The 1st edition of our Interview Workshop took place on the 21st of July, introducing this recruitment step to everyone who would like to join the process. Like everything we do at Mindera, this was an experiment and involved different people. We are proud to share its story and how we successfully made it happen.

We reminisce on the tests we aced, the excitement of the moment we hear the offer, and we always remember the fellow Minders that interviewed us! For many, these moments are the first connection to Mindera, to the first people who introduced us to this way of working and who were there to answer all our doubts and support our humble fears – “No managers, is it really like that? How are decisions made?"

Our recruitment process is known for and defines both our way of working and our values. It represents us and our purpose - you can tell by the flow of the stages.

Allowing everyone to get involved in the hiring process is also part of whom we are and how we make things happen.

Suppose it's their first time on this journey. In that case, it only takes joining fellow interviewers for a few sessions and watching them guide the candidates through the exercises and questions to learn how to interview.

Still, there is so much to learn about interviews! Some of us even feel curious about doing them but can’t picture ourselves in one!

How Did We Run The Workshop?

Since so many new Minders joined recently, we decided to get everyone together and talk about interviews, running our first workshop! There were over 60 Minders on the call; some were new to the interview process, some veterans ready to share experiences, and our hosts, Learning developers – Luís Simões and Marta Pinto.

They guided us to the three main points:

1. How to talk about ourselves;
2. How to tell if the candidate is relaxed;
3. How to break the ice!

The important bit is that both parties leave the interview feeling they’ve had a good time and an exciting chat.

Luís Simões started the call by giving some suggestions on how to start the conversation with the candidate. He also shared why he likes to be at Mindera and why he does interviews.

Then Marta shared how body language plays a crucial role in an interview:

“We all make judgments in a split second. It tells something about you and the other; being aware of it is very important to help someone feel comfortable.”

She explained how to be aware of our body language and even gave us some examples to show that sometimes it’s not easy to see if someone is tense or not!

Then the participants got together in small random groups in breakout rooms and discussed some thought-provoking questions:

• What is a good question?
• What is best: open questions or specific questions?
• What if the candidate has more experience than me”?

On this last one, Cainã Brazil, who has been doing interviews for a while now, shared his point of view:

“The first time I interviewed someone that clearly had way more experience than I had in every aspect of the interview, it felt not only humbling at first but also like a good opportunity to learn a bit from the candidate!

They completely smashed all my challenges and questions regarding all subjects we went through. Then, when I realised I didn’t know what more I could ask, I was honest with them and asked if they could help me understand some challenges I was facing back then.

They were kind and patient when explaining whatever I asked, and that really showed me what a leader they were!

This experience showed me that we all have something to learn from each other. Even when we’re in a position that might indicate the flow of knowledge should be the other way around!”

By the end of the session, we achieved the main objective: to define what we call the “Mindera attitude” in interviews. That is to have a real conversation, as humans, with everyone getting a chance to express themselves.

After this first session of the interview workshop, more are coming soon - keep an eye out on the news section of our blog to find out the following chapters!

If you would like to take part in choosing your teammates, join our team!

You can find all our job opportunities on our Careers page.

Got any questions? Talk with us on LinkedIn, Cord, or through our Contact Form.