I have a video call interview in a few days, I’m wondering if you guys have any tips for how these type of interviews go? , what type of questions do they usually ask?
There’s one particular question that I find tricky; “what are your weaknesses?”, I mean how would you answer that question? I honestly feel like you could easily dig your own grave depending on the answer.
With the weaknesses question avoid the smarmy cliches like ‘I’m a perfectionist’ or other humblebrags.
Instead frame your answer as something you have recently reflected on as an area you’ve identified for improvement and then segue into describing the steps you are currently taking to improve in that area.
Example : ‘Well, I have typically been quite reserved in social situations in the past, so in order to overcome my shyness I’ve been forcing myself to give talks at local meetups. I’ve found it really challenging, but I’m also noticing that it’s getting easier the more I do it.’
More broadly, the phone screen is usually to determine one or more of a few things:
Just relax, answer honestly, and listen carefully to their answers to your questions too. Remember, this is also your opportunity to screen them. Not every team is a team you want to be on.
Good luck!
Thanks for the advice!
I use questions like that as a way to actually make sure that the job is a good fit. I tend to say things like “I have a tendency to beat my head against a problem for longer than I should before asking for help. That’s why it’s really important to me to be part of a team where I can feel comfortable approaching my fellow developers.” It’s true. I don’t want them to offer me a job if I’m going to be expected to work in isolation, if the workload is too high for people to have time to help each other, or if the environment is competitive instead of supportive.
good idea, and nice answer, thank you.
I haven’t been asked the question but i prepared answers that were not work/job related as to not self incriminate myself against the job position
I actually really like video and phone interviews because you can prepare for some common behavioural questions beforehand and have a little cheat sheet on hand (in the case of the video interview, this would just be an open Word doc). I find it really helps decrease my on-the-spot panic if I just prep for basic questions like “Why this company?”, “What are your greatest strengths?”, etc. and have some notes I can refer to so I don’t go “ummmmmm” for 5 mins.
Congrats on getting the interview and good luck 
It is highly variable because it’s often down to the interviewers. In general, know your resume and be prepared to talk about everything you listed, know the company and position if you applied for the position, and prepare a few questions yourself for the position and the company.
Interview are often a confirmation that you are who you presented to them on paper, so be prepared to be that person. Some interviewer veer more into the technical aspects because they are engineers, some are more interested in your work experience, high level knowledge and communication skill because they are project managers. It could go in different direction, but ultimately they want to know about you, so answer as honestly as you can and sound as natural as you can.
Try to lead the conversation to your skills and qualifications. If they ask you Angular questions but all you know is react, tell them what you do know about React and Angular and how your react experience can quickly translate into another front-end framework.
The cliché questions probably won’t impact you too much as long as you don’t respond with something overtly alarming. Be prepared to answer the job related questions and just give succinct and honest answers for the cliché “personality” questions.
Woa that was really helpful!, thank so much everyone!