How to angle your pitch, leave a terrific impression, and ace your mission interview
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Prepare for the interview
You can’t read minds (as far as we know), but you can do your due diligence — and that’s nearly as good.
- Take a look at the company’s website. What’s their business’ unique value proposition? How does this mission aim to bring their vision to life? This background information is foundational for the conversation with your interviewer.
- Look up the person you’re meeting with. Knowing your interviewer’s background, area of expertise, and possible shared connections can give you a leg up. If you have any shared experiences or connections, don’t hesitate to share them at the start of the call.
- Find out what’s top of mind for the business. A quick search (or deeper scan of their website) can reveal the company’s high-level business and product objectives. This can help you understand exactly how you can contribute to their growth — something you should absolutely share during your mission interview.
- Read up on the mission. It’ll help you understand the company’s goals and expectations, and the video may help you get to know the team lead.
- Write down your questions. Interviews are a two-way street. After you’ve done your research, be sure to write down 3-5 high-level questions about the company, mission, product, and team — and don’t forget to ask them.
Next, use all that knowledge to figure out how to best present yourself.
- Nail your elevator pitch. 90% of calls begin with, “Tell us about yourself.” Keep your elevator pitch short, punchy, and emphasize experiences that are relevant to this mission.
- Share metrics if you have them. Success metrics are great for quantifying the contribution you’ve made to past companies and products. If you have them, use them.
- Ask if they’d like you to dive deeper. Let the interviewer direct you toward the experiences they want to hear more about. This will pivot you in the right direction, and give you an insight into what the company is looking for.
When it’s go time, make sure your video call set-up is killer.
- Get camera-ready. In today’s world, life and work have merged — and we embrace that. But be sure to physically present yourself in a professional way (i.e. avoid tank tops, shirts with controversial text, etc).
- Adjust your frame. Try to avoid being back-lit. If you have a distracting background, blur your camera. And make sure you’re in a quiet room.
- Check your connection. See that your internet has a strong connection and that your meeting tools are properly set up.
- Be on time. Double-check the meeting time and timezone.
Build a connection
Creating a positive connection with your interviewer is half the work. It’s what leaves the biggest impression, and gets the hiring manager to like you. Here are four ways to build a great connection with your interviewer:
- Talk builder-to-builder. At A.Team, we believe that everybody is a builder — even a mission’s hiring manager. When you’re on a mission interview, don’t forget that you’re not talking to a faceless company. You’re talking to a builder, not unlike yourself.
- Show interest in what they’re building. You’re on this call because you’re excited about the company’s vision and the tech they’re using to build it. Share that — and tell them why. What about the product, the problem, and the solution inspires you?
- Tell them how you can uniquely contribute. After learning about their bottlenecks, objectives, and how they’re working to solve them, share how your skills and experience building similar products are uniquely poised for this role.
- Ask about the team. Take this opportunity to learn about the company’s culture, how team members interact, and how you’d be working with your teammates. And, of course, show the interviewer you’re a team player by sharing your past experiences working with remote teams.
Set expectations
Understanding expectations now will help prevent clashes and problems down the line. Get clarity on the your expected workflow by covering the following topics during your mission interview:
- Availability. Share your timezone and discuss how many hours per week you expect to work.
- Deadlines. Does this mission have clear milestones and due dates? What are they?
- Workload & responsibilities. What’s your expected major contribution to this mission? Ask the interviewer to break it down into goals, milestones, and KPIs.
- Communication. Ask how the company prefers to manage team communication. Synchronously, asynchronously, or a combination?
- Tools. What communication and project management tools does the company expect you to use? (Email, Zoom, Slack, Notion, Jira, etc.)
Wrapping up and next steps
When the mission interview comes to a close, take the following steps to get aligned and move forward on great terms:
- Make sure all your questions are answered. Do you have everything you need in order to decide whether this is the right team for you?
- Make sure all their questions are answered. Ask if your interviewer has any last questions or if any part of your experience gives them pause. If so, now is the time to address it.
- Show your interest in moving forward. Ask how they wish to proceed. If you’re flexible on hours, rates, or timezone overlap, this is a good time to share that.
- Follow up with a thank you. Send your interviewer an email the following day to let them know you what you enjoyed about the call. If you learned something new, mention it.
- Share your feedback. Take 3 minutes to fill out this form. It’ll help us give more tangible advice on improving interview skills, and help you land future missions faster.
Role-specific interview guides
Dive deep and show off your expertise. Explore these role-specific interview tips and sample questions: