I do a lot of interviewing, close to 400 of them over my 3 years working at Amazon. I am also in the process of becoming one of those mysterious "bar raisers" which you can read a description of in this WSJ article. Whilst I feel I still have a lot to learn about interviewing I find it a fascinating topic.

Previously I wrote some advise on interviews but figured I should write some more. Lifehacker.com.au likes to write articles on Killer Interview Questions and there was one this month that I thought was a good one.

One good question to ask is “Who succeeds in this position?” or, to phrase it carefully, “How would you define success for this position?”

What a great question. You are probably thinking "Great with the answer to this question I can just tell them what they want to hear! For the rest of the interview or for subsequent interviews I will reinforce my alignment to these". If that's what you are thinking you have missed a great insight.

What insight should you gain from this question? The insight you will gain is if you want to work for this company. Often people forget that interviews are a two way thing. The interviewers are trying to understand you and if you will be able to perform the role and be a good cultural fit for the company. Likewise you are trying to figure out if this role and company is something that you are willing to commit a portion of your life too. The answer to this question is going to give you good insight into the role and how to be successful. If characteristics expressed do not align with your personal goals/desires or how you want to work then you really need to consider is this the right job for you.

For example, what if part of the answer was, "To be successful in this role you really need to be curious and have a deep desire to learn new things and experiment on your own with new technologies and concepts. The people who have done very well in this role are like sponges when it comes to technology." That might sound fantastic to you and describe just how you like to operate in your personal and work life. On the other hand it might make you really uncomfortable. Maybe you just finished your MBA after previously doing years of university and you really want to find opportunities to practise your learning rather than embarking on something that is going to require you to learn and develop lots of new knowledge. Maybe you are the type of person that likes formal training and structure and experimenting on your own is just not your thing.

Another example, what if part of the answer was, "Success is easily defined here, if you don't hit your monthly quota you get zero commission. If you miss three in a row you will be moved onto a performance plan. We are a results driven company and there is no easier way to measure success than hitting your quota". Does that sound fantastic to you? Is that an environment where you think you will thrive? Some people might love that environment, they are result driven and like clear measurements. They have a track record of results to know they can achieve the task and they like it when everyone around them is held to the same bar. Of course many people, including me, would not find such an environment a cultural fit. This answer would give me some good insight to determine if this was a role I would be good at and enjoy.

Remember the questions you ask in the interview are important. As advised in the previously mentioned article, have some good questions prepared. But it's important to know why you are asking the question and what you are going to do with the answer. You want to gain insight into the role and the company. Some questions are better at achieving this than others.

Happy interviewing!

Rodos

P.S. Shameless plug. Remember Amazon in always hiring. See http://amazon.jobs/ for open roles in Australia. If you apply for a role in Solution Architecture you may end up having an interview with me! Wouldn't that be fun!

Wow, its been so long since I did my last blog post. Over the last weeks I have felt that I really miss the days where I was blogging frequently. Hence I decided I would do a month of blogging and force myself to get something small out more often. Lets see how it goes.

Today's topic is interviews.

I see a lot of interview tips on sites like Lifehacker (http://www.lifehacker.com.au/tags/interviews/) such as Killer Questions, why not to Humblebrag or how to answer questions such as Why for a role or What Motivates You. I find these interesting to read and sometimes there is some good insight.

As someone who has done close to 300 interviews at Amazon I thought I would share my very non-official quick list of tips for a interview. Some of them may slant to how Amazon interviews or my personal preferences. I am generally interviewing for technical roles but I also do lots for sales staff, operations and so on.

Here is what I think is important when it come to interviews.

• Be yourself - you may have a perception of what the company is looking for but there is little use putting on a show. You may assume wrong and you probably wont be be able to maintain the facade for the duration of your employment. If you never intend to wear a suit, don't wear one to the interview. People say "Dress for the job you want", I say "Be who you are." I am not really talking about dress code here, although that is one element. Show your personality and what you will be like to work with, what you will be like with customers. The interviewers are thinking, "Is this someone I want to spend my days with?", so be yourself.
• Be articulate - The interview is a key circumstance where you want to be on your game when it comes to communication. This means body language, pace of speech, active listening and providing short clear answers. Try to ascertain early on the style of conversation the interviewer is using and match this. Is it a friendly conversation, is it a list of quick fire question and answer rounds? Also note that the style may change through the interview. Many people talk way too fast in an interview. If you do this normally then practice slowing down, as this can be hard for people who are listening to you for the first time. Nerves are no excuse IMHO. If you think an interview is stressful, trying having a conversation with a senior executive at a customer when you have a senior executive from the new company with you, that's stress. Listen to cues. If the interviewer says "So tell me about your high level career background. But lets cover this in less than 5 minutes in order to get onto other topics", then you really should answer within 5 minutes. If after 10 minutes you are still going through the subjects you did in high school there is a problem. Listen to the question and provide enough information and colour to answer it, that's all. Don't keep talking on and on and on until the interviewer needs to interrupt you. If more information is required the interview will ask a followup up question. Very long answers to the one question are not adding a lot of value to your answer and removing time for giving answers to other questions which can give greater insight into you and your skills.
• Use examples and stories - This may be influenced by my time at Amazon but try to use examples and stories (short ones) for answers. It not only provides interesting colour and is easier to remember but it also provides great insight into what you have actually done and achieved rather than a general assertion. For example, if asked "So how do you learn new things?" you might answer "I like to read books, I love reading. I don't find classes that effective as they move slowly." but compare to "I usually learn through reading. Last year I had to learn Ruby so I read the O'Reilly book on Ruby and then hacked away. After a few months I wanted to go further so read Eloquent Ruby which really helped me understand the nuances of the language." The second version really provides some demonstration of how you applied or practiced whatever the question is about. However, don't be tempted to make something up, a good interviewer will ask you a detailed followup question which may just catch you out.
• Do your research and improve during the process - do some research on the company and understand who they are and what they do. As you pick things up during your interviews do more research, dive in more. If you don't know the answer to a question in one interview remember what it was and do some research, you never know you may get a similar question by another interviewer.
• Have some good questions to ask - You will often get asked if you have your own questions. In my opinion unless you are now convinced you are not going to take the job there has to be something you want to ask. You can ask questions about the role, the company, the culture. You will be spending a lot of time working for this company and with these people, surely you want to know more about them. Also, avoid common questions if they are not really that meaningful. I started getting a few "What's The Most Frustrating Part Of Working Here?" questions after the Lifehacker post. Its a fine question if you really are interested in the answer, but avoid just asking filler questions.

I can't say I have been the interviewee many times in my career, but I have survived two rounds of Amazon interviews (first externally and a second for an internal role change). What I did find was that if you are a good fit for the role and the company (which is really what you and the employer wants), then the interview should not be like a visit to the dentist. It should be like a first date, a little nerve racking, some fun, a chance to learn more about someone else and yourself, and a good start to what you hope could be a long and rewarding relationship. If the interview is like that dentist visit, maybe you are not made for each other, that's okay.

There you go, first post. Lets hope I can throw out some more random ones this month!

Rodos

P.S. Shameless plug. Remember Amazon in always hiring. See amazon.jobs for open roles in Australia. If you apply for a role in Solution Architecture you may end up having an interview with me! Wouldn't that be fun!