You’ve sent in more job applications than you can count and now you’ve heard back. Terrific! In this section, we’ll go over what to expect during the interview process and how you can prepare for the respective interview stages. You can also reach out to Inclusv staff at [email protected] to set up a one-on-one mock interview.


Things to Keep in Mind Before the Interview

  • Promptly respond to confirm your availability. If you are unavailable, suggest a few new dates and times.
  • If you have an emergency and cannot make the interview time, reach out to your main point of contact immediately.
  • Once the interview is locked, set up a calendar reminder.
  • Promptly respond to confirm your availability. If you are unavailable, suggest a few new dates and times.
  • If you have an emergency and cannot make the interview time, reach out to your main point of contact immediately.
  • Once the interview is locked, set up a calendar reminder.
  • Promptly respond to confirm your availability. If you are unavailable, suggest a few new dates and times.If you have an emergency and cannot make the interview time, reach out to your main point of contact immediately.Once the interview is locked, set up a calendar reminder.
  • Download applications (i.e. Zoom) prior to the interview.
  • Check your microphone and internet speed.
  • Keep a spare set of headphones next to you.
  • Charge devices.



Be Prepared for Common Interview Questions

Anticipate to be asked questions around your work history, experience, and why you are interested in the role. Take the time to practice (or even better, partner with a friend) to review common questions.
TIP: Interviewers do not want to hear your entire life story but highlights of your work experience and skills that are relevant to the position that you are interviewing for. Iterate your interest in the position and organization and share how you see this as an opportunity for both you and the organization.
TIP: Take time to research the organization and the person you are interviewing with. What are some of their latest projects? What are some trends that you see in their social media?
TIP: If you’re interviewing to work on a campaign, expect to be asked this question. Share what aspects of the candidate and/or their campaign that inspires you. Do they have policy positions that you strongly support? Are they closely connected to your community?
TIP: This question may come up if you are interviewing for a political candidate. It is designed to assess how you approach uncomfortable conversations.
TIP: Familiarize yourself with the organization’s current work. You can do so by visiting their website and social media and asking folks who are familiar with the organization.
TIP: There are multiple people interviewing for this role. Use this question to your advantage by highlighting aspects that intrigue you. Does this position offer a new set of tools that you can work with? Does it expound upon skills that you developed in your previous workplace?
TIP: If you have not managed a team professionally, leverage other experiences such as volunteer work. Show the interviewer that you have tangential experience and want to gain management experience in the job.
TIP: A weak response to this question is by avoiding the question altogether, or by stating that you don’t have any weaknesses or strengths. This question isn’t meant to trick you; it’s more of a recognition of an area that you know that you want to improve upon and an area that you know you excel in.
TIP: Always come to an interview with a set of questions that you’d like to ask the interviewer. Interviews are a two-way street, so use this opportunity to learn more about the position, team, culture, etc.



What Type of Interview Is It?

Phone Interview

Phone interviews are usually the first stage of the interview process. During this round, you’ll speak with a recruiter, operations staff member, or general staff member to assess your overall skill set. Be expected to answer basic questions about yourself, why you’re interested in the position, share more about your skill set, and learn more about the position itself.

  • Choose a quiet space with strong phone reception.
  • Charge your phone beforehand.
  • Have a glass of water by your side.
  • Have your resume in front of you. You resume can serve as a reference to help jog your memory about various projects that you’ve worked on.
  • Have an internal “shot-clock” when responding to the interviewer’s questions. Be wary of rambling. Provide room for dialogue.

Phone interviews tend to be around 30 minutes. If longer, the interviewer will let you know. Before the interview concludes, ask the interviewer for information about next steps.

The interviewer should be in touch with you within a week of the interview. If you do not hear back after a week passes, send an email to the interviewer.

TIP: Send an email to your main point of contact reminding them that you enjoyed speaking with them. Bring up something from the conversation to help jog their memory about your interview, and let them know that you’re interested in learning about next steps. If the interviewer does not respond to your follow-up, do not expend any more energy on the position.

Video Interview

After you pass the first stage, you most likely will be scheduled a video interview. During this stage, you’ll speak with usually the manager or senior member of your team. The goal of the interview is to assess your technical background and see how it matches with the overall position. Anticipate being asked more in-depth questions. You may be interviewed by multiple team members or even being interviewed twice by two different team members.

Video interviews tend to be longer ranging from 45 minutes to one hour.

Be prepared to be asked about your salary requirements for the position. See the How to Negotiate a Job Offer Guide for more information.

  • Choose a quiet space.
  • Check your tech equipment, including making sure that your electronic devices (i.e. laptop) are charged, see if you need to download any applications to participate in the interview (i.e. Skype, Zoom), check your background lighting (i.e. Is it dark in your room?) and finally test run your video, audio, and internet connection.
  • Have a glass of water by your side.
  • Have your resume in front of you. You resume can serve as a reference to help jog your memory about various projects that you’ve worked on.
  • Angle your camera so you are visible chest up.
  • Dress appropriately for the position that you are interviewing for.
  • Have an internal “shot-clock” when responding to the interviewer’s questions. Some answers require longer answers than others. Be wary of rambling and awkward silences.

Technical Interview

This stage can occur anytime throughout the interview but generally occurs before or after the second stage of the interview process (i.e. video interview). The technical interview is designed to assess your technical background. Usually you’ll be given a short time frame to submit the assignment.

Depending on the role that you are applying for, you’ll be given different tests. For example, if you are interviewing for a digital organizing role, you may be asked to draft a sample email along with social media messages in response to a specific prompt. If programming, you can request for the language that you want to test in.

A great resource for folks interviewing for data jobs is ProgressiveDataJobs.com. Check out their step-by-step interview tutorial.

TIP: Some technical interviews require access to a phone and laptop. Wear headphones so you can type your responses live into the shared document.

In-person Interview

The in-person interview can range in length, depending on how many people you are interviewing with and what the position is. If you are interviewing for a mid-to-senior level role, expect to interview with at least two different people, including an HR representative/Operations staff and your hiring manager.

Some organizations may require you to come to two onsite interviews but most places expect you to interview in person at least once. Onsite interviews range from an hour to five hours. For each hour, you’ll be speaking to a different individual or a different team.

  • Before your interview, ask your main point of contact, usually the recruiter, to provide you information about the duration, the format of the interview (i.e. lunch interview, group, panel, individual, etc.) who you are interviewing with and how many people you are interviewing with, how to prepare if you are anticipating technical questions, where to park, and more.
  • Bring printed copies of your resume.
  • Dress appropriately for the position that you are interviewing for. For instance, if you are interviewing for an organizing position, there’s no need to dress up in a suit and tie. If anything, the hiring manager is looking for someone in more casual attire, which reflects the work environment.
  • Arrive 10-15 minutes prior to the interview.
  • Bring water with you. Most places will offer water to interviewees.
  • Use the restroom prior to the interview. If you are interviewing for a long period of time, let the interviewer know that you’d like to use the restroom before you speak to the next interviewer.
  • During the interview, maintain steady eye contact with the interviewer.
  • Shake hands with each person you meet. If the individual does not want to shake hands, they’ll let you know.
  • Be polite to everyone you meet, including the receptionist.
  • Have an internal “shot-clock” when responding to the interviewers’ questions. Some answers require longer answers than others. Be wary of rambling and awkward silences.
  • Throughout the interview, check your energy level. Do you need to eat a quick snack?
  • Thank the interviewers for their time and receive information on what the next steps will be.

During your onsite interview, be prepared to be asked about what your salary requirements are for the position. See the How to Negotiate a Job Offer Guide for more information.

How to Approach the Salary Question

Expect to be asked about your salary requirements for the position during the second stage of the interview. Some organizations ask that question during the first interview. Note that some states and cities ban employers from asking your previous salary history.

View a full list of states and cities that ban employers from asking you about your salary history here.

Check out our How to Negotiate a Job Offer Guide for more information.

All photos used in the Post-Campaign Guide are accredited to People of Color in Tech.