I moved to Silicon Valley last year with the aim of finding a job at a high impact and high growth company. Knowing how talented the market is here, I was ready to face some challenges – I soon discovered that the challenges far exceeded my expectations. After a year of utilizing traditional tactics with dozens of companies and getting nowhere, I realized it was time to shift gears, so I used my skills as a marketer to create a campaign that would get the attention of recruiters and hiring managers.<\/p>\n
As the campaign reached a global audience<\/a>, I finally had the opportunity to speak with companies I had been eyeing for so long. It was an odd shift from not getting any responses to my applications to suddenly having several interviews lined up in a day. Even more unusual was the fact that though I have interviewed dozens of candidates in recent years, I haven\u2019t been interviewed for a job since I was a fresh grad, and it\u2019s a completely different experience depending on which side of the table you\u2019re on.<\/p>\n After two months of conversations with companies in a wide variety of verticals, there are some basic takeaways that I\u2019m sharing with the aim of helping other candidates prepare for their interviews.<\/p>\n Prepare Your Digital Profile<\/b><\/p>\n A few years ago I was invited to give a university lecture about how to manage your personal brand in the digital age. While most of the data I presented<\/a> there is outdated now, the key message is the same: most companies will search for information about you to get an idea of who you are beyond your resume.<\/p>\n Prepare Your Story<\/b><\/p>\n When I worked in public relations, a part of my job was to think of what questions the press might ask around a specific campaign and to prepare the research for the answers in advance. The idea wasn\u2019t to have well rehearsed talking points, but rather to make sure that whatever the question, the response would lead back to one unified story.<\/p>\n The same holds true for job interviews.<\/p>\n Take Notes<\/b><\/p>\n Taking notes during an interview has multiple benefits. First, it conveys the message that you\u2019re paying attention. Second, it gives you the opportunity to write down questions or reminders without interrupting the flow of the conversation. Most importantly, though, the process of writing a few key points every few minutes will force you to reset the pace of the conversation. I know that I have a tendency to speak very quickly when I get too excited. While enthusiasm for a role or a company is appreciated, if the pace of a conversation goes too quickly, I worry that I\u2019ll loose the extra few seconds I\u2019ll need to form a fully thought through response.<\/p>\n Interview Them<\/b><\/p>\n When I arrived to San Francisco, friends told me it would take weeks until I would find an apartment. It took me 3 days, and the reason it was such an efficient process is because I had a checklist of the priorities I would need in an apartment, and a sublist of things I would like but were not necessary. I checked each apartment I found against that list, so it was easy to identifying something I liked when I found it. One year later I\u2019m still very happy with the place I\u2019m in.<\/p>\n Though my job hunt hasn\u2019t been as efficient in time, I believe it\u2019s important to utilize the same approach. Know what you want from the role you\u2019re interviewing for, the team you\u2019ll be working with, and the company. Understand for your own sake what it is that you\u2019re looking for and remember that the interview process is a two way conversation so ask the relevant questions to make sure you see a fit for yourself within the company too.<\/p>\n Overall, one thing I know to be absolutely true, is that it is an emotionally challenging experience no matter where you are in your career. I hope I\u2019ve helped to shed some light on a couple tactics that can make it smoother to navigate. Good luck!<\/p>\n For more insights from the campaign, and to learn how you can apply the lessons to your work, please visit www.nina4airbnb.com\/whitepaper<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I moved to Silicon Valley last year with the aim of finding a job at a high impact and high growth company. Knowing how talented the market is here, I was ready to face some challenges - I soon discovered that the challenges far exceeded my expectations. After a year of utilizing traditional tactics with dozens of companies and getting nowhere, I realized it was time to shift gears, so I used my skills as a marketer to create a campaign that would get the attention of recruiters and hiring managers.","protected":false},"author":269,"featured_media":30953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":""},"categories":[841],"tags":[],"series":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/job-application.jpeg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/Podcast-icon.jpg","download_link":false,"player_link":false,"audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/hiring-success-podcast\/id1472174987","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.google.com\/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9oaXJpbmdzdWNjZXNzcG9kY2FzdC5jYXN0b3MuY29tL2hpcmluZy1zdWNjZXNzLXBvZGNhc3Q","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"soundcloud":{"key":"soundcloud","url":"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/smartrecruiters\/sets\/hiring-success-podcast-1","label":"SoundCloud","class":"soundcloud","icon":"soundcloud.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3bM8YzLjM2G9qJXLBBySaB","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/www.smartrecruiters.com\/blog\/feed\/podcast","embedCode":"\n
\n
Lessons from a Viral Job Application<\/a><\/blockquote>