An Uber recruiter who's hired hundreds of people shares his best job interview advice
You've got to keep a lot of things in mind when you're interviewing for a job.
Don't say the wrong thing. Be ready to answer really random questions. Most of all, impress the interviewer.
Uber global head of recruiting Jim Baaden has some advice of his own to add.
He tells Business Insider that an effective interview starts with a solid, quantifiable résumé. "I think a résumé should be a high-level and, as much as possible, a quantitative representation of what you've done," Baaden says. "You can jump right into the meat of an interview with a candidate."
Sidenote: If you're looking for résumé advice, make sure to check out our coverage of everything from words to avoid in a CV to advice from résumé experts who have snagged gigs at Google, Buzzfeed, Facebook, Goldman Sachs and more.
Once an interview comes around, Baaden has a few tips for candidates:
1. Be prepared
Baaden says that under-preparing for job interview is the biggest mistake you can make. Any experienced interviewer's going to pick up on your lack of interest and knowledge about the role and the company.
He says that at Uber, candidates must be prepared to answer questions like:
- Why Uber?
- Why this team?
- How has your work experience made you a good fit for this role?
You'd also better be prepared to have an intelligent conversation about the company itself.
"Any company you're going in and interviewing for, you should get familiar with their product," he told Business Insider.
That means coming in with some concrete concepts and well-thought-out opinions on areas of the product or company that you feel could be improved.
2. Tailor your responses
It's bad policy to send the same exact cover letter to every company you apply for. The same thing goes for your answers to interview questions. An answer that might fly at a tech company might lose you some points at a financial firm.
So, you need to make sure you're not just giving canned responses, according to Baaden.
"Companies operate differently; they're structured differently," he says. "Your awareness and research on the organization should help you craft an answer that's specific to that environment."
3. Be curious and ask questions
Baaden says he is always looking for candidates who are curious and invested in self-improvement. How can you convey curiosity to a recruiter? Well, ask questions, for one. Also, try treating the interview more like a conversation. Pretend that you've just met the interviewer in a social situation when you ask them questions.
That demonstrates to the interviewer that you're truly interested in the role - and that you'll bring your intellectual curiosity to the role.