Interviewing and being interviewed: The Goal

As a Business Unit manager I often interview candidates for engineering positions at Dnipropetrovs’k office of SoftServe. Recently I also was involved in preparing my guys for interview with client. So I know both, dark and light, sides of the interviewing process.

From my experience the most important this on the interview is to know the goal of the interview. When you interview somebody know requirements for the position candidate is applying for and know what qualities you want to discover in the candidate during the interview.

In fact, when I interview someone for junior position my main goal is to see potential for growth supported by ability to think and learn. For senior positions, I expect candidates to be able to apply their experience to solve open-ended problems and have their own opinion.

When you prepare for interview know what the person on the other side of the table expects from you. Is she only interested in technical expertise? Will your communication or leadership skills also be assessed? Will she try to see how you work under pressure? If you have answers to such questions, you will be able to prepare for the interview much more efficiently.