As a hiring manager for many high growth companies, I have conducted thousands of interviews. I consider it one of the most essential parts of my job since having the right people on the team is the fastest way to achieve your company’s desired outcomes.

One of the things I am most protective of is my team’s time. They are making the magic happen and I want to make sure they maximize their productivity. While hiring is essential to the entire team, one of my key responsibilities to make sure to not waste their precious time and effort on less-than-stellar candidates. I do that through a screening interview.

After the initial recruiter screen, I am the first person to talk to the candidate. This is typically a 30 minute session where I look for several key things:

• Do they show initiative and curiosity – have they done research on the company and our market? If not, that is a clear sign that it won’t be a good fit for our organization, especially in a customer facing role.
• Assessing their role qualifications – their experience doesn’t have to match the role exactly but I do want to understand, in the context of their previous roles, how to they solve problems, gain perspective and improve.
• How are their communication skills – are they articulate, can they communicate effectively, and can they listen appropriately and understand what is being asked of them.

Over the course of these 1000+ interviews, there are some common themes that continue to pop up. By highlighting them here I hope to share with potential interviewees some key tips on how to get through the initial conversation so you can shine when you speak to the team!

1. Introduce yourself – Introduce yourself when you pick up the phone or get on a video call. You and I have been scheduled for this meeting but we have likely never met, so please introduce yourself when you answer the phone or the video call. It is common courtesy and it saves us the initial “is this Jane?” dance.
2. Show interest in the company and our market. One of the first things I usually ask the candidate is what they know about our company. First, it shows if the person has done any preparation for the call, and second, if I need to spend a little time providing them with further insight into our company and/or space if they don’t have a solid understanding of what we do.
3. Demonstrate you can listen. I will often ask a candidate to give me a “5 minute” overview of your background. I do watch the time they spend as they go through their response. If you go way over time, especially if you haven’t checked in with me see if they were on the right track or asked a confirmation question that is usually a red flag for me. I had one candidate spend 22 minutes straight giving me a “5 minute overview” without stopping once! Don’t be that person.
4. Know what you want – Be ready to answer a version of the question of “what are you looking for from your manager?” or “What are you looking for in a company?” How does your desired culture match my team’s or the company’s culture? If you tell me they you are really interested in the high-performance culture where winning is everything, that is great to know, but if it doesn’t align with my company’s culture, then it is likely not going to be a good fit. It is good for both of us to realize this as quickly as possible.
5. Ask questions. I can’t stress this enough. Really. If you don’t ask questions then you are showing me that you either aren’t curious or think you know everything about what we do. Either one is a warning sign. The best interviews are conversations, so engage in one by asking questions!

The initial interview screen with someone on the hiring team is one of the most important conversations you will have in the interview process as it is the gate through which you must pass to get to the team interviews. Be ready to knock it out of the park with these insights!