Interview 101 For Candidates
It's the bare minimum, really.
In my coaching I tend to give really in-depth advice to people. Difficult concepts such as time management, seemingly out there tips to increase confidence, and strategic questions to ask. But a reader (hi bunny!) recently asked me “Do you have a go to for basic (and I mean BASIC) interview 101?”
I realized that they’re right, while some of this higher order stuff can be useful it isn’t all that rare to see someone bungle the most basic things because, well, nobody ever told them not to.
So this bonus (read: not released on Monday) post is simply that: the bare minimum you can do when being interviewed.
Completely Unordered List Of Interview Basics
Have good audio and camera quality. Not decent, good. It’s 2026, your interview recording shouldn’t look and sound like a found footage horror film. Make sure your face is framed decently (no extreme close ups please dear god), the lighting passable, and the camera angle is straight on (if your laptop is literally on your lap you’re doing it wrong).
Don’t just slap on a random background. If you really want to use a fake background make sure it’s appropriate (no I don’t want to see you on a cartoon spaceship) and it doesn’t look bad (they usually look terrible). That means you need to have a clean-ish background so the application can tell what is you and what is not you. If your face keeps blinking in and out, you’re breaking rule 1.
Remember this is a conversation, not an exam. That means you need to bring some energy. If you have the affect of Eeyore on xanax, I’m not going to want to hire you. You need to wake up and at least fake the excitement. If you don’t seem to want to talk to me, guess what: I’ve got hundreds of other applicants who will at least pretend they are.
Do NOT just start talking and never stop. Otherwise you’re going to become the worst soundtrack to checking my work emails I’ve ever had. This isn’t me being rude, it’s you not being aware of my attention reservoir.
Pay attention to the interviewer. Use closed captions if you’re having trouble understanding the interviewer due to an accent or whatever. If I ask a question, and you answer a different one because you didn’t follow me, or if you ask me a question about something I already said, that’s not a great sign. We need to be able to gel.
Come in confident. If you wouldn’t hire yourself, why should I?
Ask interesting questions otherwise I will assume you’re not interested. This should be self explanatory, but I also feel like this whole list should be- so here’s some questions you can use.
Don’t be afraid to nerd out. Actually, make SURE to nerd out. I want to know that you actually enjoy writing code. I need to know what you’re excited about, and I need you to show me this by actually having your eyes light up. If this moment doesn’t happen, it’s going to be an uphill battle for you.
Don’t just give me fluff. “I want to join a mission driven team and build cool things”. No shit, everyone does. Going to need a little more than that- why do you want to join THIS mission driven team and build THESE cool things?
At least read the company’s website. If you’re asking me basic questions that a cursory google search would answer, or if that information is at the top of our website, then you’re not signaling that you actually have thought about this. I’m here to figure out if I want to bring you on to my team, and I need you to figure out if you want to be here as well. Show me you’re taking this serious.
Make time for the interview. Show up on time, have at least 15 minutes afterwards so you can go late. If the interview does go late, that’s a good sign, so it’s worth it.
Make space for the interview. Do not take the interview from your couch with the laptop on your lap. Do not take the interview from a busy cafe. Absolutely do not take the interview from the passenger seat of your partner’s Subaru while driving north on Rt. 91 on your way to your summer house in Vermont.
Don’t talk shit about your current/previous companies/bosses. I know you hate the job you’re trying to leave. I know your old boss was an unqualified narcissist. I don’t care. All I’m hearing is “this person has no idea how to play the political game, and they’re going to say all this about me in 6 months.”
Don’t ask me about Work Life Balance right off the bat. It’s just not the right time. Sorry, but it isn’t. Yes, I know, but it isn’t the right time.
Finding common ground is awesome, but it can’t be everything. If you spend the entire interview telling me about your Funko Pop collection of Star Trek characters because I make a reference to the series, I won’t have any time to get signal on the things I need to in order to make a hiring decision. Make sure you keep on track and be sure to talk tech.
I could probably keep going, but if you follow everything in this list, you’re at least going to make a good impression on a human level. This will set the stage to allow you to put all of your experience, knowledge and capabilities to be in the spotlight.
And if you want more tips…
