You’ve been invited for an interview at Microblink. What can you expect and how to prepare?
July 18, 2022
A job interview is often the most important, but also the most stressful part of your selection process.
Perhaps your last interview was ages ago and you’ve gotten a bit rusty talking about yourself. Or maybe you don’t have much experience overall. You are probably worrying about how to present yourself as a great candidate without sounding grandiose. And you’re observing and analyzing everything the recruiter says so you can assess if that’s the right company for you. Because you don’t want to make a bad decision.
That is why, if you’ve gotten to the interview stage of the selection process at Microblink, we think you would benefit from understanding how we approach interviews.
In this blog post, you will get a deeper understanding of:
1 – what to expect at an interview with Microblink, and
2 – how to discover if Microblink is the right company for you while presenting yourself in the best possible light.
WHAT TO EXPECT AT AN INTERVIEW WITH MICROBLINK?
1. Discovering if we’re a mutually good fit
At any job interview, you want to find out if it’s the right company for you. And the company too wants to find out if you’re the right fit for them.
But you are also probably wondering: will you be the right match for the job? Will you fulfill the company’s expectations? And the same thought process goes on here with us. We are also genuinely interested in assessing if Microblink is the right fit for you.
If our only goal were to hire someone who could do the job, we’d have a relatively easy task. But our goal is more ambitious than that: it is to hire someone who will thrive in our company. And people usually don’t thrive in companies where they feel a mismatch between what they want and what’s expected of them.
That is why we are listening very carefully to what your values, aspirations and strengths are – in order to assess if you’ll feel satisfied and engaged. In other words, we are deciding if hiring you will be to our mutual benefit.
And if we don’t see that mutual benefit, we strongly believe it’s far more fair and honest to accept our differences and let you pursue another path that suits you better.
Having said that, it is worth noting that no one was born with skills and experience – people obtain it over time if someone gives them a chance. This is why we prefer candidates who show great potential for growth over those with impressive experience on paper but with no proof of a growth mindset. We firmly believe you can learn anything with proper guidance and support, and having a growth mindset is a prerequisite for that. So don’t worry if you don’t fulfill 100% of requirements in the job ad. If you’re genuinely motivated to do the work and willing to learn, even without proper experience, you might be a much better candidate than you imagine.
If you’re genuinely motivated to do the work and willing to learn, even without proper experience, you might be a much better candidate than you imagine.
2. Discovering your personal values
Imagine a job that’s not just great on paper, but it also feels great. Something in the way people think, in the way they make decisions, set priorities and relate to one another resonates completely with you. The reason is most likely a great match between the company values and your personal values.
Values are something that is truly important to us as people; something we deeply believe in and are willing to fight for and stick to even when it’s hard. And our company values are the pillars of our organization. Everything we say and do is guided by those values, and it reflects them. So hiring people who match our values is crucial not only for our company culture, but also for your own happiness and success. Because it’s hard to be happy and successful if you constantly have to go against what you believe to be right.
This is why discovering your personal values is a vital part of our interview and we take it very seriously. We use structured questions that help us identify and measure to what extent you share each of our 5 company values. This gives us a deep insight into what matters to you the most, and if we share the same priorities.
What we value
Put People First
- See the human in everyone
- Be honest with yourself and others in all you do
- Show empathy and engage with compassion
- Empower each other to succeed
- Assume good intentions – we are in this together
Make A Difference
- Dream big, be bold
- See the glass half full – attitude is everything
- Be hungry to learn, create, and get better
- Seek out what you don’t know and share what you do
- Do the little things that make a difference
Embrace Challenges
- See opportunity in obstacles
- Explore the unknown with curiosity and courage
- Learn from setbacks and iterate
- Challenge convention, be open to change
- Focus on the things within our control
Play To Win
- Take initiative, make moves
- Aspire for excellence – reject mediocrity
- Do what you say you will do and hold others to the same standard
- Play as a team
- Enjoy the grind
Stay Grounded
- Be humble – no touchdown dances
- Learn by listening
- Allow time for reflection
- Don’t take yourself too seriously
- Make time for celebration
3. Discovering your skills and talents
Furthermore, even if it turns out we match perfectly in terms of values, it’s still possible that the position you’re interested in doesn’t fit you. Perhaps you’re a bit underqualified – or overqualified.
That’s why our job is to think more broadly about your potential and discover where your skills and talents could best be used in the organization.
We’ve had numerous cases when a candidate did not match with the role they applied for, but they had a great potential for some other role. This resulted in hiring them for a different position than the one they applied for!
This wouldn’t be possible without a thorough assessment of your skills.
It usually requires completing an assignment related to the job, which happens after the initial interview. For R&D roles, this typically means that we ask for an example of your code, and based on that, organize a technical discussion. Our aim is to get a deeper insight into your skills and talents and see how they match with the role you applied for – or perhaps some other role in our organization.
And for you, doing an assignment or tech interview is a great opportunity to get a better understanding of what the position entails on an operational level. It’s also a useful tool to estimate whether you’d like that job and if you’d find it too easy, too hard or just right.
HOW CAN YOU ASSESS IF MICROBLINK IS THE RIGHT COMPANY FOR YOU – WHILE PRESENTING YOURSELF IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT?
1. Know what matters to you
It would be hard to determine if Microblink is the right company for you if you were unclear on what matters to you the most. So before coming in for an interview, spend some time reflecting. Remember your past work experiences, your successes and mistakes. Try to keep it simple – choose one or two that represent you in the best light. What behaviors led to them, how did you react? What lessons did you learn and how do you apply them in your present life? If you don’t have previous work experience, think of situations from your studies or volunteering or life in general. What would you say are your strengths, and what are your weaknesses? When are you at your best? What matters to you the most? Knowing the answers to questions like these will be a powerful compass in assessing any job opportunities ahead of you, not just the ones at Microblink.
Also, we invite you to take a look at our company values. How do they resonate with you? Do you see yourself in an environment like that? And more importantly, are you willing to fight for and stick to those values even when things get tough? If so, we could be a great match!
2. Be genuine
This means speaking openly about what you want from your career, what you expect from your employer, what makes you tick, and what is a deal breaker. Of course you want to present yourself in a good light. But if you only say what you think we want to hear, you’ll miss out on a great opportunity to speak your truth and test us: do we want to hire you because we think you’re perfect or because we truly like you? Besides, seeming perfect is not credible, and we’re not looking for a superman, but a human being with all your strengths and weaknesses.
3. Ask questions
Questions are important because they signal your interest in the company. Interviews should definitely not be a one-way conversation. So don’t hesitate to ask for details about your everyday work, the prospect of your growth, development opportunities, team dynamics…Then, feel free to dig a bit deeper: ask about our challenges and how we overcome them, our plans for the future and why we made certain decisions. The more you know, the easier it will be to imagine yourself at Microblink and decide if it’s the right company for you. And we will certainly appreciate your curiosity and perceptiveness.
We are looking forward to meeting you!
Microblink is growing and adding more amazing people to our teams to bring the benefits of AI to every person on earth. Have a look at our open positions and apply if any of them sparked your interest. Otherwise, send us an open application; you never know when a great opportunity might come along 😉