Landed an interview invite with the world’s largest professional networking site - LinkedIn? Then you’ve got to prepare for the tough LinkedIn interview questions.
In this article, we’ll break down the LinkedIn interview process, share tips to prepare, and how to answer common interview questions. Let’s get started – and while you’re here, make sure to give Management Consulted a follow on LinkedIn!
Outline:
LinkedIn History & Culture
Before getting to the interview, you’ll be well served to learn a bit about the company’s history and culture. LinkedIn has over 600 million users across 200 countries. Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn’s co-founder, launched it on May 5, 2003. In 2016, Microsoft fully acquired LinkedIn at a total cash value of $26.2 billion. This acquisition led to the combination of two world-class organizations.
Today, LinkedIn obtains its revenues from a variety of sources, including but not limited to, membership subscriptions, advertisements, recruitment solutions, and sales. With the goal of connecting working professionals across the world, it’s estimated that around 50% of working professionals use LinkedIn today. LinkedIn’s vision is to provide every workforce member with economic opportunities across the world.
The company is known for its compassionate leadership style towards employees, creating a positive work environment for all. LinkedIn upholds five pillars that support what it does and why:
- Transformation
- Integrity
- Collaboration
- Humor
- Results
LinkedIn is also serious about its seven core values:
- Members first
- Inspire excellence
- Relationships matter
- Take intelligent risks
- Be open, honest and constructive
- Act as an owner of #OneLinkedIn
- Embody diversity, inclusion and belonging
To perform well in a LinkedIn interview, applicants should understand the corporation’s core values and the five pillars and try to reflect them in their answers to interview questions.
LinkedIn Interview Process
LinkedIn’s interview process is usually consists of four steps: a phone interview, a technical screen, an onsite interview, and finally, an offer (or rejection letter). The average hiring process takes around 41 days, which is well below the average for companies like Google and Microsoft. Let’s break down each step of the process.
Phone Interview:
This is a casual 30-minute conversation with a recruiter. The call is used to gain insight into the individual’s background, qualifications, and interest in the company. Candidates should be able to demonstrate knowledge of the latest LinkedIn updates and news.
Technical Screen:
The technical interview is another phone call where candidates are asked 2-3 questions testing core technical competencies (ex: data analytics or programming) in depth. The company wants to see if you have the technical chops for the role you’re interviewing for.
On-site Interviews:
This portion of the process is intense. There is an average of four rounds of on-site interviews. In these interviews, candidates’ problem-solving skills will be tested based on real-life scenarios (like a case interview). In addition, candidates will meet with senior executives for another round or two of behavioral interviews.
Offer:
Based on their performance in the LinkedIn interview gauntlet, candidates receive a rating of 1-5. This rating reflects their competencies relative to the requirement of the role. Candidates can expect to receive an offer within a week of their on-site interviews.
LinkedIn Interview Prep & Questions
To get an offer, candidates need to prepare extensively. Interviewers normally ask a mix of behavioral, technical, and “general” interview questions assessing the candidate’s qualifications for the role.
Behavioral Interview Questions:
Behavioral interview questions are used to explore concrete examples of when you’ve demonstrated the specific skills and competences required for a role. The usual format includes the presentation of a situation, questions about what actions you took in a similar situation, and what the outcome was. We recommend using the CAR or STAR Method to formulate your responses. Example LinkedIn behavioral questions include the following:
- Have you ever had to work under intense pressure? What happened?
- Tell me about a time you had to ask for help.
- Tell me about a time you had to deal with a conflict at work.
- Tell me about a time you showed leadership.
Technical Interview Questions:
These questions are given to candidates seeking more technical positions such as software engineers or data scientists. Some potential questions are:
- You take over a new service and discover it has no monitoring. What monitoring would you put in place within the first week to ensure the service is working?
- Describe a situation in which you proposed a design idea and it was rejected.
- Write a function that takes a number and returns the square root.
General Interview Questions:
Other questions candidates could be asked focus on their qualifications, including:
- Where do you see yourself in five years?
- What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
- What is your greatest professional accomplishment?
Note: many candidates for tech-focused roles have noted that LinkedIn on-site interviews involve two coding sessions. One is a system design session and the other a technical communication session. These are followed by a behavioral interview session. If you’re interviewing for a tech role, make sure you prepare for each of these.
Conclusion
Jobs at LinkedIn are among the more sought after in the Big Tech world. Candidates that fail to prepare should prepare to fail. We trust that the above LinkedIn interview prep resources will be valuable to you. To workshop answers in response to common LinkedIn interview questions, grab an hour with an expert interview coach today!
Additional Reading:
- How to Use LinkedIn to Network
- How To Create A LinkedIn Profile
- Consulting Resume: Complete Guide
- Case Interview: Complete Prep Guide