Interview Guide

1
Interview Guide

• From an interviewer
• Disclaimer Everything on this presentation is
  the personal view of Somnath Shahapurkar.
• It does not in any way represent views or
  interview process of Intel corporation.

2
Finding the right candidate

• Like finding a good life partner
• Should have good skills and/or potential to learn
  them
• Technical Making money, taking care of the house
  etc.
• Behavioral Caring, understanding, sensitive etc.
• Your interests/hobbies should compliment/supplemen
  t theirs
• Share the same passion
• Has to be interested in your combined future
• Has to be reliable
• Should have a good track record
• You should get along!
• Same values, work ethics etc.

3
Application

• Target your industry of interest
• But do not leave other industries out!
• Make a good resume keep it up to date
• Many company sites have their own resume building
  tools
• Restrict to one or two pages not a laundry list
  just highlights
• Think about placing an add on a dating site
• It is an advertisement! however, dont use pink
  paper either
• Do include keywords not a long list though
  think spam sites
• Resume should have depth and breadth
• It should be easily readable no fancy fonts, no
  font lt 11pt
• Resumes are photocopied so restrict use of color
• Use bold face and italics sparingly only where
  necessary
• Have it reviewed by an expert University has
  many resources
• Network
• Get involved in ACM/IEEE, talk to alumni, go to
  industry conferences

4
Phone screening

• Company representative usually the manager who is
  hiring or one of his group members calls
• Objective determine whether they should call you
  on-site for interview
• See if you can have it scheduled or ask for a
  minute to get ready
• Accommodate schedules
• Sit in a quiet place, use land line and see if
  you can use a headset/speakerphone
• Get a scratch pad and pencil
• Take a deep breath and start by thanking them for
  their interest
• Your objective is to make an impression and get
  some information
• Ask about the group that is interested write
  down the name
• Ask what the group does make notes
• Make sure you ask about the job make notes
• Ask for the name and contact information of the
  person who is calling
• Ask for the next steps, when you can expect
  response etc.
• Send thank you if they have given you an email

5
Interview is like a date

• Do your homework
• Dress to kill
• Be confident cheerful and positive
• Use small talk to break ice then philosophy to
  show you are deep
• Quickly gauge the person you are talking to and
  adapt accordingly
• Find balance between impressing and telling the
  truth
• Put your best foot forward but do not feel shy to
  accept your weakness
• After all you are looking for a potential life
  long relationship

6
Before the interview

• Do your research about the job, company, type of
  work
• Review some basics from your coursework/area
• To the Interview, take
• Writing pad
• Pencils or pens
• Hard copies of your latest resume
• A bottle of water if requires
• Soft and hard copies of your thesis/dissertation
  presentation
• Positive attitude
• Turn OFF your cell-phone

7
Dress code

• No one likes to judge a book by its cover but
• first impressions are best impressions
• Think of grooming/dress as one more media for you
  to market yourselves
• You will not get the job just because you wore a
  suit but you might certainly miss an opportunity
  if you dont
• Groom well
• Clipped nails, Clean shave, groomed hair etc.
• Mild deodorant no cologne, minimal jewelry
• Well pressed shirt and well polished shoes
• Suit color should be black, dark blue or gray
  white or off-white shirt and dark tie with a good
  knot
• A Firm hand-shake, pleasant smile and confident
  (not loud) Hello I am ___ will complete the
  first impression

8
The interview

• It is an interview not an interrogation
• Interview is most effective if both interviewer
  and interviewee are at ease
• Candidate is good till proven otherwise
• Interviewer is interested in finding a good
  candidate
• Be yourself
• If you are at ease, your interviewer will be at
  ease too
• Overcome the communication barrier
• Showcase your skills and qualities

9
Small talk says a lot about you

• Use small talk to break-ice and develop a rapport
• Start with safe subjects
• Good Topics Weather, sports, travel, city,
  university life, etc.
• Bad Topics Politics, war, personal-questions,
  ethical issues
• Be careful about cultural, race or religion
  matters
• If you do not know what jokes are appropriate
  stay away from jokes or trying to be funny
• Laughing without reason is seen as a sign of
  nervousness but do laugh at appropriate jokes
• Stay away from complaining about anything or
  being cynical stay positive

10
Behavioral Interview what they want

• It obvious that you must have a certain level to
  technical knowledge to have earned a technical
  graduate degree
• That is only half the picture
• But do you have the acumen to contribute and
  succeed in an industry setting?
• How do you think or attack a problem
• How do you react to pressure of time
• How do you react to uncertainty
• How do you handle confrontation
• How do you make decisions

11
Behavioral Interview what you can do

• Know yourselves
• You have a lot of skills that you use every day
  and do not know about
• Make a list of all things you have done in life
  that you are proud (and not proud of) technical
  and non-technical
• Published in journal
• Failed to find an internship and improved
  interview skills
• Helped a roommate pass an exam
• Now look for hard/soft skill keywords on the
  internet
• Team-work, analytical problem solving, working
  under uncertainty, conflict-management, object
  oriented mapping, performance-management etc.
• Map the incidents in your life to the skills you
  displayed from the keyword list
• Remember the examples
• How you tackled the problem or achieved something
• Practice by narrate the example aloud or to a
  partner
• In the narration concentrate on process how
  rather than what

12
Behavioral Interview how to answer

• It is OK to take a few seconds to think
• Let them know you are thinking.
• Say, Let me think or give me a minute
• Give only so much background so the example is
  appreciated
• Do not use up all time to explain the background
• Small but clearly narrated examples are OK
• Your example should clearly illustrate that you
  have displayed the skill in the past
• No hypothetical answers like, if this was the
  case I would do this
• More of it was like this and this is what I
  did
• Dont fib
• They can tell if you are fibbing
• Be consistent with examples and throw in some
  specifics like dates or numbers to illustrate
  genuineness
• Be prepared for why not this or how did you
  conclude that type questions

13
Lunch/Dinner

• Time to know more about the company, its culture,
  work-life balance, benefits etc
• Dress more casual but still conservative
• Make sure you strike a conservation
• That way they will remember you
• Use same guidelines for small talk as before
• Food/drinks
• Order something that is easy to eat
• Stay away from most expensive item on menu
• Stay away from alcohol
• OK to take a box
• Offer to pay though mostly company pays
• Make sure you thank them for the lunch/dinner

14
Technical Questions what they want

• There is no way they can possibly measure your
  skill level in all the areas accurately in such a
  short time
• So they take a guesstimate
• Mostly ask basic questions
• To see if you were paying attention in class
• Ask about previous work
• To make sure you have genuinely done it
• And understood what you did
• Look at impact and achievement
• Money talks if you can put a amount (or time
  or rating number) they are sold
• Looking for process/method you use to come up
  with answer than answer itself

15
Technical Questions what you do

• Make best use of the time to showcase your skills
• Breadth and depth both are important
• Breadth is important only Professors work in
  the area they studied
• Depth is important because that is the expertise
  you bring to the team
• Your interviewer will most likely know less about
  your field
• You have spent years on your research while
  managers got out of school a while ago
• Think about impressing a pretty/handsome person
  from fine-arts or still worse her father
• Stay away from Jargon
• Give brief answers that address the question
• Dont go on and on about a particular topic
• Be specific enough to not sound vague and,
• General enough to keep their interest

16
Technical Interview what if I dont know

• Can you say I dont know?
• Only as a last resort after you have attempted to
  answer
• Dont guess blindly and dont shut the door
• Explain or give a process by which one can find
  the answer
• Give an instance when you have solved a similar
  problem
• Usually they give hints listen carefully and
  work with the interviewer to come up with an
  answer
• If doubtful of the answer ask Did I address your
  question?
• Think aloud so they know what you are thinking
• Dont be shy to use the board/pad practice
  drawing pictures
• Draw pictures binary tree, hash table, linked
  list

17
Ask questions

• Make sure you ask questions when given a chance
• It shows you are interested
• Keep them general and/or related to your
  technical area of expertise but keep them
  relevant to the interview
• Watch out to see if the interviewer is
  uncomfortable with the question if so, move on
  do not persist
• Do not hesitate to ask clarifying questions
• Next steps, contact info, about the group
  business etc.

• GOOD Questions
• What aspect of your job do you like/dislike the
  most?
• Which group works on cutting edge data analysis
  methods?
• What type of training program do you have for you
  new recruits?
• Does the company support continuing education?
• How does the company help you manage your life
  and work?
• What does the typical career path look like in
  your group?

• Inappropriate Questions
• What drives you to work here?
• Do you like your managers?
• Do you do any data analysis at your company?
• Does your company pay for classes?
• How many hours do you have to work every week?
• When will I be eligible for promotion?
• Is alcohol allowed at your workplace?
• How many days vacation will I get in the year?
• How soon can I change groups in the company?
• How much do you make?

18
Presentations

• Many companies are having their graduate
  candidates do presentations
• Even otherwise, it does not hurt to take a couple
  of pages of print to point and show you research
  work pictures than text
• If the presentation is scheduled, ask ahead how
  much time you have and what equipment they can
  arrange.
• Prepare for shorter than that time and do dry
  runs
• Keep lots of time for questions remember unlike
  conferences your audience might not know your
  subject
• Stay away from complex mathematics
• Could provide links or hard copies to your paper
• Highlight impact address the questions
• What was the problem high level, examples
• What you did and how you did it?
• So what? most important think application

19
Follow-up

• Send thank you emails to all interviewers or
  request manager to forward to everyone
• Do a quick review of the interview with yourself
• Make notes as to what you did right and wrong
• Wait for the time they have told you and send an
  email
• Managers are busy people - be persistent till you
  get a response
• If you get a rejection, ask for the
  reason/feedback
• It might be hard to come by but some people do
  give feedback
• If they say you were just not suitable for that
  position,
• Ask if they know about any other groups that
  might be hiring
• Request them to forward your resume to other
  managers
• Dont be disheartened, persistence is the name of
  the game!

20
Summary

• Tips about how to prepare for the interview
  process
• How to land a interview
• Telephone screening tips and tricks
• Dress code why is appearance important
• The interview how to think of it
• Behavioral questions how to prepare for them
• Lunch/Dinner, Attitude, Small talk, Jokes and
• Technical questions what if you dont know or
  know a lot
• Presentations
• Follow-up