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Interview prep

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:23 pm
by DaveE
For your interview tomorrow, we would like you to come up with a 20 minute presentation about how you'd revolutionise this massive, legacy business about which you know very little.

Be creative.

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:45 pm
by Matty
Urgh. "Be creative" :x

I've had to do these for interviews before, but both times I was given a firm topic to discuss so easy enough to plan for...difficult to hide my distaste for the actual process, though...like most interviews, it's more down to how likeable you are rather than what you're actually talking about.

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 12:17 am
by dinny_g
Whereas for the Interview for my current role, I was NOT told by my agent that I needed to present a 20 minute piece on how, if successful , I would onboard myself in the first 3 months and what success would look like after 12 months

I told them as such and then winged it. I think they were impressed by how I dealt with this but in my previous role, with a very smoke and mirrors supplier, I had learned how to bullshit with the best of them :lol:

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 6:50 am
by Jobbo
DaveE wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:23 pm For your interview tomorrow, we would like you to come up with a 20 minute presentation about how you'd revolutionise this massive, legacy business about which you know very little.

Be creative.
Are you taking over as CEO of Twitter/X?

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 8:41 am
by Beany
Might be challenge.

I mean, how do you stretch out "fuck this interview process and the company that uses it" for twenty minutes?

Also I misread Jobbos Twitter/X as 'Twix' which confused me for about two seconds till I looked again.

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 9:45 am
by dinny_g
Jobbo wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 6:50 am
DaveE wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:23 pm For your interview tomorrow, we would like you to come up with a 20 minute presentation about how you'd revolutionise this massive, legacy business about which you know very little.

Be creative.
Are you taking over as CEO of Twitter/X?
:lol:

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 1:57 pm
by DaveE
Jobbo wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 6:50 am
DaveE wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:23 pm For your interview tomorrow, we would like you to come up with a 20 minute presentation about how you'd revolutionise this massive, legacy business about which you know very little.

Be creative.
Are you taking over as CEO of Twitter/X?
I could have done a better job by literally doing nothing

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 6:50 pm
by duncs500
Amazing timing, in my industry I'm used to interviews which last about 15mins and consist of a few questions to make sure your CV is relatively accurate. However, I've just had an interview that was an initial screening interview, then once passed that, a second interview with a 20min presentation about various things covering why I'm great (there is some guidance as to content), and a 20min presentation / review about a technical piece of work I had to prepare in advance. Bookended by some prescribed informal chat time 1.5hrs in total.

Took me practically a whole week to prepare it all and I had to let stuff slide in my current job to get it done. I would have been livid if I didn't get the job after all that! Thankfully I'm told there is an offer incoming, and I do understand why they do it, particularly in my case as it's a bit of a change for my current career path and they need to understand how well my skills transfer (although they use the same process for everyone).

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 10:05 pm
by Marv
duncs500 wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 6:50 pm Amazing timing, in my industry I'm used to interviews which last about 15mins and consist of a few questions to make sure your CV is relatively accurate. However, I've just had an interview that was an initial screening interview, then once passed that, a second interview with a 20min presentation about various things covering why I'm great (there is some guidance as to content), and a 20min presentation / review about a technical piece of work I had to prepare in advance. Bookended by some prescribed informal chat time 1.5hrs in total.

Took me practically a whole week to prepare it all and I had to let stuff slide in my current job to get it done. I would have been livid if I didn't get the job after all that! Thankfully I'm told there is an offer incoming, and I do understand why they do it, particularly in my case as it's a bit of a change for my current career path and they need to understand how well my skills transfer (although they use the same process for everyone).
That's great news Duncs, hope this new job goes well and is much more enjoyable than the last👍

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Fri Aug 04, 2023 10:27 pm
by Carlos
Good luck guys.

I love to see the OV9 guys smashing life 8-)

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 4:44 am
by duncs500
Cheers @Marv, won't celebrate too much until I receive the formal offer!

HaHa, I dunno about that @Carlos, I'm actually taking a pay cut, but I hope it will open doors to a much more enjoyable career.

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 5:20 am
by DeskJockey
Fingers crossed!

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 12:01 pm
by Jimmy Choo
duncs500 wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 4:44 am Cheers @Marv, won't celebrate too much until I receive the formal offer!

HaHa, I dunno about that @Carlos, I'm actually taking a pay cut, but I hope it will open doors to a much more enjoyable career.
That's a big decision to make but everyone I've spoken to who has done it hasn't regretted it. Fingers crossed for you.

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:17 pm
by Explosive Newt
DaveE wrote: Thu Aug 03, 2023 11:23 pm For your interview tomorrow, we would like you to come up with a 20 minute presentation about how you'd revolutionise this massive, legacy business about which you know very little.

Be creative.
In my last interview I had to walk a very fine tightrope between “you people are doing this wrong and here is how I would fix it” and “you have a marvellous set up which I would complement” without raising any hackles. I think I still offended a couple of the panel.

Cambridge has a two step interview process for lecturer posts and above whereby you get interviewed by your department first (the proper interview) and, if successful, you get interviewed by a university panel as a kind of rubber stamping exercise. You know, to see if you are the right sort of chap.

The latter was a surreal experience - panel of 15 people, conducted over Teams and chaired by a Lord. It culminated with his lordship asking me “how do you inspire people”.

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:18 pm
by Explosive Newt
duncs500 wrote: Fri Aug 04, 2023 6:50 pm Thankfully I'm told there is an offer incoming, and I do understand why they do it, particularly in my case as it's a bit of a change for my current career path and they need to understand how well my skills transfer (although they use the same process for everyone).
Congrats Duncs!

We need a happy forum as well as a moaning forum for stuff like this!

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2023 10:10 pm
by Beany
Explosive Newt wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:17 pm It culminated with his lordship asking me “how do you inspire people”.
How hard was it to answer in a way that wasn't "well, hard work, you know, unlike people born into their position"?

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2023 12:09 am
by duncs500
Honestly I don't think there's any need for any congrats. I'm trying something new because I'm searching for something that may not exist, in that I want a job I enjoy. I might not find it, but I've got to give it a try.

I've probably been changed a bit by the losses I (and we) have had this year. Ask me in a year whether I should be congratulated. :D

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2023 7:05 pm
by Explosive Newt
Beany wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 10:10 pm
Explosive Newt wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:17 pm It culminated with his lordship asking me “how do you inspire people”.
How hard was it to answer in a way that wasn't "well, hard work, you know, unlike people born into their position"?
This chap was appointed as a cross bench peer owing to his work with minority groups so perhaps not the right tack...

In the end I bumbled something about "leading from the front"

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2023 7:16 pm
by Mito Man
“I pull up in a Porsche” would have been better.

Re: Interview prep

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2023 7:33 pm
by Beany
Explosive Newt wrote: Sun Aug 06, 2023 7:05 pm
Beany wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 10:10 pm
Explosive Newt wrote: Sat Aug 05, 2023 3:17 pm It culminated with his lordship asking me “how do you inspire people”.
How hard was it to answer in a way that wasn't "well, hard work, you know, unlike people born into their position"?
This chap was appointed as a cross bench peer owing to his work with minority groups so perhaps not the right tack...

In the end I bumbled something about "leading from the front"
Ha, fair.