Hunterfang

(The following conclusions are only the result of personal sample experiments and do not apply to other scenarios)

Lost, those interviews#

Recently, Guangdong has cooled down, it's so cold that I'm sitting on a chair shivering.

I recalled the various aspects of the autumn recruitment, the shitty memories that killed my brain. Suddenly, I realized that I seemed to have never reviewed the interview questions. Let's forget about the interview questions, I've forgotten most of them anyway. I'll just write a general review.

I opened the Notion topic repository and started writing based on the keywords I recorded at the end of November last year. I want to record those shitty memories.

The core of this article is a proposition, "some small details can make your interview as successful as possible." These are just some small techniques, which can be considered as bonus points and are not the core elements. They may not be applicable to product/operation interviews, market technology, and other sequences. If you ask me, what are the core elements for passing an interview? I think it should be your own essence, how capable and knowledgeable you are. This is something that is difficult to change with small techniques. It is a matter of quantity and quality. Of course, talented people can change, but I am not talented.

The game of selection#

First of all, understand that an interview is a selection process, and there are only two results: pass or fail. Have a good mentality, if you don't pass, then you don't pass. The essence of an interview is a match between two parties. When it comes to matching, it is inevitably a mathematical game. Both sides are trying to maximize their selection pool and produce an optimal solution through horizontal and vertical comparisons. Therefore, what we should always adhere to is to expand our own funnel entrance, divide it into levels, prioritize, and other dimensions. The goal is to increase the conversion rate of success because there are only a few candidates out of many applicants during the same period.

In my personal understanding, the core issue of a product interview for campus recruitment is whether the interviewee can make a good impression on the interviewer. It's about eye-catching. They say that the Internet has entered the second half, and the user market has also become a stock market. It is similar in the Internet recruitment market. If you can enter the interview stage, it means that your abilities and qualities are basically up to standard, and the interview is just to get a general idea. The rest is about whether you have a good impression. Especially as you progress to later stages, it's mostly about the impression. Asking questions is just a formality. To put it simply, when hiring someone, you want your colleagues, boss, and other teams to think highly of the person. Everyone should think highly of the person for them to be considered good. So, we return to the question of interview selection. If you didn't pass, it might really be a matter of impression. (This is what my mentors and colleagues told me during campus recruitment at the time)

So, going back to the starting point of this article, in my personal understanding, how to use small techniques to win is transformed into "what small actions can make the interviewer have a better impression of you and leave a deeper impression."

First impression#

The impression is usually formed in the first two or three minutes. There is a bullshit thing called the first impression score. Many rational decision-makers will say that they will not change their opinion of a person based on the first impression. But damn it, an interview only lasts for 30 minutes. The interviewer's interest in you is determined by the first few minutes. If you don't make a good impression, they will start to be perfunctory with you. Do you think they will spend the remaining 25 minutes digging deeper into whether you are suitable? Interviewers are also busy. They may be replying to messages in work software while interviewing you (I often did that when I was an intern). So I vote for "first impressions are important."

The first impression is often formed during the self-introduction. The interviewer is listening and evaluating you. There are already many breakdown cases of self-introductions online. Here are two points that I think are important and can greatly improve the interviewer's impression of you, from start to finish.

1. Relaxation (a feeling of tension, you can search for it if you are interested), it's like having an interesting conversation with the interviewer. Here's a little method to test this, which is to look at the ratio of content output between you and the interviewer during the interview. This ratio can quantitatively indicate your level of relaxation. Except for interviewers who teach you how to do things, you should communicate with each other like having a normal conversation. The specific manifestation of relaxation can be speaking slowly, pausing and repeating at important points, and even making self-deprecating remarks in some places. This can vary depending on the specific case and needs to be dynamically adjusted based on the situation. Imagine having a conversation with someone close to you. You won't be too formal or forcefully clarify the logic. But there is a premise here, you need to have a clear understanding of yourself and be confident enough. This often requires practice. Start with opportunities in small companies. (In fact, I think the interview situations in small and large companies are not much different. It's just that big companies have question banks to use, while small companies are more casual.)

2. Learn to tell stories. In fact, this feeling should be present in all main output stages, and the self-introduction is the best starting point. For example, the stories we usually watch, if it's not appropriate to talk about stories, you can talk about some short films we usually watch, see how their narrative logic is, how they can explain a complex matter and the relationships between multiple characters in a short time. My skills are not enough, I can only talk about simple linear and clustering relationships, but overall, the interviewer can grasp some keywords from the 3 minutes, such as previous experience in socializing with strangers, projects done in school, etc. A story should either make the audience remember the result, remember the contradictions, or remember the vivid personality. You decide what you want the interviewer to remember from the story in your self-introduction. Most beginners make a mistake in the self-introduction, as well as in all interview stages. They try to present a perfect version of themselves, which is difficult or even impossible. An interview is like a double monologue show, you can't climax from beginning to end. You need to selectively explode a few suitable points. Also, no company will choose a too perfect person, let alone me, haha.

I don't want an interview, I just want to chat with you#

The best state of an interview is not an interview, it is understanding each other. Because the essence of an interview is a match between two parties, and students, like children, go to interviews and are more concerned about whether the company is interested in them, ignoring whether they are interested in the company. This change in mentality can make you look like a stupid person who makes mistakes. Throughout the interview, you may focus too much on your own mistakes and the interviewer's unintentional micro-expressions. Higher-level interviews are often not like interviews. They may happen during meals or afternoon tea. Although we are not at that level, it doesn't prevent us from putting ourselves in such a position. Therefore, this is also a manifestation of relaxation. On the other hand, it will also make the interviewer curious about you. Hey, this person is not as nervous as the ones I interviewed before. Should I chat with him for a while? Does he have many opportunities? Can I try to get him?

Speak discontent, leave doubts or contradictions, and learn to plant hooks. These doubts are not about saying that 1+1≠2, but about making the interviewer interested in this point and teasing him to ask more questions, and then enter the circle you have prepared in advance. For example, I often say this sentence during interviews, "I used to do socializing with strangers, but I was a little scared because of some issues. I wanted to change industries and urgently switch to doing something positive in the B-end." This sentence can hook the interviewer and raise several points. Why were you scared? After being scared, why didn't you continue to do other C-end products and switch to the B-end? Isn't that more difficult? Why positive energy... Once the interviewer asks about these points, you can move away from the routine interview discussion and talk about your understanding of socializing with strangers, industry compliance, product potential, your own product pursuits, and so on. These points can be extended to talk about many things. An interview is about comparing your depth and breadth within a limited time. It is difficult to highlight your strengths in a personalized way just by relying on the interviewer's active questions. So, have more hooks and don't say everything at once.

Hooks also lead to a sense of interaction. When humans store memories, the output is often more memorable than the input. The same goes for interviewers. If you make them listen too much, it will be difficult for them to remember many points from the interview (unless you are teaching them something shocking, but obviously that's not possible). So, let them speak more, have an interaction, and this will help them remember something. Then, when comparing candidates later, you will get extra points. (If you are rejected after the interview, then forget about the comparison of candidates)

As for contradictions, it's a bit difficult. If handled well, it means that both parties are competing to come up with better solutions to a problem. If not handled well, it will be like teasing and mocking each other, making both parties feel awkward. I'm not good at it, so I'll leave it to the experts.

Then there's the logic of the conversation, which is too abstract. Let's summarize it with this word, storytelling. It was mentioned in the first impression section. If you don't know how to tell stories, then try to deconstruct how to tell a good gossip story. How did the melon event happen? There must be a climax or a point of resonance, or a shocking point.

But, it can't be a conversation-like feeling, although it can feel like it, the content relationship is not suitable. You still need to bring it back to the topic. At least, you need to make the simple cause and effect relationship clear. It's always because, without a therefore, it's easy to go off track. If a conversation is formed, it's a very good atmosphere, but you can't end the conversation with the interviewer. Although it's a conversation, you still need to guide the interviewer to summarize the conversation. Even if it's a conversation, it's important to have a clear logic. For example, you need to summarize the conversation with a concise "therefore" at the end, and actively let the interviewer fill in the points you have mentioned in their evaluation. People are lazy, especially after listening to so much, it's painful to use their brains to analyze and clarify. Hey, at this time, you give them a "therefore" to summarize, it's great, they can just use it. So, chatting is a feeling, but summarizing is the key.

I want to be a special person#

Eye-catching, to become a numerator, you need to be an outstanding person. But now everyone is outstanding, and recruiters are starting to pay attention to finding someone special. For example, if there are too few male employees in a team, they may want to recruit a male employee to balance it; if the team atmosphere is too low, they may want to recruit an active person to liven it up. Therefore, sometimes being special is more important than being outstanding. Be a special person, not a standard person.

But being special varies from person to person. What we can do is to make some special actions under the general plan, which still serve the purpose of the interview. Moreover, we cannot know the special preferences and requirements of the employer. We can only do something based on our own qualities.

First, be a prepared person. I'm not here to babble about my own story. I'm also interested in your company and the business you do. At least, you need to understand the scenarios and solutions that this HC needs to do, and what core problems need to be solved. It doesn't have to be too detailed, just a macro understanding is enough. Second, by understanding these things in advance, you can also prepare some materials for the interview. As mentioned earlier, a full interview should include your past experiences, your background, your emotions and energy, and some things that you and the interviewer can resonate with.

Interviewees usually flatter the interviewer, but we should flatter them in a special way. The previous preparation can come in handy here. For example, the core problem that the job needs to solve may be this, but I used to do something similar before, and there may be some similarities, but the customers we faced were different. What actions can I take to adapt quickly? This is a relatively simple way to flatter. The key is to make the prelude longer, let the interviewer know that you have prepared in advance and have come with a thirst for knowledge, and express your attitude. Also, since the interviewer is in a higher position, you need to satisfy some of his vanity by asking him to teach you something specific. This will give him a feeling of "this new person is good, has a learning attitude, and I can mentor him." Too cliché things are not suitable for flattery. For example, asking him to recommend a book is too broad and it's not easy for the interviewer to answer. The other party may think that you don't have much expertise (you can refer to the famous "How To Ask Questions The Smart Way" on GitHub).

Dig deep into past experiences and turn them into stories. It is important to understand what core problems you have solved. This is very important. Products are problem-driven. If you find the wrong problem, all subsequent actions will be wrong. This also means that you need to focus on expressing what problems you have solved, rather than talking about what actions and measures you have taken throughout. Also, look back at the problem. After completing a project, what insights and experiences do you have? For example, I found that the driving force behind this project is not technical issues, but product operation. We need to do a lot of activity operations, and so on. Or, our business is destined to have a low ceiling, and our user stickiness is low. They just want to take advantage of us. How can we do this and that... These are stories that can be told outside of the routine work. The nested STAR method can help us prepare these stories well. This is what makes you special. The routine answers are not likely to touch the interviewer's sensitive points.

After going through this set of steps, if the interviewer can interact normally, respond actively, and not feel like they are teaching you, then the success rate is generally high. I have asked some big shots, and the conclusion is that there are three elements that can impress them: strong desire for employment, high energy, and endurance. Therefore, when showcasing your individuality, you can also mention these elements appropriately and package them in stories.

Sincerity is the ultimate skill#

Hahaha, what was mentioned before are all some unconventional methods. The most, most, most important thing in the interview process is sincerity, which is the golden quality in social activities.

Our previous internships involved a lot of routine work, and we were just working hard. There were also many dull stories, but it didn't prevent us from thinking about many exciting stories. Although we were doing tasks, I would think about how to connect them and occasionally understand some strategies for interviews. Doing routine work is normal, and we should also tell these basic specific stories well. Even when the boss of Walmart is 70 years old, he still needs to visit stores from time to time. Li Jiaqi also runs around chatting with users. So, smile and tell the interviewer, yes, I did make a lot of calls for research, and I organized a lot of interview content. But these are valuable first-hand samples, which provide good ideas for subsequent actions. The normal state of work is doing routine work, and only by doing routine work can we build a good house.

Another point is that I will make mistakes, even in the process of the interview, I may answer questions incorrectly or not answer them well. It's just a matter of being humble and seeking advice. Allow yourself to make mistakes. In the interview process, it's okay to admit that there is room for improvement and that you have a willingness to learn. What employers want is a new employee who can be educated, not someone who cannot change.

After the interview, what's next#

There is no "next." Anyway, luck is greater than effort, so just leave it at that. Look forward to the next show. Oh, these techniques are never the key. The key, I think, is me as a person.

(By the way, the domain name helloiamazi.work is about to expire. Today, I bought a new domain name hunterfang.cn and gradually migrated some content to the new server. I want to focus on products and keep things as simple as possible. Finally, take it easy.)