How did you learn from your mistakes?

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Editor’s note: Finding a job is never a simple process. How do you prepare for an interview when you are experiencing a lot of interviews and are about to enter the final round of interviews with the founders? This translation from the First Round Review article, the original title is 40 Favorite Interview Questions from Some of the Sharpest Folks We Know, after interviewing many startups and managers, the reporter summed up the 40 most liked in the interview. Question, I hope to be useful to you.

The 40 questions that the founder liked most during the interview process (3)

Image source: unsplash @johannabuguet

Lazy Directory:

Part 1 (1): About Workplace Transitions | About Discovering Motivations

Part 2: About job matching | About teamwork

Section (3): About learning from mistakes | About self-awareness | About others feedback

Part 4: About work enthusiasm | About the “difficulties” in the interview | About the way of thinking | About empathy

About learning from mistakes

19. When was the last time you changed your opinion about an important event?

For Sarah Fetter, executive director of investment firm East Rock Capital, the issue is mainly about learning and change.

“Through this question, you can understand how the interviewer’s cognitive system or values ​​change, and how does an important experience or an important person affect the interviewer’s worldview?” , “You can also ask a series of follow-up questions.To understand the feelings before and after the change, this content is enough to let you know all aspects of the interviewer.

20. What is the most important lesson you have learned from your colleagues? How did you apply it to your subsequent daily life and work?

This question was raised by Dan Slate, product director of Wealthfront, a smart investment advisor.

“I want to understand the ability of interviewers to discover and learn from the best people around them,” Slater said.

“I like this question because it allows me to assess the interviewer’s self-reflection and growth mentality. According to the other person’s answer, I can also know if the other person is a humble person.”

21. Please share a thing you have messed up with. How do you deal with and solve this problem?

For Chad Dickerson, former CEO of e-commerce platform Etsy, “This question is mainly about the interviewer’s humility, self-reflection, problem-solving and communication skills.” /p>

Dickson also said that this issue can further understand the scope of the interviewer’s previous work. “The greater the scope of responsibility, the greater the likelihood of a work error, and the corresponding solution is more complicated,” Dixon said.

22. Please share an experience that has been made or failed. What have you learned from it? Can you provide one or two specific examples?

Corley Hughes has served as the financial head of the Internet beauty brand Glossier, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) Foundation, and Product Hunt, a website that discovers and shares new products, in team building. In terms of her, she has a wealth of experience.

In the recruitment process, Hughes likes to focus on the growth that the interviewer has gained from his previous failures. She also mentioned that just asking once may not be enough to dig detailed information.

“Let the interviewer provide two or three specific examples that will allow me to better understand each other’s behavior and work style. As long as he is seriously prepared for the interview, he basically implements the drill and prepares a similar failure. Case,” Hughes said.

“Interviewers who can share three examples with me can show that they maintain good habits in self-reflection and summarization, and can objectively look at and divideAnalyze your past experiences while listening to their improvement practices. I have found that interviewers who are able to do this are born self-improvers who will maintain a constant learning attitude and are willing to share their mistakes and failures in a timely manner. These qualities are essential qualities for my team members. Hughes said.

When listening to the interviewer’s answer to this question, Hughes will pay attention to see if the interviewer can do the following three things:

  • When faced with mistakes and failures, can you face up to it and share it;

  • Do you have a self-reflective awareness and reuse the lessons learned into subsequent work scenarios;

  • Show if they will take their features seriously.

For almost all interviewers, they have actually prepared similar cases in their pockets to learn from their failures. If the interviewer can share three different instances on the spot, they can further judge that they are the real candidates for the spirit of learning, who are the people your team needs.

23. When do you feel that you are in a downturn? Can you find out that you are in this state in time? How did you deal with it?

Zach Sims, co-founder and CEO of Codeacademy, an interactive programming learning site, hopes to understand the persistence of the interviewer through this issue.

“The talent we need is able to clearly understand the ups and downs of the workplace.” Sims said, “Can you handle these lows in a calm manner and go against the trend with team members? If the interviewer has Such an experience, usually they will be more adapted to the working environment and rhythm of the startup.”

About self-awareness

24. What misunderstandings did your colleagues have with you? Please list one or two examples.

Sam Gerstenzang, co-founder of Umbrella, a housing management agency, believes that people are really not obsessed with cowardice, but are not aware of their weakness. Therefore, Sangersten Zangger usually communicates with the interviewer around the self-awareness in the interview.

“I found this problem to make the interviewer more open,” said Sangsten Zange. “Through this question, the interviewer will often realize that one is more important while understanding the importance of colleagues around him. The facts that are being highlighted.”

As far as the personal experience of Sangersten Zange is concerned, most interviewers hope to be more or less misunderstood by their colleagues, and only then can they be more aware of the motives behind them. “Slightly inferior answers usually only show the fact that self-knowledge is not deep or communicates with colleagues,” said Sangsten Zange.

Questions about misunderstandings are a powerful tool. It allows the interviewer to know more about himself and to let the other person know who he is in the eyes of others. Both aspects are very important.

25. What are you better at than others? How will you use your strengths to contribute to the company’s development?

Roli Sanena, the chief financial officer of the financial technology startup Brex, has a lot of private interview questions. Among them, the advantage of the interviewer is the top priority.

“By knowing the advantages of the interviewer and how the other person can use his or her strengths at work, you can learn more about your self-awareness and how prepared you are.” Sanaksna said, “If the other person’s answer can Consistent with the concerns of our existing team and the added value, I know that they are well prepared and well prepared for personal knowledge and understanding of the company.”

Lenny Rachitsky, former head of Airbnb, also likes to understand the advantages of the interviewer.

“As a team leader, I must let team members develop and utilize their strengths well, rather than help in areas that they are not good at,” Rachsky said.

In the interview, Rachisky will mainly search for the following two aspects in the interviewer’s answer:

  • Thinking and getting into the woods. “Excellent interviewers will always stop and think hard,” Rachsky said. “If the other person is only describing a very wide range of content, then I may have to eliminate each other. I hope They can do a three-pointer instead of a general discussion.”

  • Not arrogant, like a watch. “Can they honestly describe their strengths and weaknesses? Can I feel the authenticity of each other? I hope they can face their strengths and weaknesses.” Rachisky said, “So, I usually also I will ask further questions, ‘If I know you from your former colleagues, what information will I know?'”

26. If I don’t praise or seeGood, your colleagues know what you are saying, what might they say to me?

This problem is mainly to understand the depth of self-cognition of the interviewer. But beyond that, Gabriel Otte, co-founder and CEO of medical technology company Freenome, hopes to find the other person’s empathy through this issue.

Self-cognition is not just about finding your own shortcomings. Keep empathy with people who don’t like you, otherwise you will only lose yourself in the constant explanation and escape, so you can’t really face the criticism of others.

“I hope to understand the interviewer’s empathy for those who don’t like them.” Ott said, “They choose to evade or try to explain why others don’t like him? Or completely deny and think Is it your own heart?”

About feedback

27. Have you ever received unacceptable feedback from others? Why is it difficult to accept? How did you deal with it? What have you learned from it?

As the human resources director of the writing reading platform Medium, Pema Lin-Moore often asks this question during the interview. “It allows me to understand how the interviewer responds when they receive feedback that they have received and hope to receive.” Lin Mo said, “Then, you can understand each other’s self-reflection, perseverance and their The environment.”

Nolan Church, chief asset officer of asset management company Carta, is also in favor of understanding how interviewers can respond to unacceptable feedback.

“I can usually get to know the interviewer further through this question,” said Kirch. “It allows me to see how the other side responds to feedback, their development space, and their self-reflection, vulnerability, and Humility and other aspects.”

28. Find opportunities to provide interviewers with interview feedback during the interview process and observe their performance.

Strictly speaking, this is not an interview question, it is more like a targeted strategy. However, for Nicky Coulimis, co-founder and chief operating officer of financial and technology startup Nova Credit, this is also an essential part of the interview process.

“In each interview, I will look for opportunities to provide constructive feedback to the interviewer and observe their performance.” Grimes said, “How can the interviewer deal with this difficulty?”The dialogue can also help you better understand whether the other person is suitable to work with you.

For the interviewer, given the actual situation of each person, it is difficult to provide them with one-to-one advice. However, Grammy still relies on the following two techniques to engage in constructive feedback with the interviewer:

  • Feedback based on providing feedback to them: “We hope that the interviewer will be able to get a reward through an interview,” said Grimes. “In the interview. At the end, we will appreciate the interviewers and express our gratitude to them, and then all the interviewers present will provide them with positive and constructive feedback. When we see the interviewer digest our feedback and do it at the end. When it comes to the corresponding feedback, we feel that this is very effective.”

  • Provide feedback based on the potential match between the interviewer and the post: “When communicating with the interviewer, I will share with them what I value very much, and of course Raise the corresponding doubts,” said Grimes. “In addition to maintaining transparency in communication, I will give them an opportunity to respond or further elaborate on aspects of my doubts.”

Extended reading:

Translator: Junyi