by Matthew Rigley, Talent Acquisition Partner.
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Should your application be unsuccessful at any stage we will notify you as soon as possible via email or phone. We will always seek to provide constructive and honest feedback. If you have any questions along the way you can get in touch with your Talent Acquisition Partner.
Step 1 – Phone Screen with Talent Acquisition
This is an opportunity for us to get to know you, understand your experience and skills, motivations for applying and availability. It is also your opportunity to ask questions about Trade Ledger, our journey and the upcoming recruitment process.
Step 2 – Technical Phone Interview (Optional depending on the role)
In some cases the next step will be a 30-minute technical phone interview. The team will be asking questions to gauge your technical fit and skill levels.
Step 3 - Face to Face Technical / Skills based interview
Facilitated in person or virtually (via google meet), this stage is designed to assess your theoretical and practical skills, understand your approach to your work, assess how you technically deliver in your role, and rate your skill level. Often this will involve a practical element (eg: a design challenge, coding exercise, case study presentation or sales pitch). These are usually conducted by the hiring manager. These are 2 way interviews and it's a great opportunity to ask questions to gain insights about the team, role, challenges, ways of working and our culture.
Step 4 – Behavioural Interview (See additional section below for further info on this)
The behavioural interview is usually the final stage in your interview journey. We ask situational questions that have been created to assess your working style and values. It's also another opportunity for you to ask any questions.
The Interview - Preparation is key
Know Yourself – Re-read your resume
Before your interview, think about your key skills and attributes. How do they align with the role you hope to get? Familiarise yourself with your key achievements and examples that you have highlighted in your resume. This will help you to really articulate your suitability in a concise and confident manner.
Know the Role – Read the Job Advert / Job Description
Refresh yourself on how your skills and experiences correlate to the competencies being assessed. Take time to read through the original job advert or job description and identify key themes. This will then allow you to prepare some specific examples to some of the questions which are likely to be asked.
Research the Role and Team - Be curious
Do some research into our current projects and exciting developments (Life @ Trade Ledger, blogs or articles). Check out the company and individual LinkedIn profiles. Use this information to ask questions and establish a connection with the people that you are interviewing with.
Plan your questions
An interview is as much about you finding out more about an opportunity and what it is like to work at Trade Ledger, as it is about us finding out more about you. Therefore make sure you have some really well informed questions that give you the ability to demonstrate your interest in the role.
Practise your interview technique
This can be done by writing down the key points you want to get across and building these out. Ask someone you feel comfortable with to give you feedback.
Behavioural Based Interviewing at Trade Ledger
This is usually the final step in the process and is designed to assess your working style and values. It involves a series of questions that start with:
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Things to avoid in Behavioural interview responses:
Vague Statements:
Ensure you are providing specific examples of situations you have encountered on the job to highlight your competencies and skills. Specific examples will be remembered. Generalisations or clichéd responses will not. Avoid using terms like “they are generally” “most of the time” “usually” “we” “sometimes”.
Opinion Statements:
The interviewer is not asking for your opinion. They want a real-life, factual example of what you did in a certain situation. Avoid "I believe..." "I think...“ "In my opinion..."
Theoretical or Future-oriented Statements:
These answers indicate what you would do rather than what you actually did. “If I had ....“ “I would have...“ "I might.."'
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There is no doubt, interviewing can be a pretty nerve wracking thing! The best way to alleviate those nerves, and to increase your chances of success is to take the time to prepare before the interview. Really think about the topics you’re likely to discuss, ways to position yourself as a strong candidate and opportunities to make a positive impression on the interviewers. Remember to Research, Plan and Practise. You know you can do the role you are applying for; you just need make sure the interviewers believe you can, too. One way to do this is by preparing well-thought-out answers to questions they're most likely to ask and practise them! Interview skills are learned and there are no second chances to make a great first impression.