We enjoy meeting the individuals who have the skills we need, and we're excited to connect when they are interested in working with StormFree! Interviewing is a two-way street; it's an opportunity for both parties to learn more about each other and decide if establishing a working relationship is a good decision.
We're proud of the strong working relationships that we build and the collaboration that occurs within our talented team. Our interviews are designed to ensure our continued success by finding highly skilled people who are aligned with the company's projects, vision, and culture. While our team may work physically separate, the connections and daily interactions we have with each other is similar to working in a collaborative office environment.
In part one of Building Our Team, we shared what we look for in a resume and provided tips to help you standout. In this post, we share our perspective on what results in a great interview along with information about the interviews we conduct.
You have an opportunity to shine each time we connect. Allow us to get to know you as an individual in addition to showing us your technical skills. This applies to any organization you apply to. As we work remotely, our contact methods include email, phone, and on-camera meetings.
Our preference is to initiate our communication by phone. Naturally we know all calls cannot be answered all of the time, and we suggest that while you search for employment opportunities you enable your voicemail with a message that is professional and includes your name and number. For example, "You've reached Jane Doe at 123-456-7891. Please leave a detailed message including your name, number, and reason for calling and I will return your call." Calling a number without a message, just a "beep", or worse; no ability to leave a voicemail at all is frustrating and doesn't leave a good impression.
We understand that people apply to multiple job postings at a time and when you receive our call you may not recall our company or the role. We recommend you keep track of the roles you apply to and if you are unable to recall a specific role, search for the posting rather than responding to an interview request by asking that we send you the posting. We often provide a choice of meeting dates and times, and it's okay to propose alternative times that fit in with your current work schedule.
Meeting on camera is similar to attending an interview in an office, just with a twist. It's important to ensure your web camera is working and we recommend using a headset for the on-camera meeting as it results in clearer audio quality. We send links a few days ahead of time and suggest testing the web-conferencing tool to confirm it is working prior to the meeting. All of our team meetings are held using a web-conferencing tool, so if the connection with you is poor, for example there is a lag between speaking and hearing or the tool freezes often, this usually means we cannot consider you for remote work. This likely holds true for most remote-working organizations. It's important to connect on time, we suggest a few minutes early, and from a private space to minimize noise and distractions, particularly as you will be sharing information about your background and answering questions about your technical skills and experience. We also recommend that the space around you is tidy and well lit.
We know interviews can be nerve wracking and we do our best to put you at ease when we begin the meeting. We provide an outline of the interview format when we first arrange the meeting so you have time to prepare, and again at the beginning of the meeting so there are no surprises. Our interviews consist of questions about your technical skills that are based on the technology we use in addition to questions designed to understand your background, experience, rate expectations, and what's important to you in a company and a role.
Being prepared means you show with every answer you provide that you are the best person for the role. We suggest that you review the job posting and the technology listed, and review any of the tools you may be weaker on so that you are able to answer the technical questions. Many roles use bleeding edge technology and we like to see individuals who, through research or personal pilot projects, attempt to familiarize themselves with certain technology in order to stay current. Also, know your rate expectations, strengths, weaknesses, and career goals before we meet.
It's important to present the real you during an interview. If the role involves working primarily on a technology you don't like working with, or there is no connection with the interviewers, or you aren't aligned with the company's vision or business philosophy, the likelihood of being successful in the position is slim. Also, having a number of short duration roles on a resume doesn't present well. If you realize during the interview that it isn't the best position for you, it's fine to politely say so. Don't answer with what you think the interviewer wants to hear, be true to yourself.
A smile and sense of humour go a long way when meeting for the first time, so don't be afraid to show your personality. The best interviews feel more like conversations with fun technical discussions, positive energy, and some laughter. Communicate professionally and naturally, and be proud of your accomplishments. Of course it's also important to do so in a manner that shows self-assurance rather than coming across as arrogant or boastful. This means having confidence in your skills and the ability to communicate them well. It's also important to acknowledge and be open about areas where you need to grow. When sharing your areas for improvement, remember to indicate the steps that you are taking to do so.
Reviewing an organization's website is an absolute must prior to an interview, as is having questions about the company, it's projects, and even the people that are conducting the interview. Time is usually provided during an interview for any questions you may have, and it's highly recommended that you have some! Asking questions show you are truly interested in the role, and interviewers are impressed when their initial response to you is "That's a really good question".
Many organizations hold more than one interview, and at StormFree we have a two-interview process for the majority of our roles, the initial meeting and the panel interview.
The first interview is usually 60 minutes in duration and our goal is to establish a rapport, learn about what is important to you in a company and role, verify that communication and technical skills meet our needs, and answer any questions you may have about StormFree. Correctly answering the technical questions and communicating clearly play a large part in moving forward to the second interview.
The second interview is usually 60-90 minutes in duration with two team members as well as our CTO, which sounds more intimidating than it is. Our leaders are great people and easy to get along with. As a growing start-up, strong technical ability is key to the company's success and the first portion of the meeting will consist of in-depth technical questions based on the information you provided during the initial meeting. Individuals with senior skills often approach the questions as a fun challenge and enjoy testing out their knowledge. It's a real joy for us to interact with people who love the technology they work with and know it well. We suggest being honest if you recognize your knowledge level isn't as deep as we need. Our questions are difficult, and we do expect a few incorrect or partial answers, but we will respectfully end the interview if we find several of the questions are answered incorrectly. The remainder of the interview is focused on learning about your soft skills and career and confirming that you will enjoy working with StormFree. This is also your opportunity to ask us questions — and we do like questions. At the end of the meeting, we will let you know our next steps and timing for these to occur.
Not all interviews result in establishing a business relationship, this does not mean the interview was a waste of time. There is always an opportunity for all participants to learn and improve from the experience. Sometimes you may decide the role or company is not right for you, and all companies appreciate professionally declined offers. When it happens, we always wish the individual well and often leave the door open to work together in the future. Companies also appreciate a professional response if they decide not to move forward with an offer.
When the interview goes well, we move quickly to let you know and to move on to our next steps which are checking references, engaging a third-party company to conduct a criminal record check and ID verification, and creating the contract. We suggest that prior to applying for roles with any company, you reach out to your references to confirm whether they are happy to be contacted and let them know the type of positions you are applying for. It's also a good idea to ask your references what they feel your top three strengths and areas for improvement are, as most companies conducting references ask for that information. Contact during this time is by phone and email as we confirm start dates and continue to build our working relationship.
We are excited about the growth and future of StormFree and look forward to adding to our talented team! Review our postings and keep in touch if you are interesting in joining our team.
