02: The right questions can get you a job


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Oct 06 2020 19 mins   1

How do you decide what type of company you want to work for? Figure out who your dream companies are in that size, space, industry by trying new things.

In college, I worked for a startup sized agency, a public enterprise, a governement department. I knew I would be likely happier in smaller companies.

The most important part of an interview is not to be prepared for what they will ask, but rather making sure you ask the right questions. One of my favs: Totally ask the company what the salary range is for this position. Usually it's just the candidate forced giving a range. Doesn't have to be the case.

Questions to ask based on size of company (Startup) Data/technical support, is there a data warehouse (Scale up) What's the plan/reporting structure, ops report to marketing or revenue, examples of projects (Enterprise) Ask biggest problems right now, ask about tech stack, ask about change resistance, age of staff.

Questions to ask regardless of company size: Ask people what they love the most about the job. What they think of manager. what are the big upcoming projects, make sure they match your KPIs. What sod you see as the biggest hurdle for this role.

How to show your passion: pick a project you loved, and go deep into the details and why you loved it.

Idea: Send a cover letter via video; play on the remote factor. If it's an email job, tell the manager you wrote an email series for them as an introduction to your experience and background. If it's a lifecycle role, send them your favorite workflow template.

How to differentiate yourself: show how much you learn on your own, not just in your day to day, talk about mentors, courses, Slack groups, favorite authors and thought leaders.

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Intro music by Wowa via Unminus