🌟 A Fresh Interview Experience I Want to Share with Our Community · Breakthrough Elites

🌟 A Fresh Interview Experience I Want to Share with Our Community

Today I had one of the most unexpectedly intense phone interviews of my journey in Canada — and I believe the lessons can help many of us in this group.

I received a call from someone at a major Toronto-based company (hiring manager or recruiter — still not sure!), and I honestly thought it would be a quick check-in about availability and salary expectations. But it turned into a 20-minute blend of behavioral, technical, and situational questions — all over the phone, with no video, no faces, just voice and mindset.

Here’s what happened and what I learned:

🔹 1. They started by clarifying my location

Because the role wasn’t posted in my city, she opened with questions about why I want to move to Toronto. I explained my reasons clearly and confidently — and the conversation flowed naturally from there.

🔹 2. Salary expectations —

@Alex B

training saved me

When she asked about my expected salary, my first thought was to say $75K.But then I remembered Alex’s golden rule:👉 Ask for their range first.

So I calmly asked: “What is the company’s salary range for this role?”

She shared a range above $85K plus benefits, which surprised me in the best way. I acknowledged it as fair and said I’d be open to discussing it more as the process moves forward. That one move probably saved me from underselling myself by thousands.

🔹 3. Technical + behavioural questions combined

Within 20 minutes, she covered:

Technical tasks
Scenarios
Behavioural patterns
Availability
Start date

This reinforced something important: Big organizations use short, structured calls to filter fast and stay efficient.

🔹 4. I asked my questions — and it changed the energy

At the end, I asked two deeper questions:

“What does success look like in the first 90 days for this role?”
“Is this a new position or a replacement? What does the onboarding process look like?”

These questions shifted the conversation from “candidate evaluation” to “future collaborator.” And before ending the call, I told her:“ Even though I can’t see you, I’m receiving a very positive vibe. I hope I’ll get to meet you in person or virtually.” She laughed — and I felt the connection strengthen.

🔹 5. My small “strategy hack” that made a big difference

During the call I had:

The job description open
My resume on another monitor
Live captions turned on so I could read every word she said

This helped me tailor my answers using their own language while staying calm and structured. Honestly, I felt even more effective than in some video interviews.

💬 I’m sharing this because many of us go through these steps quietly.

I hope my experience helps someone prepare better, negotiate better, or walk into their next opportunity with more confidence.

Have you had similar phone interviews in Canada?

Did you face behavioural or technical questions right at the first screening call?

Would love to hear your experiences too — let’s learn from each other. 🙌

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