TikTok has become an absolute hotbed for career advice. The home of quiet quitting, it’s helping gen Z and millennials navigate their work lives and even land jobs in the first place. And I’d know. I used it to land this one.
As someone with zero shame, I have no problem exposing myself on this one. I’m a Type A personality who loves organisation and preparation. I also respect there are experts out there who can help me achieve my goals.
And interview coaching is nothing new. There’s a plethora of services out there that offer assistance in landing your dream. For a fee.
We’re seeing a renaissance in the democratisation of information on TikTok, including in the job seeker sphere. Why shouldn’t people take advantage of that to give themselves a leg up.
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And with 1 billion active monthly users on the platform, they probably are.
Here’s some of the best interview hacks I’ve seen on the platform and have personally used.
Keep a glass of water handy
This may sound strange, but it’s perfect to buy you time if you’re asked a difficult question. It gives you the opportunity to to take a beat to think.
If you’re interviewing in person, always accept an offer of water or ask for a glass.
@joshotusanya Job Interview Hack 😎 (Thoughts?) #interview #learnontiktok #interviewtips #joshosays
Always ask questions
If you don’t have questions for the company hiring you, it can seem like a bit of a red flag. It could signal that you’re not really interested in the role or someone with a curious mind.
And I don’t just mean questions around salary or next steps. Be specific and based on research you’ve done on the company as a jumping off point.
@selfmademillennial I can’t emphasize this enough: you’ve got to ask questions in the job interview! 🍊#jobinterview #jobsearch #worklife #jobtips #careeradvice #jobinterviewtips #careertips #business
As @selfmademillennial says, this will help you stand out. But in my opinion there’s an even better reason to not pass up this opportunity.
Flip the interview
For me personally, I take the ‘do you have any questions for us’ section of the chat as an opportunity to start interviewing the company.
You spend the vast majority of the week at work — don’t you want to make sure you’ll be happy there? The question isn’t why they should hire you, but why you should work for them. Will they fit into your lifestyle and goals?
It’s a bold mindset, I know. But it works.
If you’re not sure where to start with lines of questioning, here’s the ones I use. Most of them originally came from TikTok and I built on them to be specific for my sector and the company I was talking to.
- What is the team structure?
- What would your day-to-day look like?
- Is it a flexible work environment (and ask for details)
- What is the company culture like?
- What is your favourite part about working at this company?
- What are the challenges of working there?
- Are there opportunities to upskill? How is this supported? Can you provide recent examples?
- If you had unlimited funds, what would you change or improve about the business? (This gives you excellent insight into what your future manager values)
Find out how they define success
Discovering how a company defines success is a valuable tool. It lets you know what will be expected of you and what to aim for, and it also offers insight into what your first few months in the role are going to look like.
I tend to ask what qualities your future-manager values and which skillsets they think are required to make the role successful.
I also like to ask what they would ideally like me to achieve by the end of the probation period versus what the realistic goal is.
Turn your weaknesses into opportunities
We all dread the old ‘what’s your greatest weakness’ question. But you don’t need to be scared of it. Instead, turn it into an opportunity to demonstrate a strength as well as provide an example of how you’re trying to improve.
TikToker @niu.views provides some excellent examples on this topic.
The bottom line is to be genuine but find the positives.
If you’re not the fastest worker, you can point to being detail orientated or meticulous. You can also point to ways you’ve tried to improve such as using a timer. Personally, I’m a Pomodoro gal.
Or if you’re super quick but that results in missing details, you could say you thrive under pressure and are action orientated but realise you need to take the time to slow down.
@niu.views spin that straw into gold ✴️ #howto #lifehack #Rumpelstiltskin #interviewtips #interviewquestions #communication #learnontiktok #highvibe #toronto
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