17 Questions TikTok always asks in Interviews (and how to answer them)

Summary

This video script offers a comprehensive guide to tackling the most frequently asked interview questions at TikTok, including self-introductions, behavioral questions, and queries about values and teamwork. It emphasizes the importance of preparation, particularly for behavioral questions, and suggests using frameworks like STAR for structured responses. The speaker also advises against generic answers, recommending tailored stories that showcase one's strengths and experiences, and provides insights on how to handle stress and work in fast-paced environments.

Takeaways

• 📝 The video provides a follow-up to a previous video with an updated list of commonly asked questions in TikTok interviews.
• 💼 The speaker suggests using Chat GPT for pointers to give the best answers, emphasizing the importance of preparation for introductory questions.
• ⏱️ It's recommended to spend less time on preparing the elevator pitch compared to the behavioral part of the interview, as it's considered less significant.
• 🗣️ The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format is crucial for answering behavioral questions and is expected by interviewers.
• 🔍 The 'Deep Dive Test' is a strategy used by interviewers to assess the authenticity and depth of a candidate's experience with follow-up questions.
• 💡 The speaker advises identifying personal strengths and weaknesses that can set candidates apart during the interview.
• 🤝 Questions about conflict resolution and teamwork are used to assess a candidate's interpersonal skills.
• 📊 Using data to influence outcomes is linked to decision-making and is an important skill, especially for technical and sales roles.
• 🔄 The ability to work in a fast-paced environment is a combination of understanding one's role, interpersonal skills, ambition, and stress management.
• 🛠️ Improving processes and quantifying improvements is a way to demonstrate quality standards and the ability to handle complex processes.
• 📈 The video script also touches on the importance of understanding the company's values and being able to connect with them during the interview.

Q & A

What is the main purpose of the video?

The main purpose of the video is to provide a list of the most interesting and commonly asked questions on TikTok in 2023, along with updated tips on how to answer them effectively.

What is the significance of preparing for introductory questions like 'Tell me about yourself' or 'Why do you want this job'?

Introductory questions are significant as they set the tone for the rest of the interview and provide an opportunity for candidates to sell themselves and connect with the company's values and mission.

How does the speaker suggest using Chat GPT for interview preparation?

The speaker suggests using Chat GPT for pointers on giving the best answers to interview questions, but emphasizes the importance of personal preparation and not relying solely on AI-generated responses.

Why is the STAR format recommended for answering behavioral interview questions?

The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format is recommended because it provides a clear and structured way to communicate responses to behavioral questions, which is also the format interviewers expect.

What is the 'Deep Dive Test' mentioned in the script, and why is it important?

The 'Deep Dive Test' refers to the interviewer's practice of asking follow-up questions to verify the authenticity of a candidate's experiences. It's important because it tests the candidate's genuine involvement in the situations they describe and their level of preparation.

How should candidates approach questions about their strengths and weaknesses?

Candidates should prepare beyond just the interview context, identifying their core strengths that set them apart and being ready with three weaknesses that make sense for the role, avoiding clichés like 'I'm a perfectionist' or 'I work too hard'.

What is the 'backbone test' in the context of job interviews?

The 'backbone test' is a situation where candidates are assessed on their ability to disagree respectfully with a superior or colleague without showing arrogance, demonstrating their ability to stand up for their beliefs when necessary.

Why are questions about working in a team becoming more common in interviews?

Questions about working in a team are becoming more common due to the rise in remote work, which has led to less direct experience of team collaboration. These questions help assess a candidate's interpersonal skills and ability to contribute to a team environment.

How does the speaker suggest candidates prepare for questions about managing stress or working under pressure?

The speaker suggests that preparation is key to managing stress in job interviews. By being well-prepared, candidates can use stress as a stimulant to perform better during the interview.

What is the importance of using frameworks when discussing decision-making or prioritization in an interview?

Using frameworks adds credibility to a candidate's responses, showing that they have a systematic approach to decision-making or prioritization, which can be more convincing to interviewers than simply stating preferences.

Why might a candidate be asked about their experience with data-driven decision making?

Candidates may be asked about their experience with data-driven decision making to assess their ability to use data to influence outcomes effectively, which is a valuable skill in many roles, especially technical and sales positions.

What is the significance of the question about improving a process and quantifying its improvement?

This question is significant as it helps interviewers assess a candidate's attention to detail, ability to identify areas for improvement, and their capability to measure and articulate the impact of their work.

Outlines

00:00

📝 Preparing for Common TikTok Interview Questions

This paragraph introduces the video's focus on addressing the most frequently asked questions in TikTok interviews in 2023. It mentions an earlier video that was well-received and indicates that this follow-up will include updates, additional questions, and advice on crafting responses. The speaker has prepared a cheat sheet with questions and notes to discuss. The paragraph emphasizes the importance of preparing for introductory questions such as self-introduction, reasons for interest in the job or company, and long-term career goals. It suggests using AI tools like Chat GPT for refining answers and notes that the behavioral portion of the interview has become more critical than the traditional elevator pitch.

05:01

🗣 Mastering Behavioral Interview Questions with STAR Format

The speaker discusses the prevalence of behavioral questions in TikTok interviews, particularly focusing on how to handle difficult situations. The STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format is introduced as the essential method for structuring responses to these questions, as it is expected by interviewers. The paragraph also touches on the importance of remembering details to pass the 'deep dive test', where interviewers ask follow-up questions to assess authenticity and preparation. The speaker advises against relying on generic answers and emphasizes the need for specificity and preparation to excel in this aspect of the interview.

10:01

💡 Showcasing Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

This paragraph delves into the common interview topic of discussing personal strengths and weaknesses. It highlights the need for candidates to identify and prepare to articulate their core abilities that set them apart from other candidates. The speaker also addresses the trend of interviewers asking for multiple weaknesses to avoid clichéd responses and suggests finding weaknesses that are relevant to the role. The paragraph encourages candidates to use their best stories to demonstrate their strengths and to be genuine when discussing areas for improvement.

15:03

🤝 Demonstrating Interpersonal Skills in Conflict Resolution

The speaker emphasizes the importance of showcasing interpersonal skills, particularly in resolving conflicts with colleagues. It suggests that candidates should be prepared to discuss real-life examples of conflicts and how they were managed. The paragraph warns against using generic or cloned examples from AI sources, as these can be detected and are not effective in interviews. It stresses the need for candidates to have their own unique stories that reflect their ability to work well within a team and handle challenging interpersonal situations.

20:03

🔑 Aligning with TikTok's Core Values

This paragraph discusses the significance of understanding and resonating with a company's core values during the interview process. It mentions that these values, known as 'Byte Styles' at TikTok, can be found on the company's website. The speaker advises candidates to familiarize themselves with these values, identify which ones they connect with, and be prepared to discuss this connection during the interview. The paragraph also suggests integrating the discussion of values with the candidate's elevator pitch to convey a deeper alignment with the company.

25:03

🏆 Highlighting Major Work Achievements

The speaker encourages candidates to prepare stories about their most significant work achievements, as these are increasingly being asked in TikTok interviews. It emphasizes the importance of having 'best stories' ready to differentiate oneself during the interview. The paragraph also notes a trend where interviewers are looking for candidates who can demonstrate their ability to shine and prepare thoroughly for the interview, viewing this as a gift from the candidate to the company.

🤯 Managing Stress and High Pressure Situations

In this paragraph, the speaker addresses the common question of how candidates handle stress and work under pressure. It suggests that preparation is key to managing stress during an interview and that being well-prepared can turn stress into a positive stimulant. The speaker also shares a personal belief that taking a break can be beneficial when extremely stressed, rather than adding to the stress of others. The paragraph underlines the importance of having personal strategies for stress management and being able to articulate these during an interview.

🛠 Prioritization and Frameworks in Decision Making

The speaker discusses the importance of being able to prioritize and make decisions, especially in a fast-paced work environment. It advises against using AI-generated answers for these questions and instead recommends drawing from personal experience. The paragraph introduces the idea of using prioritization frameworks to enhance credibility during the interview. It also touches on the distinction between type 1 (reversible) and type 2 (non-reversible) decisions, suggesting that candidates should be prepared to discuss their decision-making processes and the frameworks they use.

📉 Learning from Failure and Demonstrating Backbone

This paragraph covers the topic of discussing failures and the learnings derived from them. It notes that while these questions are less common now, they are still important for showing learning and growth. The speaker mentions that failure stories can reveal a candidate's ability to handle adversity and that for more senior roles, discussing impactful failures is crucial. The paragraph also introduces the 'backbone test', where candidates are assessed on their ability to respectfully disagree with authority figures, using data to support their stance.

🤝 Navigating Disagreements and Improving Processes

The speaker discusses the importance of interpersonal skills in handling disagreements with co-workers and the ability to improve processes within the workplace. It emphasizes the need for candidates to have stories that demonstrate their capacity to work effectively in teams and to enhance processes with quantifiable improvements. The paragraph advises candidates to prepare for questions that may have overlapping answers, as many interview questions can be addressed with the same stories, and to be aware of common mistakes that can be made when discussing interpersonal conflicts.

📈 Data-Driven Decision Making and Social Media Literacy

In this final paragraph, the speaker addresses the importance of using data to influence outcomes and the role of social media in the job interview process. It suggests that candidates should be prepared to discuss how they use data in decision-making and the social media platforms they use most, providing insights into their social media literacy. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of preparation for common interview questions and the ability to discuss them in depth, which can leave a lasting impression on interviewers.

Keywords

💡Self-introduction

Self-introduction is the process of presenting oneself to others, typically at the beginning of an interaction. In the context of the video, it's a common interview question where candidates are expected to tell about themselves, their CV, or their aspirations. The script suggests that even if interview questions vary, they often contain the same elements, and preparing a self-introduction can be beneficial for various introductory questions.

💡Behavioral Questions

Behavioral questions are a type of interview question that ask candidates to describe how they acted in past situations. The video emphasizes that these questions are often answered using the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) format, which helps structure responses to show how the candidate handled specific scenarios. The script mentions that not using this format could indicate a lack of preparation.

💡Elevator Pitch

An elevator pitch is a short, persuasive speech that one can use to spark interest in what one does or has to offer. The video suggests that while it was traditionally important, in modern interviews, the behavioral aspect has become more significant, though an elevator pitch can still be used to sell oneself effectively.

💡Deep Dive Test

The deep dive test refers to an interviewer's strategy of asking detailed follow-up questions to assess a candidate's depth of knowledge or experience in a particular area. The script warns that failing to remember specifics about a past situation could indicate a lack of genuine involvement or preparation.

💡Strengths and Weaknesses

Discussing one's strengths and weaknesses is a common interview practice where candidates must identify and articulate their personal attributes that can positively or negatively impact job performance. The video advises preparing beyond just the interview context and to avoid cliché weaknesses like 'I'm a perfectionist'.

💡Conflict Resolution

Conflict resolution is the process of managing disagreements to reach a resolution. The video mentions that interviewers ask about conflict to assess a candidate's interpersonal skills. It's important to provide real-life examples of conflicts and how they were resolved to showcase one's ability to navigate challenging interpersonal situations.

💡Core Values

Core values are the fundamental beliefs of a company that guide its operations and culture. The script suggests that interviewers often ask about a candidate's alignment with the company's core values to ensure a good fit. Understanding and being able to articulate how one's values resonate with those of the company can be crucial.

💡Stress Management

Stress management refers to the strategies and techniques used to deal with stress effectively. The video suggests that preparation is key to managing stress during an interview, as it allows the candidate to perform better even under pressure.

💡Prioritization

Prioritization is the act of deciding the order in which tasks should be performed based on their importance. The video emphasizes the importance of being able to prioritize effectively, especially in roles that involve managing multiple tasks or projects. It also suggests using frameworks to articulate one's prioritization process.

💡Failure Stories

Failure stories involve recounting instances where one has experienced failure and the lessons learned from them. The video points out that these stories are not commonly asked as frequently as before, but they are still relevant as they can demonstrate a candidate's ability to learn and grow from mistakes.

💡Teamwork

Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. The video discusses the importance of showcasing one's ability to work in teams, especially in the context of remote work, by providing examples of how one has added value to a team.

💡Fast-Paced Environment

A fast-paced environment refers to a work setting where tasks and demands come quickly and frequently. The video suggests that being able to thrive in such an environment is a valuable skill, and candidates should be prepared to discuss how they adapt and succeed in these conditions.

💡Backbone

Having a backbone, in the context of the video, means having the courage to stand up for one's beliefs and to disagree respectfully with others, including superiors. The video describes this as important for showing that one is not just a 'yes person' and can contribute to a company's performance.

💡Decision Making

Decision making is the process of selecting a course of action from among multiple alternatives. The video discusses the importance of being able to make decisions, particularly those that are data-driven and can be quantified in terms of their impact.

💡Data-Driven

Data-driven decision making involves using data and evidence to support the decision-making process. The video script mentions this concept in relation to influencing outcomes and making important decisions, emphasizing the value of using concrete data to support one's choices.

💡Process Improvement

Process improvement refers to the continuous effort to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of business processes. The video suggests that interviewers may ask about a candidate's experience with process improvement to assess their attention to quality and ability to bring about positive change.

Highlights

Video provides a list of the most commonly asked questions on TikTok interviews in 2023.

Includes updates and additional questions compared to a previous video.

A two-page cheat sheet is introduced for interview preparation.

General introductory questions are discussed, such as self-introduction and reasons for interest in the job.

The importance of using chat GPT for pointers on answering interview questions is mentioned.

Behavioral interview questions should be answered in STAR format: Situation, Task, Action, and Result.

The 'Deep Dive Test' is introduced to assess the authenticity of a candidate's experience.

Strengths and weaknesses are common interview topics, with advice to avoid cliché weaknesses.

Interpersonal skills are evaluated through questions about conflict resolution.

Questions about TikTok's core values are important and should be straightforward.

Candidates are advised to share their proudest project or most impactful campaign.

Stress management is a common topic, with preparation being key to handling stress in interviews.

Competing priorities and the ability to work on multiple projects are discussed as important skills.

Frameworks for decision making and prioritization are recommended for credibility.

Failure stories are less common but still important to prepare, showing learning from mistakes.

Teamwork experiences and how one adds value to a team are key points for remote work trends.

Adapting to a fast-paced work environment is linked to various skills like stress management.

The 'Backbone Test' assesses a candidate's ability to disagree respectfully with authority.

Data-driven decision making is highlighted as an important skill, especially for technical roles.

Interpersonal skills are crucial when handling disagreements with co-workers.

The importance of using social media platforms and understanding their impact is discussed.

Process improvement questions aim to assess quality standards and the ability to quantify improvements.

Transcripts

hi there for today's video I prepared a

list with the most interesting and most

commonly asked questions of tick tock in

2023 and this will be actually a

follow-up to the video I made a number

of years ago which was pretty well

received

um with a few updates and even more

questions and more pointers on how to

answer these questions and uh for this

actually prepared a small cheat sheet

two pages with the questions and uh with

the notes I'd like to talk about next

first question uh most commonly asked in

interviews that tiktok could be the

self-introduction to tell me about

yourself or your CV or why do you want

this job or why Tick Tock or why do you

where do you see yourself uh

in five years if you want or how do you

see yourself fitting in a tick tock okay

so notice even if these questions are

not exactly precisely the same why Tick

Tock may not be answers as tell me about

yourself but still I highly encourage

you to prepare them at once because they

are General types of questions which are

usually introductory types of questions

which you could prepare together because

they contain essentially the same

elements okay what's new in answering

these types of questions is that

you know I experience using chat GPT

for pointers

to give the best answers actually works

pretty well okay again with this with

introductory types of questions I highly

encourage you to uh to to use okay

um now uh when compared to what's the

value how much time should you prepare

how much time you should allocate to

prepare such questions I'd say

um not not that much as as uh they used

to as some people used to simply because

you know I believe that nowadays the the

the the behavioral part of the interview

as a whole

replaces the role of that impression you

used to create with your elevator pitch

so actually in my opinion preparing for

the behavioral part of this is far more

important than actually preparing your

elevator pitch okay nevertheless is the

most commonly asked question I believe

it's a

um it's a it's it's a great opportunity

for you to to sell yourself you know and

maybe you know you want to add a few

links to their

in your pitch to other feelings their

values your their mission

um if I'd have to give you some some uh

some hints here

um but overall I don't see that your

elevator appears to be a significant

factor to passing a a proper job

interview with The Fan Company these

days okay next describe a time when you

had to deal with a difficult situation

and how did you handle it

tell us the time when you have struggled

on a campaign or with a product launcher

with the subject matter expertise or

what is a tough challenge

you recently resolved

okay so this is the second most commonly

asked question at Tick Tock actually the

number one most commonly asked

behavioral question in Tick Tock

interviews

so since it's the most uh the first one

I'm talking about here I should also

emphasize here that behavioral questions

require you to answer them in Star

Format okay situation task action and

result

reason for this is so important it's not

only because

it actually it's a pretty good format to

communicate your answers to behavioral

questions but more importantly because

the interviewer expects you to answer

questions this way if you don't answer

questions during the Star Format

um you will be able you will be pursued

as someone who most likely did not

prepare for the interview

okay and of course you know if you're

applying for a director level Rose you

could you know also use other formats to

maybe dramatize a little bit more such

as the digs format but that's super

complex stuff that I won't get into the

theory of Behavioral injuries here okay

but Star Format is essential okay avoid

any other types of distractions other

types of formats the soar the SAR the

whatever Star Format is enough it's

works perfectly fine had great success

with this and by the way it's highly

recommended by many of fan companies as

well now with respect to difficult

situations how do you answer questions

around difficult situations what what's

the difficult situation you you've been

through okay what's something that you

really want them to know about you

during this job interview in my

experience this is pretty

straightforward to find out for pretty

much any role but where I see the

failure with these types of questions is

not in the initial answer themselves but

in the in the follow-ups in in the

details okay so you would talk about the

conflict you had but if that conflict

was 10 years ago chances are you won't

remember much about it okay so if they

ask you I don't know for some Metric or

something chances are you will not

remember it so I call this is called a

deep dive test okay so the Deep Daft has

been they ask you a number of follow-up

questions to really dive deep to see on

uh whether you were actually the owner

of the project did you actually work on

that project yourself

um and there's another reason why uh

they ask you so many questions because

if you if you cannot remember this you

might also someone who might not have

prepared for the interview enough okay

because

um that long story short the way I

recommend you prepare such such

questions such uh answers to behavioral

questions little stories okay so

specifically for this one difficult

situation you could spend

one or two hours to make a brand sum of

two pages or even five pages if you want

to really write down all the details of

this difficult situation of this

challenge you want them to really know

about

and if you do so and then you start to

only take the interesting business of

information and structure it in a Star

Format you realize that actually your

answer will sound so much better would

be also containing uh the the

interesting information the interesting

metrics of key performance indicators

and you'll be able to perform

successfully on the Deep dive test as

well

okay by the way these questions also

linked in the description right next to

that like button

next question how would your colleagues

or your manager describe you in three

words or what is your specialty and core

ability or what is your strength and

weakness or what are your top three

strengths and weaknesses okay

um

now notice here how the first question

differs quite a lot from the last one

how would your colleagues already

managed to describe you in three words

versus what are your top three strengths

okay which is essentially asking you the

same thing okay

so notice how uh understanding why they

asked your question in the first place

can play a

significant difference during uh during

an interview now with respect to

strengths and weaknesses he has a pretty

common interview question everyone

prepares for this

um some interesting pointers here for

you is that your strength is something

that you must prepare Beyond just for

the purposes of answering discussion in

your job interview because in a job

interview the best candidates are the

ones who play on their strength okay so

do you know what's that one two three

strength that really should set you

apart from other candidates during the

the interview

and from experience not many of you know

these things okay so it might take a

little bit of time especially if you're

not familiar with these things but if

you really try to focus and find your

strengths or your strengths from your

best stories for instance that will make

your life easier and you make improve

your performance during the interview

now with respect to weaknesses

there's a trend actually nowadays it

asks you for three weekend systems

because they would that if they would

ask you only for one weakness everyone

would use public speaking so you know

that's how you should prepare three of

them

and by the way don't use dumb weaknesses

such as I'm not good at job interviews

okay you should really find something

that makes sense for your role and

usually technical roles would use sales

and sales reduce technical stuffing

this would be one way to to think about

this but there's plenty of examples and

I believe it shouldn't uh

be too complex to to find uh to find the

best approach here

next one share a real life situation of

when you encounter the conflict with a

colleague while working on a project

together what was the outcome

or simply how do you deal with conflict

or tell me about the time when you

resolved a conflict

okay so why would I ask you such a

question a job interview because they

want to see your interpersonal skills

okay so in my experiences is not a

complex interview question and of course

the idea is to think about the real life

example of when this conflict actually

happened and you know please don't tell

me you don't have any conflict because

you're just a recent graduate because

even as a recent graduate you did have

conflict in a working environment okay

if you think about it

um okay so examples you know for more

Junior also be pretty classic and

surprising but for more senior roles you

must really

find something more peculiar you know

some I don't know if someone was

blocking your plan from for approval or

blocking some sort of initiative of

yours basically a conflict with that

person you must you know find a way to

diffuse the situation to

I don't know to regain their trust and

to to move on okay

um a huge mistake a huge mistake here

for conflict with colleagues and

Conflict for answering conflicts in

interpersonal context would be to use

chat GPD and simply to clone examples

from there they're just boring and

interesting and believe me it doesn't it

doesn't work I sell training programs

actually I'm also coach so

this is not a strategy I would encourage

you and I wouldn't encourage using Che

GPT

for Behavior questions in in general

okay next one uh by the way I will also

talk about interpersonal a bit later on

in the video because there's other

questions as well

next one how do you resonate with tick

tocks or buy dance core values or what's

your favorite value or what do you know

about the company's values Okay so

this question is pretty high on

the most important most commonly asked

questions especially these days and you

know they actually call these values

they're by Styles and can be seen on by

the by dances website my recommendation

here would be um to be straightforward

with this I mean go on the website read

the values understand see which one you

connect the best with eventually take

some notes and then move on because

again it's a it's a general type of

question with the generic answers

um

you don't have a good reason to spend

too much time on this one as well okay

eventually you could couple it with uh

with the general your elevator pitch as

well okay because usually you would want

some of you will prefer to using why

Tick Tock you know once is because your

expertise and second because you connect

well with buy dances byte Styles okay

okay but use a straightforward one next

question what is one project that you

are most proud of

okay or tell me a project that you have

led recently

uh what's the best campaign or product

launch you've worked on and why

or simply tell me about your most

impactful

project

okay so

um notice here how the first question

project that you're most proud of versus

tell me about your most impactful

project are basically asking you exactly

for the same thing what's your best

story that you prepare for the job

interview

um and um

do you have a best story going into a

job interview do you have at least three

best stories that you're able to talk

for I don't know half an hour during the

interview do you really really have

something you want them to know about

that will make a differentiator uh

during the job interview from experience

is not always the case Okay people don't

tend to prepare their best stories with

uh as much importance as they should

versus just answering questions so that

that's my main point here and also I

noticed noticed a trend in Tick Tock

interviews that they usually didn't

didn't used to ask you for what's your

best story

as a question as the most asked

questions during their interviews but

they do now and I suspect one of the

reasons because it's a very revealing

question I actually call this gifts

during the job interview simply because

if you prepared for the interview then

you're it's your ability to shine

during uh during this very formal

experience by the way so um

you know showing them that you prepared

for them it's actually a big one okay so

that's why uh preparing your best story

is something I highly recommend and you

can see scores pretty high on the most

asked questions as well

next question how do you manage stress

can you work under pressure or how do

you deal with high pressure situations

okay so stress these days is uh

pretty common topic if I'd have to

answer this how do I manage stress or

how do I prove that I'm able to manage

stress well well I failed a couple of

startups and I believe this should be

self-explanatory

um

stress philosophy well if I'm stressed

out I'm really stressed out then I I

believe you strongly believe it's better

to just take a break and come back

stronger instead of just stressing

everyone else around me okay but

um maybe another way to answer this for

dealing with stressful situation

um you know such as an interview your

job interview can be a stressful

situation or just simply constantly

consistently uploading videos on YouTube

in my opinion it all boils down to

preparation okay so if you are prepared

for the job interview you know if you're

going in prepare uh the stress actually

will act as a stimulant will act to your

favor

during the interview okay so long you've

prepared them so preparation plays an

important role in dealing with stress in

job interviews in my opinion and many

other processes okay

to life but this is how I'd go about

answering uh how do I manage stress in

general next one tell me about the time

I had to deal with competing priorities

now competing priorities could be

anything from deadlines features

campaigns customer requests okay or

another variation of this would you feel

comfortable working on different

projects or assignments at the same time

or simply how do you prioritize

okay it could be as simple as that

and uh you know these questions around

prioritization you I believe it's

self-explanatory it's obvious that

examples will wildly differ by a role

and again I advise you against using

chat GPT because they can give some

pretty convincing answers

but the main thing here with

prioritizations is to really dive deep

and find something from your own

experience of ideally you know I don't

know some gut-wrenching prioritization

with actual impact you know when

um

when you have some serious events in

your work and had to reprioritize

re-prioritize everything else and there

was some impact you know

um

and another another interesting one I've

heard over time is when people

re-prioritize you know the important

stuff versus the non-important stuff but

they didn't delay the non-important

stuff because they stay longer hours to

compensate for that you know if if

working hard is something you want to

sell yourself on during the job

interview okay

um

if I'd have to give you an interesting

uh pointer here of what are the best

time what are all the best answers I've

heard have in common

they use Frameworks prioritization

Frameworks to make them more credible

okay because if you say hey I did this

because this was more important and I

didn't do that because this was less

important that's fine you know as an

expansion but if you link it hey I use

this prioritization framework

because this I believe I believe the

would obtain the best results and I did

also a number of times before yes it

would make you considerably more

credible now finding the framework the

prioritization framework that's

different for battle customer service or

developers or directors or managers okay

but finding Frameworks

sells well you know as with the Star

Format as well

yeah next tell me about the time when

you failed and what you learned from it

or describe a time when you made a bad

decision okay so these are the failure

stories and they actually used to ask

these questions quite a lot previously

but they uh they are no longer that uh

commonly asked now

um what's interesting about uh failure

story is that if you didn't prepare for

the interview it will show and very few

people are able to talk about a failure

story from the number one try okay it

usually take at least three attempts at

least three attempts to to find

something that will work well and the

other thing is that on on the failure

story they would ask you this because

they want to see if you had any

learnings

from that failure okay for more

executive types of roles they would

those guys ask you for failures because

many many people

simply won't talk about actual failures

with actual impact okay for more Junior

roles yeah you could say that it didn't

have much impact it wasn't

um the end of the world but

still for more senioros you must look

for impact for that failure but it's a

pretty common interview question still

so I highly encourage you to try it out

you know right if it's gonna take you

three attempts to find the proper

failure story that is that's my

experience

um next one do you have experience

working in teams or describe the time

when you have to work as a team or how

do you work in teams could be as simple

as that

um now you know one of the reasons why

they ask you about working in teams more

and more these days is because they

remote there's this remote work Trend

which has less and less people uh being

experienced with working in actual teams

okay

but to simplify this question how do you

work in teams tell me about family

working team or uh think of a diamond is

supported

a team member okay or a time when you

let the team through difficult time if

you are in leadership role okay or for

example when your teammates were

disengaged what did you do okay this

would be examples showcases someone as a

as a team player okay someone who knows

to work in teams

um okay or um

basically you know here you must think

about how you over time when you edit

value

to your team could be as simple as that

you know if I may if I uh if we take it

a bit more General

uh another example when a teammate

called in sick and maybe you

you covered

for him for a number of days

um or maybe for managerial types of role

you spot the better way to allocate

resources on a specific team

you can imagine that the example is the

quality of the examples and the type of

examples will uh vary by the type of the

role you're applying for for instance

for a manager type manager level role

these working teams will be subject

matter expertise as you know as a

developer as opposed to code well a

manager is supposed to manage a while

okay so that's why there is examples for

manager level I won't get into details

because the subject matter expert is not

a behavioral question anymore okay so

something you might not be aware of

um but all in all yes find a specific

example for most roles when you played a

role a good role in a team menu added

value to like if that's the key here

that's answering this question

next one how do you handle work in a

fast-paced environment

or tell me about them and you worked in

a fast-paced environment okay so I do

assume that Tick Tock is a fast paced

environment but how have you how do you

adapt

to to fast moving work environments here

and um as you would expect here being

able to move in a fast paced environment

is a combination of various factors

such as understanding your role or

interpersonal skills uh you know with

your colleagues ambition and of course

Stress Management okay so what could be

a great story here well actually we

covered each of these uh pointers in our

previous sections okay interpersonal

skills stress okay so again using

stories to highlight on these core

behaviors is an efficient approach to

answer such a question

okay so idea is to understand why they

ask you a question what makes

someone who works in a fast-paced

environment to really uh split it into

into pieces and then those pieces you

know the pieces the interpersonal skills

video calls the ambition Stress

Management those you know for for for

these you already have some great

stories to talk about okay

um this would be by the way an

open-ended question how do you work in a

fast-paced environment okay open-ended

questions it means you think of specific

scenarios where you worked in such

fast-paced environment think of

highlighting something interesting for

them an interesting behavior for them

there could be interpersonal could be

stress could be something else

next one tell me about the diamond I had

a disagreement with your manager

okay or tell me about time and your

manager stakeholder was imposing their

way of doing something that you didn't

agree with

how did you handle that situation okay

um I call this the backbone test

okay so the idea is that companies

nowadays are no longer especially High

performing companies who are not no

longer looking for yes people okay so

they are you know someone might agree

during an interview

with the interviewer just for the sake

of social cohesion yes or the interview

you're always the boss you're always

right okay

what makes a great example here of

showing backbone uh well you know it it

actually you know

a time when you disagreed with someone

respectfully without showing arrogance

okay so for example when you are shorted

100 that your boss was wrong on

something and you have the data to to

show it to prove it okay that would be

backbone a classic example of backbone

actually this question used to be asked

quite often

more often than uh than in 2023 but the

backbone test together with the Deep

dive test are classic screening

techniques in uh in job interviews with

high performing company

next tell me about them you have to make

a difficult decision what was the

decision about and what was the outcome

what were were there any learnings from

that experience

okay so decision making okay decision

making uh basically asking you tell me

what time and you had to make a an

important uh decision and if you

remember we also talked about questions

around prioritization here and there I

said the key was you know to of course

think of a time when you prioritize in

order to decide you know because that

that story could also fit in here as

well but more interestingly to link it

with the framework

okay and a simple framework in decision

making would be type 1 and type 2

decisions type one decision meaning that

they don't need much time to think of

because they can be reversed and type 2

decisions are the more important ones

which cannot be reversed and therefore

they require adequate investigations you

know a type 1 and a reversible decision

could be you know estimated estimating a

timeline for an ambiguous project you

know it's not essentially you get it

right from the first try

or maybe it is you know but in this

context I'm saying is not always

imperative that you spend a ton of time

on that it might not be worth the

investment okay and a type 2 decision

the one that's worth investing some time

and it would be I used to give I like

giving this example of a wisdom of a

wisdom tooth extraction

okay it's not a reversible decision so

you must really either you take it out

or not so that's why it should be

well thought

okay but again decision making

prioritization are within the same

category of questions and many other of

many other as you'll see if you try to

correlate questions from the most

commonly asked list many of many of the

stories you would use in one would also

fit in plenty of others okay of course

you know challenge remains that you have

enough stories next one um

tell us about the time when you had

different opinions with your co-worker

how did you handle that situation okay

so again this is about interpersonal

skills I'm going to disagreed with the

colleague yeah essentially it's the same

thing so you joking this through

communication essentially your ability

to earn their trust

okay it's exactly the same approach

um you know the reason why I said this

question actually is pretty asked as

well is because but also there's a

Monumental mistake that people do here

when

they want to show the other person that

they're right and the other person is

wrong

um

this does not happen in group meetings

Okay so

uh for instance I I had people who said

that they called on a group meeting

where they made he feel guilty in front

of everyone else

so believe it or not yes this does

happen in job interviews so these are

actual answers from actual candidates

and of course you know this would be a a

a terrible mistake uh to do but

um all you know is about interpersonal

skills so the moment you the moment you

prepare stories around interpersonal

skills you'll be easily

able to answer these questions autumni

had a different opinion with your

co-worker okay disagreed with someone

okay even with your your co-worker is

also a manager could be also your

manager by the way it could also be the

the backbone test as well if you want a

story from there

next one tell me about time I use data

to influence an outcome

okay

um

data to influence an outcome is

basically linked to decision making okay

so data driven decision making okay

primarily asked of course for technicals

but also why not a sales role for a kpi

for interesting kpi as well but as you

can see here again the data to influence

and outcome is related to decision

making and even for a prioritization

okay so notice there are three questions

could fit into the same story so long

you prepare the proper story okay that's

my that's my key to take away here Which

social media platform do you use the

most and why

okay this is a commonly asked Question

Interview with t-talk

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my in my opinion this could give some

interesting perspective into someone's

literacy

around uh around social letters in

general like for instance I don't use

Instagram or Twitter at all but I still

do use Facebook because of uh is it with

family and some uh

older friends

um also you know another I believe a

dangerous approach would be to say that

the ditching a social media Network just

because you absolutely detest it might

not be the best approach to sell

yourself in a job interview either so I

would see some of you making these

mistakes as well okay and the last one I

want to talk about here describe that

I'm going to improve the process

can you quantify its Improvement in

percent or numbers what was the outcome

and why was that important

okay so a time and improve the process

why would someone ask you for

um such a question in a job interview

because they want to see they want to

screen your quality standards and of

course you know this would happen for

for people who work with processes for

people who are supposed to handle

complex

processes and to really improve them

as with the Deep dive tests these

questions you know are nothing complex

to talk about if you prepare them in

advance but the challenge is of course

to to know that these questions get

asked in job interviews so

um preparing the questions and preparing

also for the most commonly a follow-up

questions for uh for this makes uh the

most appropriate

uh answer in a in a job interview and by

the way if you if you some interviewers

will agree for you to talk about for 15

minutes

straight on on the story as well so

hopefully you found this information

useful and thank you for watching