Interview

The Lounge
#21

Be yourself and convince them you are the right person for the role and that you are the one they are looking for

Good luck!

#22

this! …beard is not a problem. they are from berlin

#23

Beards ain’t a thing now days, surly. EVERYONE has a @@@@@ beard.

Anyway, good luck! Hope it goes well :grinning:

#24

Naaah, my wife can only grow a moustache.

10 Likes
#25

Beards, tattoos etc are all fine in my experience, especially in creative tech industry (Ive been a software engineer for 6 years in VFX, Games and audio).
I highly doubt anyone would turn you away for a beard unless it was particularly gross and had soup or something in it haha.
And even at that, ive worked with some smelly bastards, good workers but I was happy when we started working from home hahaha so you shud be fine!

#26

Interesting. The stereotype of Berlin is rather an open minded and not-hierarchical place with a strong “left” culture… Not quite true in the office? Even at Ableton?

#27

Like I said i have an engineering background, more specifically within automotive and that is probably a lot more old fashioned than other industries and cities.

1 Like
#28

Good luck!!!

#29

No.

Keeping tidy and trying to understand what is “professional” or “respectful” is not at odds with the aforementioned :slight_smile:

There are plenty of hierarchal, close-minded places in the states that don’t care what you wear in the office, but they still expect more than a stained t-shirt in the interview.

1 Like
#30

For competency based questions, if you have the time, look into STAR technique to help assist you in answering & structuring responses.

Try and take a view that it’s a two way conversation, if they ask an interesting question, try to consider questions related to their talking points and take the opportunity to follow on from answering a question, to posing one.

This helps to take the pressure and focus solely off of you and at the same time organically find out more about them, their business, what their challenges are etc.

You are also interviewing them, consider what questions you want to ask in terms of understanding what they are looking to achieve with the role, have they considered objectives over 1, 3, 6, 12 months… how do they see the role evolving longer term (ie is their a roadmap for the position), what challenges do they see the role facing…

Also you want to get an impression of their management style, how do they gauge success in a role, what qualities do they look for, when they look at existing team members, what it is about the top performers that gives them confidence in their ability to perform the role. The responses can give you an opportunity to sell back your skills and experience based on what they look for in team members.

You also want them to tell you about more about their roles, what they love about working at Ableton, what keeps them there and if there is anything they would like to see improved / developed within the business.

Just my two cents…

11 Likes
#31

That’s all very good interviewing advice.

4 Likes
#32

Thanks everyone!

1 Like
#33

You got this @joeyfivecents :muscle:

1 Like
#34

Let us know how it goes!!

#35

Shave the beard, keep the soul patch :ok_hand:

Seriously though, be confident, be relaxed, and you’ll do great :slightly_smiling_face:

Oh, and @Altro has some solid advice.

2 Likes
#36

I’ve got a brilliant idea! How about you link them to this topic, HEAR ME OUT!
It’ll show that you truly care about the position, and that you’ve managed to think about every aspect of your presentation, including your facial hair. It’ll show dedication, fortitude, insight, that will surly translate into a loyal, efficient, and hard working accountant tax person. Added bonus, if there is something they don’t like, you can have them read our post, show them what you had to work with, and blame the short comings on us.

1 Like
#37

I’m german and I while I don’t work in law or tax business, as a surgeon I also work in a quite formal environment and can tell you that a beard is not considered to be inappropriate. Get your beard in a nice groomed shape and it will be absolutely no problem. Btw, a lot of my patients are lawyers and a lot of them have beards.
Good luck!

3 Likes
#38

Best of luck, really hope you get it :crossed_fingers:

#39

famously no German has ever risen to a high-status job sporting facial hair

3 Likes
#40

Some earlier examples in the 20th century, though… might explain some of the aversion when it comes to mustaches.