Welcome to Final Interview. After watching this video, you will be able to: Prepare for a final interview, Recognize typical interview questions, Explain the STAR method for answering questions, And formulate questions to ask in an interview. If you have done well in the interview process so far, you may be asked back for a final interview. This is traditionally done live on-site, although currently many companies are opting for a virtual video interview. This is where you must differentiate yourself and make a case for how you will be the best fit for the role. A little preparation will help you show yourself to your best advantage. On the night before your interview, read through your resume and cover letter, review the job description, company, and any other notes you’ve made. Be sure you’re familiar with everything that you have mentioned in your resume. Rehearse your elevator pitch and question answers. Plan your appearance ahead of time so your grooming and clothing are in top condition. Generally, you should wear professional attire for a job interview. For men, this might mean a suit jacket, slacks, and tie in some settings. Often, tech companies run a casual office, so do not dress too formally. For women, a blouse, dress pants, or a business dress is appropriate. You should avoid wearing anything bright or flashy that may be distracting. Your hair should be neat; light makeup is optional. If your interview is virtual, you will still need to dress professionally for the camera. Test your equipment ahead of time to make sure your camera and microphone are functional and your Internet connection is stable. Try to get a good night’s sleep. When you wake up, have breakfast, coffee, and exercise if that’s part of your routine. You want to make sure you’re comfortable and alert. Dress and groom yourself so that you will look professional and at your best. If your interview is taking place on-site, plan the route you will take to the location and your transportation. Calculate how much travel time you will need, including traffic patterns, finding parking, and checking in at the building. Allow plenty of time to ensure you are not late. A technical interview is often very different from any other job interview. Technical interviews typically include role-related technical questions, behavioral questions, and situational questions. There may also be hands-on problem-solving questions or even trick questions. Interviewers often begin with questions about your technical knowledge, skills, and experience. Show your ability to communicate technical concepts in an easy-to-understand manner and describe your work processes. Some technical interview questions have several possible answers. For these, explain your problem-solving process and make it clear that you understand multiple methods to reach a solution. Interviewers may ask situational questions and behavioral questions to learn more about how you will fit in with the project team and the company culture. They also want to know how you will approach work situations or solve problems. To effectively answer these questions, use the STAR method. The STAR method helps you explain how you handle specific work challenges in a simple yet powerful way. The STAR format stands for situation, task, action, and result: Situation: The project or challenge you faced Task: Your responsibility in the situation and what you specifically needed to solve Action: The steps or procedure you followed to solve the problem, and the decisions you made, and Result: What happened after you acted, preferably in quantifiable terms. Here is a common situational question you can expect during a technical interview with an example of how to answer it with the STAR method. Can you tell us about the most recent project you worked on? I was on a team that was tasked with moving a database to a new server (situation). I was in charge of increasing the query speed of the new deployment (task). I employed a data optimizer, made sure the indexes were improved, and updated the software (action). And this brought a 40% increase in query response time (result). Interviewers may also ask behavioral interview questions. With these questions, the interviewer wants to find out how you would respond to certain workplace challenges that may arise. Here are a few common behavioral interview questions: What would you do if you were asked to perform a task and weren't sure how to complete it? Tell me about a time when you went above and beyond your expected tasks while working on a project. And how would you overcome the challenge of working with a difficult coworker on a team project? If the interviewer asks a question and you need additional information to properly answer it, ask for more information. This will show the interviewer you aren't afraid to ask for clarification when you need it. At the end of your interview, you will be given a chance to ask the interviewer some questions. This is your chance to show how serious you are about the role, and that you have done some homework. It’s also a chance to see whether you will really want to step into this role at this company. Here are some questions that you can ask the interviewer: What’s the next step in the interview/hiring process? How long does your recruitment process usually take? What are the primary responsibilities of the position? What would my day-to-day routine look like if I got the job? And what can you tell me about the job apart from what was in the description? There are some questions that you should avoid, too. Here are some examples: How many holidays do you offer? Do you have long working hours? Do you have another open position? And what does the company do? Generally, it’s best to avoid questions that make it look as though you are uninterested, careless or ill-informed. It’s also best not to ask very specific questions about compensation, although it’s usually fine to ask about a range or pay scale and general questions about benefits. They’re serious about considering you if you reach this point, so they should be willing to give you this information. However, it’s not the time to negotiate it; you’ll have a chance to consider if you get an offer. In this video, you learned that: Making sure that you arrive at an interview prepared and at your best is a good idea There are several types of questions you can expect at a final interview Using the STAR method helps you give substantial answers to situational questions And you can get important information by asking questions at an interview, but there are questions you should avoid Final interviews can be stressful, but with the right preparation you can put your best foot forward and make the case that you will be a great fit for the role and a positive addition to the team.
