Keep Calm and Win Your Virtual Onsite Interviews

Do your homework, adopt a positive mindset and just enjoy the ride!

Getting into a Data Science role could become… well, a science in its own way! After spending several months looking for my next best role, sending over 200 applications, attending 10 final interviews, and finding my dream team at EdTech company, I wanted to share my 2 cents about what I learnt about

1. Enjoy the ride! I mean, the interviews! Think about interviews not as another dire experience you have to go through but as a great opportunity to see if you like the role and the company and if you there could be a good fit. To put it simply, you should feel that you ENJOY your interviews. Check if you like the way the company communicates with you, whether the questions they ask, take-home data challenges they give are something you actually like doing and thinking about.
On the morning of the final interviews, you should be thinking “I’m really curious, what would be the challenges we’ll be talking today about?”. At the end of the day, you should feel like you really liked talking to your interviewers and that you learned a lot about the team and the role.

2. Scheduling done right. Don’t underestimate this part, it’s so important and so easy to overlook. Once you get an e-mail from the recruiter outlining the schedule of your virtual onsites, make sure that this schedule works well for you in terms of keeping your energy levels high throughout the whole day. Make sure there are at least 10–15 min breaks between the interviews, and at least 30 minute break for lunch.

If the whole process takes over 6 hours, consider splitting the interviews into two days. (I’m pretty serious about that.) Especially if your final round includes making a presentation or doing a data challenge, do ask to split the final round in two days. Otherwise, you risk getting so tired and burned out by the final interviews that you won’t be able to think and perform well. I’ve had such an experience when I had a 4-hours data challenge in the morning, followed by a presentation and 2 more interviews, with at most 10 minutes breaks in between. It’s been draining and I literally couldn’t think straight during the last round.

Don’t be afraid to ask for accommodations - they are absolutely manageable for the most part, and a failure to accommodate your needs might actually not speak in favor of the company. So, it’s another data point in your decision-making about whether you want to work for that company or not.

3. Communication Technology — make sure in advance that everything works well. Make sure everything is working on the technical side — communication software is installed (Zoom, Hangouts, or MS Teams), and you can open the meeting link. If you have technical interviews, also make sure you have the link to a shared doc or an online whiteboard tool like CoderPad. It would be good if you could test those online tools in advance, or at least practice writing code in a Google doc. Another good idea is to have a Google doc ready in case you need to explain something or share your thoughts — you’ll be able to quickly share it with your interviewers.

4. Ask questions to your interviewers, make an interview flow more like a conversation. Don’t be afraid of taking a pause to think, don’t rush to give an answer, ask clarifying questions. Also ask questions about the day-to-day work and team dynamics, what they value and who they are actually looking for in this role?

5. Finally, feel good and look confident. The best advice here is to get enough sleep the night before the interview and feel fresh and full of energy in the morning. Of course, life happens, we all have tons of other work and family obligations and can end up preparing the presentation right the night before the interviews and not get enough sleep. In that case, really use the breaks between the interviews to recharge in some way — do a short meditation, or exercise, or even take a nap during the lunch break!

Also, make sure you look nice and feel comfortable in your clothes. Even though you do interviews from the comfort of your home, don’t put on yoga pants even if you think they are comfortable and no one anyway would see you beyond your chest. Wear the clothes you would wear in the office, make a slight make-up or groom, and do anything that helps you feel comfortable and confident (yes, that includes brewing tons of coffee!)

So, stay calm, trust yourself, and good luck to you all in your job search endeavors!

If you like what I write, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment and connect with me on LinkedIn