Getting Hired on a Modern Hybrid Setup | Alvanson So People Lead at Canva Philippines

Alvanson So did a presentation about Getting Hired on a Modern Hybrid Setup on July 18, 2022. I’ll give a summary on this. He gave some unique insights which differentiated himself with the other job interview tips we usually hear from. Thats what made me write this quick summary.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced all business, whether partnerships, companies, or organizations, to think and come up with a rational solution to deal with all the changes this virus has done. Because of this pandemic, a hybrid setup was created to allow employees to work both in the office and at home.

Quick introduction

Mr. Alvanson So, the guest of the talk, is a HR practitioner. He is the People Lead at Canva Philippines. He has a BSBA-HRM, Human Resource Management degree at De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. He is Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP®). He worked as a IT recruitment consultant, Human Resource Generalist, HR Consultant, and many more positions.

Here is Alvanson So’s LinkedIn page to learn more about him!

Interview tips

An outline of the whole talk is (1) things to do before the interview; (2) tips on what mindset to have coming into an interview; (3) remote interview; and (4) final thoughts and additional tips.

My first insight is in part one and two of his lecture: the things to do before the interview. Before an interview, we need to create an impression. Show what you can do. Often true in most countries, job hunting is messy; you are competing with limited jobs with abundant applicants. Creating impressions is not only for employees, employers also create impressions to attract candidates. They need to know how to pick the right employer.

Alvanson tells us that he is not here to teach us how to write a correct looking resume, he is here to give us the foundation to deal with this.

What do interviews feel like? He says it feels daunting. You will face a lot of people e.g. HR representatives, future colleagues. It’s natural to be intimidated, it’s more on how we overcome it.

My second insight is in part two of Alvanson’s lecture: tips on what mindset to have coming into an interview. Coming into the interview, both the employee and the employer must gain an understanding of each other. Or else it will be an unsuccessful interview. Alvanson told us to “be intentional”. Every experience we talk about should be honest and be answered when followed up with a question. And the employee will also ask questions as they are commiting to the company. The values of the employee must align with the organization.

Make things easier for the interviewer. Write down and give all that he or she might need. Don’t make them ask for it. This will show how informative you are and just makes you pleasant.

We must “present ourselves in the best light”. Highlight your achievements. What did you do that is above the cut? Talk about the skill you honed; any student organizations you joined; the leadership opportunity you took up; marketing campaign you had etc. Talk about anything outside of your school. Talk about what you were learning and what made your journey unique?