Improve Your Chances In Your Engineering Job Search Using the Scientific Method with Brian Pulliam
Aug 14, 2024
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In this insightful discussion, career coach Brian Pulliam, known for enhancing job search strategies for engineers, shares powerful techniques for nailing interviews. He emphasizes the importance of aligning personal experiences with company values and transforming those values into interview questions. Brian also delves into effective storytelling, highlighting how narratives can make a lasting impression. Additionally, he shares creative problem-solving examples and the role of human-centered leadership in fostering high-performance teams.
Candidates should align their experiences with company core values by developing situational interview questions for compelling storytelling.
Leaders must adopt a curious mindset to uncover team members' challenges, fostering a supportive environment that enhances performance.
Adaptive storytelling is essential for candidates, allowing them to seamlessly connect relevant experiences to various interview questions.
Deep dives
Integrating Company Values into Interview Preparation
Candidates should transform company core values into situational interview questions to prepare effectively. By framing each value as a prompt, such as 'Tell me about a time when you demonstrated X,' candidates can present relevant experiences. This method paves the way for comprehensive storytelling during interviews. Surprisingly, many candidates overlook this strategy, despite it being readily accessible on company websites.
Building Relationships through Curiosity in Leadership
Leaders should embrace a curious approach when addressing performance issues with team members. Instead of jumping to conclusions about a team member's effectiveness, asking open-ended questions can reveal underlying challenges. A vivid example highlighted how understanding a team member’s personal situation drastically improved performance. This emphasizes the importance of viewing team members as whole individuals rather than mere performers.
Adapting Responses in Interviews
Candidates need to be prepared to adjust their stories in response to varied interview questions. By recognizing that interview queries often fit broader themes, they can effectively 'snap to' applicable anecdotes. This adaptive storytelling in interviews allows for seamless transitions between questions and relevant experiences. Practicing this adaptability can enhance a candidate's confidence and their ability to convey key competencies.
Choosing Focus Wisely in Engineering Teams
Focusing on the overall success of the organization rather than just individual tasks is crucial in engineering roles. The discussion emphasized providing support to sister teams when needed, demonstrating a collective goal orientation. This practice not only fosters collaboration but also leads to higher project impacts than solely concentrating on one's immediate responsibilities. Such selflessness can build stronger team dynamics and improve overall outcomes.
Negotiating Success in New Roles
New hires should engage in discussions about expectations and success metrics early in their onboarding process. By clearly articulating what success looks like for them and their teams, employees can ensure alignment with management. A collective understanding can ultimately enhance performance ratings and team productivity. This proactive approach sets a positive tone for working relationships and fosters accountability from the outset.
I'm joined today by Brian Pulliam. I've personally engaged Brian as a career coach. In this discussion we'll talk a bit about coaching, and about how you can set yourself up to become a much better candidate in your job search as an engineering leader.
Values Exercise Live:
Jonathan and Brian perform a live exercise, transforming company core values into interview questions.
Discussing the importance of aligning your experiences with the values that a company holds.
"I'm going to do this live right now with you, actually. I think it'll be a cool exercise..."
Advanced Interview Techniques:
How to handle unexpected questions by paraphrasing.
Preparing for common interview questions derived from company values.
"You should convert every single one of those core values into a question that starts with tell me about a time when you demonstrated X."
Finding a Way to Succeed:
The importance of creative problem solving in leadership.
Examples of finding efficient solutions to technical problems without writing code.
"With zero lines of code...the ops team just reconfigured a job to run more often."
Effective Storytelling in Interviews:
How to use stories to demonstrate competencies and cultural fit.
The role of storytelling in making a lasting impression on interviewers.
"Stories move the world...people write $50 million dollar checks to startup founders based on stories."
Building a Culture of Excellence:
Strategies for fostering a high-performance team environment.
Reflections on leadership and creating positive workplace dynamics.
"We provide stable, fast, low friction developer experiences for all engineering teams at Zillow."
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📮 Ask a Question
If you enjoyed this episode and would like me to discuss a question that you have on the show, drop it over at: developertea.com.
If you want to be a part of a supportive community of engineers (non-engineers welcome!) working to improve their lives and careers, join us on the Developer Tea Discord community by visiting https://developertea.com/discord today!
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