Interview preparation: technical, behavioural and the salary conversation

Interviewing is a skill you can practise, not a verdict on your worth. This guide covers technical preparation, stories for behavioural interviews, questions to ask back, and the salary conversation.

Before the interview

• Ask about the process. How many stages, who interviews you, and what format (live coding, case study, portfolio presentation, take-home, meeting a prospective manager). Asking this is normal.
• Read the role description line by line. Mark the three things it stresses most, and prepare a real example for each.
• Learn about the product and team. Use the product if you can, read the engineering blog or recent changes.

Technical preparation, by role

• Engineering: practise coding problems and, for more senior levels, system design. The most useful practice is explaining your thinking out loud. Ask clarifying questions before writing code, name trade-offs, and test your result with examples.
• Design: prepare two or three case studies you can tell from problem to outcome, including decisions you changed and why.
• Product and project management: practise setting priorities, answering “why this feature first”, and explaining one project that shipped or failed and what you learned.
• QA, data, support, tech sales: prepare real examples showing how you find problems, analyse them and communicate with others.
• Take-home assignments: ask about the time limit and expectations. If the task feels like real work for their product, ask how the result will be used.

Practising together beats practising alone. Invite other Kawan to practise interviews through a study group.

Behavioural interviews

Prepare a few stories that work for many questions. Structure them as situation, your action, the result, and what you learned. Common themes:

• conflict or disagreement with a colleague;
• a failure or mistake, and what changed afterwards;
• working under a deadline or pressure;
• leading or helping others level up;
• learning something new quickly.

If you are asked about a layoff or why you left your last company: answer briefly, neutrally and truthfully. For example: “The company did an efficiency round and my position was part of it. While there I worked on X, and now I am looking for Y.” You are not obliged to reveal confidential details or to badmouth anyone.

Questions to ask back

An interview is also how you assess the workplace. Some useful questions:

• What does a normal week look like on this team, and how are priorities set?
• How are on-call or standby duties arranged, and how are they compensated?
• How often does overtime happen around releases or incidents, and how is it counted?
• Is this role PKWT or PKWTT? If PKWT, for how long, and what happens afterwards?
• How is performance evaluated and when is pay reviewed?
• How does the company support skill growth, for example training or learning time?

To understand the answers, read working hours and overtime and check your contract.

The salary conversation

• Research first. Find ranges for your role and level from several sources, including Kawan and people you know in the industry. Such ranges are not official figures.
• Know your floor. Work out your monthly needs and the lowest figure you would still accept. If there is probation, remember that pay during probation may not fall below the applicable minimum wage (Law 13/2003 Art. 60(2)).
• Let them name a range first if possible. If asked for a number, give a range grounded in your research and in the value you bring.
• Discuss the package, not just the figure. Ask about the mix of basic wage, fixed allowance, bonus, THR, leave and hours. The mix affects overtime, compensation and BPJS. See reading a job offer.
• Do not lie about your old pay. You may answer “I would rather talk about expectations for this role”.
• Ask for the outcome in writing.

If your role is called a “certain job grade” that gets no overtime, that has to be set out in writing in company documents (PP 35/2021 Art. 27), so ask.

After the interview

• Send a short thank-you within a day or two, naming one specific thing you enjoyed from the conversation.
• Note what you were asked and how you answered, so the next interview goes better.
• If you have heard nothing by the promised deadline, ask politely.

Watch out for odd offers

Be wary of processes that ask you to pay fees, ask for original documents or excessive personal data before there is an offer, or do not name the company’s legal entity. Kemnaker’s Karirhub is one source of listings that states its job seekers’ identities are verified.

When to get help

• You are asked something that makes you uncomfortable, for example about religion, marital status or plans to have children. You may decline to answer, note what happened and tell someone you trust.
• An offer or process feels odd: ask other Kawan and consider advice from a legal adviser. REKATI is not affiliated with any legal institution and does not give legal advice.