> When you're in a real interview the world changes: You're locked in a cage with a lion.
I got into interviewing this last year as an interviewer. I used to think (as most people do) that the interview is a confrontation between interviewer and candidate.
However my biggest breakthrough happened when I changed my perspective. Now I see interviewers as detectives, gathering evidence of whether the candidate would be a good hire.
So my advice to candidates is the following: don't think of the interviewer as the enemy. Usually they aren't trying to get you, but help you. And if that isn't the case, you don't want to work for that company anyway. Keep a friendly and relaxed conversation with the interviewer and you'll be surprise how far it can get you.
I like to view myself as an advocate for the candidate - work with them and help them to succeed in the interview. Through that process it's really easy to figure out if you are a good fit for each other or not.
I mentor interviewers at my job. Pretty much, every junior (< 3 years of experience) interviewer at first asks me what they should do if the candidate starts talking about something they know very little about.
The interviewers are people too. They get nervous too sometimes. They too don’t want to look stupid when they’re having a conversation with the candidate.
The first learning of interviewer training I try to solidify is that the interviewer is not intended to be the person who “knows the answers”. Candidates have specialized, deep knowledge in the specific areas they’ve worked on. How can an interviewer expect to know more than them?
Experienced interviewers will know that they are there simply to facilitate the candidate in arriving at solutions to the problem.
I got into interviewing this last year as an interviewer. I used to think (as most people do) that the interview is a confrontation between interviewer and candidate.
However my biggest breakthrough happened when I changed my perspective. Now I see interviewers as detectives, gathering evidence of whether the candidate would be a good hire.
So my advice to candidates is the following: don't think of the interviewer as the enemy. Usually they aren't trying to get you, but help you. And if that isn't the case, you don't want to work for that company anyway. Keep a friendly and relaxed conversation with the interviewer and you'll be surprise how far it can get you.