Bridget Hudacs

The only universal red flag that I experience in initial interviews is when a candidate cannot provide a concrete example for a universal experience (ie telling someone "no", managing conflicting priorities, asking someone to clarify a request). If an interviewee has been fairly general in their answers and then responds, "I can't think of one," when asked for an example of how they've handled one of these universal experiences, that's a big red flag. It indicates to me that either a) they're no ...Read More

Value Stream Mapping, especially documenting the current state, is an invaluable tool to identify key stakeholders for the project and to see the work required to create the future state. Once key stakeholders are identified and the current and future states are mapped, hold a scoping meeting with all stakeholders (functional and technical). Document the decisions related to in-scope and out-of-scope elements for the current timeline. Identify who is responsible for the in-scope elements and the ...Read More

As the Interviewee: Have a list of interview questions that you tend to be asked (or Google Rev Ops Interview questions for ideas), and have examples from your work or studies that you can share as part of your response that highlight your skill and understanding of the role. Get comfortable answering questions using the STAR method. It is a good framework for sharing examples so that you have clear and concise answers. As you're interviewing, write down any questions that you stumbled over in a ...Read More

I've shared an Interview Template resource with Sharebird that provides the type of questions I use during my interview process. Regarding helpful resources, I believe that the job description for the role is the most important resource you can use when writing questions for the interview process. Without a clear understanding of the role, you set yourself and your candidates up for failure during the interview process. Then, as a hiring manager: You can work with your Human Resources (HR), Tale ...Read More

The mistakes that I notice are: Not providing real world examples to support responses to situational questions. Bad-mouthing former employers. Not every employer-employee relationship is a fit, and it's OK to say that. But, as a candidate, your answers need to express what you're looking to move toward, not what you're eager to move away from (and will spend a 30 minute interview kvetching about). Being late without making an effort to communicate that to the interviewer and/or ghosting the int ...Read More

When interviewing someone for a more junior role, I structure my questions using the journalistic "Inverted Pyramid" technique: Initial Questions: Focus on general knowledge and basic skills required for the position (based on the job description). These are the non-negotiables of the position, translated into non-work-specific questions. In a 30 minute interview, I would spend about 10-12 minutes on these types of questions. For example: If I'm hiring someone in Sales Ops, I'd provide math word ...Read More

I hate to type this, but the first gauge of autonomy for a candidate is: How involved are/were their parent(s) in the process? The candidate, individually, should be scheduling interviews, asking/answering questions and making employment decisions. Personally, if I have to engage with someone's parent, then I'm not offering the person the job. I may make an offer to the parent, though (kidding!). Outside of that, I listen to how candidates respond to scenario questions and observe any noticeable ...Read More

Agree on the in-scope and out-of-scope elements for the project with the key stakeholders. Set clear responsibilities and timelines for in-scope project outcomes. Identify dependencies so the team knows how adjustments to timeline impact the project as a whole. Set up a regular communication cadence related to the project (ie weekly updates) to ensure that deadlines are met and expectations are managed. Hold the team accountable for communicating and completing their areas of responsibility. Stu ...Read More

I don't have a recommendation for or against this type of detailed preparation, especially if it helps you structure verbal responses that also give a glimpse into how you think, problem solve and can be an asset to the company. But I wouldn't focus on developing unrequested collateral at the expense of having solid verbal responses. I would bring out supporting materials when they support your response to a particular question (ie if asked about what your 30-60-90 day plan would be in the role ...Read More

First, when I look at ownership, I look at “who is accountable for the success of the solution?” If there is a conflict, I ask a few questions of the group to determine ownership: What is the problem we’re trying to solve? Who is most directly impacted by the outcome of the decision being made? Who is the CEO going to call if the solution goes sideways? For example, when streamlining a manual process for sales, there are several problems to solve: Identify the important information to capture in ...Read More