Hero Foundation: Get ready to interview

Phone screens are typically the first-round interview. They are designed to find out key details about your availability, your interest in the role, and practical questions like visa status. Some organisations will book a time with you in advance; others will simply call when it suits them. If they call and leave a message, make sure you call back. This is normally just a first-stage, exploratory conversation.

Typical length: anywhere from a couple of minutes up to 30 minutes, depending on the industry.

Example questions for a 1st stage interview

1. "To kick things off, could you tell me a little bit about yourself and your background?"
2. "What was your main motivation for applying to this specific role?"
3. "Could you talk me through your current employment status, and what led you to look for a new opportunity at this time?"
4. "What does your current availability look like, both for interviews and for actually starting a new position?"
5. "What do you know about our company so far, and why does our mission or work appeal to you?"

Key things to prepare

• Your current visa status.
• Your current work status.
• What are you doing at the moment.
• If you are in work, your availability.
• Your salary expectations.
• A summary of your work experience, particularly anything relevant to this specific role.
• Your motivation for the role — what interests you about the company.

Essential tips

• If your call is prearranged for a specific time, expect slightly more in-depth questions. Research the company and be ready to explain why this role and organisation interest you
• This is typically a simple, informal stage. Focus on communicating clearly, keeping answers concise, and coming across as enthusiastic.
• Many of our customers use an AI video interview instead of a traditional phone screen. See below if that applies to you.

This is your chance to use our AI video interview agent, which runs as the first screening call for many of our customers — used as an alternative to the traditional phone screen. Prepare the same way you would for a phone screen.

Key things to prepare

• The organisation — what they do and why they matter to you.
• Why are you interested in working there.
• What it is about the role that appeals to you.
• Your motivation for moving or joining that company.
• A succinct summary of your career, in your own words.

Essential tips

• Questions are typically general, motivational, and behavioural.
• Treat it exactly like a phone screen — the same prep applies.
• Keep your answers clear and conversational, even though you are speaking to an AI agent.

This stage is about the content of the role. The hiring manager is assessing your fit and your ability to actually do the job.

Typical length: 30–60 minutes.

Key things to prepare

• Review the job description in depth, line by line.
• For every requirement listed, prepare a talking point — ideally, a real example of a time you did something similar.
• Identify transferable skills where you do not have a direct match. You do not need an identical experience for every point.
• If you have had a career break, think through recent activity (not just paid work) that is still relevant.

Essential tips

• Do not worry if you do not have direct experience with every point — lots of skills are transferable.
• Read the job advert or job description carefully and really think about how you can draw out an example that connects to each requirement.
• Even if you have not worked professionally for a while, there is likely plenty from your recent history that is relevant.

Congratulations on getting to this stage. It is a huge step towards landing the role. Many organisations do not run many in-person interviews, so if you are here, it usually means you are one of only a couple of candidates being considered. This is a brilliant opportunity.

Typical length: around an hour.

Key things to prepare

• Professional, appropriate presentation for the role you’re going for. Please reach out to the Hero.
• Foundation team directly if you would like support with sourcing interview outfits and clothes. 
  In-depth research on the company.
• A list of thoughtful, well-researched questions to ask.

Essential tips

• You do not need to overdo it on formal wear. Just make sure you are well presented so the organisation feels confident you will show up as your best self every day at work.
• If asked to bring anything specific, do. Otherwise, just bring your best self.
• Company research also gives you a good steer on what to wear and how formal to expect the interview to be.
• You should ask questions at every stage, but this is a particularly good opportunity to ask everything you want to know. The more research you have done, the better your questions will be.

A few general tips that apply across every interview stage:

• Confirm the logistics: who you are speaking with, when, the format, and how long it is expected to run.
• Have your materials ready: your CV, the job description, any notes, and your list of questions.
• For video or AI interviews, check your camera, mic, lighting, and internet connection beforehand, and find a quiet space.
• Do your research: the company’s About page, recent news, and LinkedIn are a good baseline.
• After the interview, send a quick follow-up message to say thanks and reiterate your interest — a simple way to show professionalism and stay front of mind.
• If there is anything specific you need to make an interview accessible, reach out to the Hero Foundation team and let your hiring manager or recruiter know.

Some questions come up again and again, no matter the interview type. Here’s how to approach them:

“Tell me about yourself”

Keep this succinct — a two-minute summary, maximum. Cover your experience at a high level, what you bring to the role, and why what you have done is relevant. Keep it brief. They can always ask you to go into more detail afterwards.

Salary expectations

Go into every conversation with a clear idea of what you are expecting. Be realistic and do not overshoot. You can always negotiate towards the end of the process.

Talking about a career break

If you are navigating how to talk about a career break in interviews, check out our session on how to frame it:

Want extra help getting ready? Try the prompt below — it turns AI into your own interview prep agent. It will research the organisation, build a tailored interview prep pack based on your CV and the job description, run you through likely phone screen and hiring manager questions one at a time, and give you feedback on your answers.

Interview prep agent prompt

“I want you to act as my interview preparation coach. I’m going to give you my CV, the job description, and some context — I want you to help me get ready for both a phone screen (or AI interview) and a hiring manager interview.

Here’s what I have:

- My CV/resume: [paste or attach]

- My cover letter (if I have one): [paste or attach, optional]

- Link to the job ad: [paste link]

- The full job description: [paste JD]

- Link to the company website: [paste link]

- Why I’m interested in this role and what’s motivating me to apply: [add your own context]

Using this, please:

1. Summarise the organisation, the job title, and the key requirements of the job description in your own words, so I can confirm you’ve understood the role correctly.

2. Generate a set of typical phone screen / first-stage questions based on this role, covering things like: my availability, my interest in the organisation, my interest in the role, my relevant previous experience, my visa status, what I’m doing at the moment, and what specifically interests me about this role.

3. Ask me these questions one at a time and wait for my own answer to each before moving to the next — don’t answer them for me.

4. Once I’ve answered all of them, review my answers and give me feedback: what worked well, what I could improve, and what else I could add to strengthen my answers based on the job description and my background.

5. Next, generate 5 key hiring manager interview questions based on the job description — a mix of behavioural, situational, and experience-based questions, focused on the specific requirements in the JD, examples of how I’ve used relevant skills, and situational scenarios I might face in the role.

6. Ask me these 5 questions one at a time, like a mock interview, and wait for my answer to each before moving on.

7. Once I’ve answered all 5, give me feedback on each answer and suggest specific examples or details I could add to make my answers stronger and more relevant to the role.”