The Talent Acquisition team (TA) at Adastra will pull back the curtains and share a little more about this company’s process. 

As a start, we could say that each interview is extremely individual and no two are alike. Of course it is always good to have a framework or guidelines to follow when we make interviews, but people are different, their experiences, skills, behaviour and attitude distinct. Understanding this and making the framework flexible and adaptable is crutial so that both parties can take all the information they need about each other from the interview. 

At the company, we have always been driven to make our processes as efficient as possible, for this reason we believe that the recruitment process should be sufficiently informative and flexible. 

What can the candidate expect from the recruitment process with us? 

Our process starts with the HR interview. The candidates who are approved have the opportunity to meet a colleague from our team on an online interview.  

The candidate receives an invitation to the meeting by email, which contains information about the day, time and a link for the interview. Duration of the interview is usually 30-40 minutes. 

The idea of the HR interview is to give the candidate more information about the company, how the business works, the most common technologies, company culture and information about the steps in the selection process.  

Of course, here the TA’s role is also to find out a bit more about the candidate’s experience, skills and knowledge to see if they might fit the team.  

What is important at this stage? 

At this stage, it is important to prepare not technically, but to emphasize your social and communication skills and approach in certain situations. 

We are also interested in evaluating your confidence, attitude, key drivers to determine whether you are a good fit for the organization and the role you are applying for.   

In this regards it is important how you present yourself, how you structure your communication when you reply to questions like „Could you tell me about yourself and describe your background in brief?“ 

Clarity is crucial when you are introducing yourself. Avoid falsehoods or exaggerations, and remember to support your presentation with real-life experiences. Talk about a relevant incident that made you keen on the profession you are pursuing and follow up by discussing your education.  

At this stage it is good to keep your self-introduction brief and professional.  

It is always а good idea to be prepared to share your current experience, your expectations for the future role and what is important for you and what are your career goals.  

Here are some of our TA team’s favorite questions: 

As a next step, you may receive a specific assignment, practical tasks or test that are aimed at validating your expertise. 

Perhaps the more interesting part of this step is the technical interview. It is always with a colleague from Adastra who has similar experience to the candidate, so that they can understand as well as possible what he has been doing, and also answer their questions, which are specifically aimed at technologies and working with them in the company. 

At this stage it is important to give more information about your exact everyday work. The purpose of technical experts is to understand more about you and your work, so they will ask you quick questions, give different examples/case studies and expect logical thinking. 

What to do if you can’t think of something? 

If you potentially don’t know the answer to a question, it would be good to think and analyze the question, relying on what you already know, using your logic. In this situation your shared thoughts and logical analysis are very important to us, instead of refusing to answer without any effort and attempts to find the answer. 

At this part it is good to have questions to ask the interviewers. If the interviewer clarifies everything beforehand, it is better to have plan B – several additional questions in your pocket for demonstrating your interest/ proactiveness. 

Some good examples are:  

• What are the next steps in the hiring process?  
• Can you tell me more about the company culture and what it’s like to work here?  

• What are some of the challenges and opportunities for growth in this role?  
• How does performance in this role get evaluated and measured?  
• Is there anything else I can provide to assist in your decision-making process?  
• What can I do to prepare for the technical interview, any advice?  
• What are the things that are important to you, beyond what is listed in the job ad? 

Here are some bullet points on how to prepare for the interview: 

• Look up Adastra’s website, and recent news on our Career page Inside Adastra to get a sense of the company’s culture and atmosphere. Familiarize yourself with the role and requirements of the role you’re interviewing for.  
• Prepare to present your expertise and strengths in a proper way. Rehearse your presentation on your experience/ knowledge/ skills/motivation.  

• Brush up on technical skills: Review the technical skills and knowledge that are required for the role and ensure that you are comfortable with them. Consider practicing with online resource (i.e SQL, Python, Azure/AWS/GCP or any other skill). 
• Think about some common interview questions and practice answering them. 
• Ask questions: Prepare a list of questions to ask the interviewer about the company and the role. This will demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm for the opportunity.  
• Do not forget to be on the interview 5-10 mins earlier to be able to check your link and equipment, to allow yourself time to settle in and prepare mentally.  

Wanna join a team of like-minded professionals? See Adastra’s job opportunities and apply now.