Lessons Learned From A Passed Interview

I wrote the title of this blog on 27th April 2023. I'm three months into finishing my AIESEC in Uganda experience and at the moment I find myself constantly crippled by the future and how it may turn out. I had an interview to join the AIESEC in Portugal team and are still waiting for feedback on that. I also had an interview with DHL Dubai office and if I'm being honest, I really hope I get into that one. It would be a one-year internship and then after that I'd be in a position to start my master's afterwards. I will get back to this blog once I get a job offer because I'm really hopeful that I will get a job offer. Just waiting to see which job offer I will actually get.

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Continued on 31/7/2024. It has been exactly one year since I moved to Dubai. One year since I started working at DHL Global Forwarding for my Global talent program internship. Yes, I got the job. Or in reference to the predicament, I had above more than a year ago on the trajectory my life would take, I got the internship with DHL. But this blog isn't to talk about my experience since I moved to Dubai. It's to talk about the lessons I learned from a passed interview; so, let's have at it 🍷.

Spoiler alert

I'll start by saying that the biggest portion of the work it takes to pass an interview starts way before the interview happens. It starts with investing in getting the right experiences. Throughout the blog, I will not just share tips but will also just give my own personal anecdotes and share my own story because I believe if you searched "how to pass my interview" on Google you will get millions of articles and videos.

For the role I was interviewing for, my experience being the country director for AIESEC in Uganda for talent management and organizational development helped a lot in setting me apart. That coupled with my program management experience working part time with Microsoft helped me get my foot in the door in terms of my resume passing the screening stage and getting to my first interviewer who would then become my manager. The work started when I joined AIESEC in 2019, went for exchange, became vice president for AIESEC in JKUAT, joined the society of engineering students and started a mentorship program, and invested in getting the right internships that would equip me with quality experience. In my point of view, more than 90% of the work to be done to pass my interview was done years before I submitted my application on aiesec.org for the internship.

1. Make sure your resume tells your story

I am sure you have heard this a million times before but there's a reason everyone keeps saying it. Have a five-page (or more) word document with all your experience and impact and for every job you apply for, only transfer the experience relevant for this role because unless you're an experienced professional, for an internship role, your resume should not go past one page.

I used the free template on resume.io to create my resume. There are lots of free templates to use there. I revised my resume more than three times with Benno who by then was in-charge of supporting applicants for Global Talent opportunities (GTa as we called them). There's a reason for the fuss, make sure your resume tells your story, and tells your story well for that matter, before you submit that application.

You get the email, or the phone call- you passed the resume screening stage, what now.

2. Consult and research like your life depends on it

When it came to my preparation for the interview, my AIESEC experience helped me a lot with this. Anyone who has applied for LCVP (Local Chapter Vice President) or MCVP (Member Committee Vice President) can testify to the number of consultations you have to do with your potential predecessor and other people that held the role before, members, alumni... the list is endless.

When preparing for my interview, I reached out to an alumnus from AIESEC in Uganda who was working in the same company (same office even) to understand the company better; the culture, his own interview experience, and a little about my manager from his interaction with him in the office. Further I reached out to Aaron who had just been accepted for an internship to Germany and did consultation to understand the general interview experience and what he did to pass.

Going into your research and consultation, have a good understanding of what you need to know before your interview, and who has the information you need. This will help you a lot in prioritizing the consultations to do incase time is not on your side.

3. "Tell me about yourself"

The consultation with Aaron ended up turning into a mock interview. Do a lot of these as it will help you to calm your nerves. From my interview with Aaron is where I found how lacking my response to the question, "Tell me about yourself" was and worked on improving it.

You will not practice for all the questions that will be asked for sure, but make sure to review the commonly asked interview questions and have as many mock interviews as possible.

4. What about the five-page word document?

Remember the five-page word document we discussed before with your all your experience and impact, continue to keep it aside and reach for the resume you submitted.

One tip I found helpful was knowing my resume inside and out. With the first interview with my manager, the interview was 80% based off my resume and previous experience so it goes without saying that you should not lie on your resume.

5. "How will the first three months in this role look like?"

Most times before your interview, you will know who your interviewer is. Make sure to stalk them on LinkedIn (or in less creepy terms, go through their LinkedIn profiles😅). I found this tip to be quite helpful in my second interview with the head of HR. The interview was set to be 30 minutes and within 12 minutes, she was done with her questions and after that, we spent another 20 minute or so on my questions but mostly on her AIESEC experience. When reviewing your interviewer's resume, you're looking for a question that will add a personal touch to the interview. Sure, questions like "How will the first three months in this role look like?" are important but a question that will give the interviewer an opportunity to share their experience will come in handy in making them remember you.

6. We want you but we don't want YOU

I know they say on the email from the psychometric test center that you don't need any prior preparation to take them and how it'll help them to show the employer who you truly are. I'm not saying it's a bunch of bullshit, but for the sake of getting the job you want, please practice. I found it helpful to spend the whole day studying before taking the tests that evening as my brain was still sharp from doing math calculations, identifying patterns and working with limited time. Old trustee YouTube will help with this. In most cases, you will get a list of the tests you will be taking and can search for them on YouTube and practice.

As you respond to the personality questions, remember to respond as applicant for role XYZ and not as Felistus (insert your name). My friend Paddy gave me this tip when I got a rejection immediately after doing a personality test for an electrical engineering sales role.

7. Talk your mom's ear off :)

The nerves are normal. Before and even sometimes during the interview. For before the interview, call a loved one to cheer you up. For me, this was my mom. I called her every step of the way; when I got the email for the interview, when I realized the job description had been taken down from aiesec.org and panicked, after my consultations to tell her how I hope that it will be me on the other side with a passed interview, when the psychometric tests seemed a bit hard, when I began to question myself, 30 minutes before the interview when the butterflies in my stomach were waging war on me, after all my interviews when I was scared I wouldn't get the role, when I did get the role that beautiful Thursday morning. And on top of calling my mom, I called my friend Sarah a lot. She reminded me of how experienced I am and that even if not this role, there was something good for me out there as my next steps. Lean on your loved ones. Because the job search process can be a lot to take on alone. The best thing is, in most cases we don't have to.

May the force be with you

That in a nutshell is what I did to pass my interview. We say this a lot to one another, Sarah and I, that life will always work out the way it's supposed to. When I didn't get the role at Microsoft after one and a half month of interviewing, I thought I would never get past the sadness. Looking for a bit of excitement, I paid for Score conference and the following week I was on my way to Uganda to attend it. A conversation with my friend (on most days at least😅) Baluku later, I ended up starting my MCVP (Member Committee Vice President) application for talent management and organizational development and the dots just connected after that.

Even if not today or tomorrow, the dots will connect for you too! All the best with your interview 😊

Oh, and for the AIESEC in Portugal role, I got my rejection a week later and now had to prep for my DHL interview with everything I had