic failures to you. Take advantage and go beyond to clinch your dream job.

Good luck!

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The original version of this story was published on another platform.

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