Interviewing will always be a work in process for me. But I can confidently say that I have improved at behavioral and technical interviews, just by sheer volume of repetition “the firehose method” + researching the company. In my experience, the behavioral interview can range from 5 minutes to up to 30 minutes. There are a lot of things I would do differently to prepare for the behavioral interview. “The firehose method” or doing as many behavioral interviews as you can, is one method, but I argue that without adjustments and practice to work on being more articulate, the firehose method will not get you far.
As I am in the process of interview right now, here are 5 things I wish I knew before starting the behavioral interview process. I will also sprinkle in things I’ve learned along the way.
- Deliberate practice is the most important thing you can do to ensure your success. I think it’s also the hardest and most nerve wracking thing. Services like pramp can help you simulate the behavioral/technical interview if you don’t want to practice with actual companies.
- Mastering the behavioral interview will make the interviewing process much more enjoyable. Behavioral interviews extend to the technical interview as well. Think about it, as you’re working on solving technical questions, the interviewer will be evaluating how you go about solving the question. It’s not just about the destination, it’s about the journey.
- Linkedin’s interview prep platform – 26 behavioral questions for you to work on. I did not know about this until doing more research on how I would prepare differently for the behavioral interview. I will definitely be working through these questions for the next few weeks.
- Codepath’s Behavorial Interview worksheet – There is a section about the company you’re interviewing with and prompts to answer. I use this worksheet for each company I have a behavioral interview with! It helps to have a place to type things out rather than just reading about them.
- Lastly, be curious. Genuine curiosity can lead you very far because at the end of the day, you’re trying to make a connection with someone!
- As a bonus bullet point, try not to compare yourself to other people that are also interviewing. You don’t know how much practice or work they’ve put in. You also don’t know their story. Focus on crafting your story and do your best. Just get 1% better everyday.
