Here's a full interview guide for co-leads to interview apprentices. If you are applying as an apprentice, you can use this as a guideline to prepare for your interview.
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Did you know?
Do not record video or audio, or AI transcription of team interviews.
Rely on note-taking during the interview. This is for the sake of data privacy policies in Tech Fleet.
If you must record, you must delete the recording after the meeting. You must ask permission to record.
Yellow highlighted text is suggested questions to candidates
Break the ice a little before beginning
Tell them the agenda:
We will not record this session but I may take notes for my own recruiting efforts
Iâd like to get to know you and learn what youâd like to get out of project training
Iâd like to tell you more about how Tech Fleet projects operate in our apprenticeship training.
Iâd like to talk about Service leadership and Agile with you
Iâd like to leave room for questions at the end.
How does that sound to you?
Tell me about yourself
Professional background, other key things to get to know them as a person
How long have you been in the Tech Fleet community?
How much do you know about Tech Fleet community?
If not much, tell them the history of Tech Fleet
Tech Fleet started as a community in 2020
Weâre now a nonprofit public charity thatâs driven by our community members
We offer project apprenticeship training and masterclass training for a lot of different tech roles related to Agile
We live to open as many opportunities as possible to build skills and experience
How is it going so far for you in the community?
Have you ever been on a Tech Fleet project before?
If yes, go to "Previously been on a Tech Fleet project" section
If no, go to "If they have never been on Tech Fleet projects"
Yellow highlighted text is suggested questions to candidates
How much do you know about Tech Fleet project training?
Always cover the basics:
Tech Fleet is an apprenticeship training organization.
Teams are trained on real Agile methodologies, which are very different from how a lot of schools teach UX and product work, but this is a safe environment to fail and learn.
The priority on a team is to grow and learn, NOT to produce work. This is not a competitive environment.
It's an environment to get things wrong and to embrace failure. Team mates need to be given safe spaces to learn.
When youâre on a team, youâre in an apprenticeship training. You are not in a job or volunteer position.
Teams work with nonprofit clients.
Team members are expected to perform a new way of working as they will be expected in the industry: Agile.
Here's some information about the project you are joining:
Provide basics about the client's mission
Provide basics about the client's project goals
Provide information about any previous phases of work and what we did in previous phases
Provide information about the key outcomes for this coming phase
Remind the candidate that we are going to produce the work in parallel: UX research, UX design, and development work will happen at the same time throughout the entire project, and it will never stop, because we are performing Agile work.
Are you familiar with the Agile ways of working versus the Waterfall ways of working?
Hopefully they have prepared for Agile in Tech Fleet. If not, they may have done so outside of Tech Fleet, or they may not have had the chance yet.
Iâd like to go over how Tech Fleet Agile teams operate so that you know what to expect:
Agile is a way of building things that provides incremental value instead of value at the end of projects.
UX work and development happens continuously and at the same time.
We work in the Scrum method, are you familiar with that?
Either way:
We do âsprintsâ: 2 weeks of work at a time, and deliver small chunks of UX work every 2 weeks.
Each sprint, the teams deliver research, design, and product work in parallel.
Each project phase is 4 sprints.
When one project phase ends, the team documents a handoff and then we open applications for the next project.
Instead of working alone in a specific title, you will have the opportunity to float across different activities based on what you want to do.
We have Agile coaches that are training in this community who work with teams to coach Agile and get them going as a Scrum team.
Iâd also like to go over how apprentices and co-leads operate so you know what to expect:
Co-leads
Co-leads are not bosses or managers. They do not have the answer. They are guides in service to others' growth.
Co-leads are also doing this work for the first time. They are not experts or teachers. They are your peers. They should be treated as such, and they should treat you as such. Everyone should be peer-to-peer learning in Tech Fleet.
There is no hierarchy on the team. Co-leads are equals to each other, and co-leads are equals to apprentices.
Co-leads should not provide apprentices the answer. They should all work together to build decision making and consensus.
Mentors and Coaches
We have agile coaches who will train you in Agile during the first couple weeks of the project.
We have a group project mentor system where community members join teams for group mentoring in areas of their expertise. This is possible to have but not guaranteed.
Apprentices
Apprentices are all servant leaders to each other, and provide psychological safety to each other. They also provide servant leadership to their co-leads as their peers.
Apprentices should not wait for people to tell them what to do: they should initiate change together as teammates.
Apprentices should be given a true sense of ownership from day 1 on the project, and be given a voice in decision making.
The more apprentices self-own the work as members of the team, the more they will grow. We want to encourage apprentices owning work from week 1 and leading whenever possible. How do you feel about this?
Every sprint, everyone commits to the work they want to do based on a shared outcome of the team. Agile coaches will work with you all to train in how to work cross-functionally. It's up to you to empower growth in your team mates, while they empower growth in you.
Are you familiar with these terms like Agile and servant leadership and psychological safety?
They should! They should have prepared pretty deeply in these two things through the . If they do not answer adequately, it's a sign they are less ready for Agile team roles and may have more preparation to do.
Do you have any questions or thoughts about this?
We recommend everyone read the user guide for Agile Handbook and Life in Tech Fleet before proceeding in project team training. Have you read this yet?
They should have done this
What did you takeaway from the Agile Handbook that you want to bring onto teams with you?
If not, it may show less commitment from candidates. Invite them to do so asap. Say that we actively look for people who already observed in Tech Fleet before joining teams. This may not show their commitment.
We recommend everyone spend at least one sprint to observe project training teams in Tech Fleet to learn how Agile life works daily. Have you done this yet?
They should have done this
If yes: what did you learn during observing that you want to take onto team training with you?
If no, this may not show their commitment. Encourage them to do so asap. Say that we actively look for people who already observed in Tech Fleet before joining teams. This may not show their commitment.
We recommend everyone take the Servant Leadership Masterclass before joining Tech Fleet training teams. Have you done this yet?
They should have done this
If yes: what did you learn during the class that you want to take onto team training with you?
If no, this may not show their commitment. Encourage them to do so asap. Say that we actively look for people who already practice Servant Leadership as apprentices and co-leads in Tech Fleet before joining teams.
How would you explain service leadership in your own words?
They should be able to describe it in their own words, not copy-pasted from this user guide. This shows that the learning has been applied beyond something they read.
In what ways would you be a service leader to your co-leads and to other apprentices?
They should be able to speak to how they approach service leadership and psychological safety.
They should be able to compare leadership styles like authoritarian leadership vs. lasseiz-faire vs. service as they learned in the Servant Leadership Masterclass.
They should be listing the traits of daily service leadership behavior that were taught in the Service Leadership Masterclass.
How would you contribute to coaching your team in the Agile philosophies?
Some teams find themselves in situations where apprentices wait to be told what to do. Some co-leads tell apprentices what to do or how to work. This is the opposite of the dynamic we want. We want people who self-organize in their work together and give decision making power to each other. As an apprentice, how would you help contribute to accomplishing a true Agile dynamic on your team?
They should be able to describe how they would build psychological safety and empowerment for service leadership on the team.
They should describe how they will approach building self-organization on their team, where team mates decide together how to work and how to solve problems.
They should describe how they will provide space for people to have a voice and feel a true sense of ownership in the work.
How would you handle a situation where an apprentice or co-lead is not being a service leader to you or to someone else?
How would you handle situations of uncertainty, or situations where your team or the client is not providing direction you need as a team?
They should speak to their self-organization principle in Agile.
Do you have any questions for me?
Look for their readiness to dig into the project work and their prior preparation in the Notion deliverables that were produced by previous teams.
Look for their willingness and initiative to be an Agile service leader and what they are looking to give back to others over giving to themselves.
Look for how much they have prepared their questions.
Yellow highlighted text is suggested questions to candidates
Tech Fleet is trying to improve its Agile training. Our new structure for projects will include Agile coaches to train teams in Agile cross-functional teamwork. Here's what that means:
We will bring an Agile coach into projects to coach team mates in Agile.
The priority on a team is to grow and learn, NOT to produce work. This is not a competitive environment.
It's an environment to get things wrong and to embrace failure. Team mates need to be given safe spaces to learn.
When youâre on a team, youâre in an apprenticeship training. You are not in a job or volunteer position.
Here's some information about the project you are joining:
(If they have never been on this particular project before)
Provide basics about the client's mission
Provide basics about the client's project goals
Provide information about any previous phases of work and what we did in previous phases
Provide information about the key outcomes for this coming phase
Remind the candidate that we are going to produce the work in parallel: UX research, UX design, and development work will happen at the same time throughout the entire project, and it will never stop, because we are performing Agile work.
(If they have been on this particular project before)
Provide information about the key outcomes for this coming phase
Remind the candidate that we are going to produce the work in parallel: UX research, UX design, and development work will happen at the same time throughout the entire project, and it will never stop, because we are performing Agile work.
Iâd like to go over how Tech Fleet Agile teams operate so that you know what to expect:
Agile is a way of building things that provides incremental value instead of value at the end of projects.
UX work and development happens continuously and at the same time.
We work in the Scrum method, are you familiar with that?
Either way:
We do âsprintsâ: 2 weeks of work at a time, and deliver small chunks of UX work every 2 weeks.
Each sprint, the teams deliver research, design, and product work in parallel.
Each project phase is 4 sprints.
When one project phase ends, the team documents a handoff and then we open applications for the next project.
Instead of working alone in a specific title, you will have the opportunity to float across different activities based on what you want to do.
We have Agile coaches that are training in this community who work with teams to coach Agile and get them going as a Scrum team.
Iâd also like to go over how apprentices and co-leads operate so you know what to expect:
Co-leads
Co-leads are not bosses or managers. They do not have the answer. They are guides in service to others' growth.
Co-leads are also doing this work for the first time. They are not experts or teachers. They are your peers. They should be treated as such, and they should treat you as such. Everyone should be peer-to-peer learning in Tech Fleet.
There is no hierarchy on the team. Co-leads are equals to each other, and co-leads are equals to apprentices.
Co-leads should not provide apprentices the answer. They should all work together to build decision making and consensus.
Mentors and Coaches
We have agile coaches who will train you in Agile during the first couple weeks of the project.
We have a group project mentor system where community members join teams for group mentoring in areas of their expertise. This is possible to have but not guaranteed.
Apprentices
Apprentices are all servant leaders to each other, and provide psychological safety to each other. They also provide servant leadership to their co-leads as their peers.
Apprentices should not wait for people to tell them what to do: they should initiate change together as teammates.
Apprentices should be given a true sense of ownership from day 1 on the project, and be given a voice in decision making.
The more apprentices self-own the work as members of the team, the more they will grow. We want to encourage apprentices owning work from week 1 and leading whenever possible. How do you feel about this?
Every sprint, everyone commits to the work they want to do based on a shared outcome of the team. Agile coaches will work with you all to train in how to work cross-functionally. It's up to you to empower growth in your team mates, while they empower growth in you.
Are you familiar with these terms like Agile and servant leadership and psychological safety?
Do you have any questions or thoughts about this?
We recommend everyone read the user guide for Agile Handbook and Life in Tech Fleet before proceeding in project team training. Have you read this yet?
They should have done this
What did you takeaway from the Agile Handbook that you want to bring onto teams with you?
If not, it may show less commitment from candidates. Invite them to do so asap. Say that we actively look for people who already observed in Tech Fleet before joining teams. This may not show their commitment.
We recommend everyone spend at least one sprint to observe project training teams in Tech Fleet to learn how Agile life works daily. Have you done this yet?
They should have done this
If yes: what did you learn during observing that you want to take onto team training with you?
If no, this may not show their commitment. Encourage them to do so asap. Say that we actively look for people who already observed in Tech Fleet before joining teams. This may not show their commitment.
We recommend everyone take the Servant Leadership Masterclass before joining Tech Fleet training teams. Have you done this yet?
They should have done this
If yes: what did you learn during the class that you want to take onto team training with you?
If no, this may not show their commitment. Encourage them to do so asap. Say that we actively look for people who already practice Servant Leadership as apprentices and co-leads in Tech Fleet before joining teams.
How would you explain servant leadership in your own words?
They should be able to describe it in their own words, not copy-pasted from this user guide. This shows that the learning has been applied beyond something they read.
In what ways would you be a servant leader to your co-leads and to other apprentices?
They should be able to speak to how they approach servant leadership and psychological safety.
They should be able to compare leadership styles like authoritarian leadership vs. lasseiz-faire vs. servant as they learned in the Servant Leadership Masterclass.
They should be listing the traits of daily servant leadership behavior that were taught in the Servant Leadership Masterclass.
How would you contribute to coaching your team in the Agile philosophies?
Some teams find themselves in situations where apprentices wait to be told what to do. Some co-leads tell apprentices what to do or how to work. This is the opposite of the dynamic we want. We want people who self-organize in their work together and give decision making power to each other. As an apprentice, how would you help contribute to accomplishing a true Agile dynamic on your team?
They should be able to describe how they would build psychological safety and empowerment for service leadership on the team.
They should describe how they will approach building self-organization on their team, where team mates decide together how to work and how to solve problems.
They should describe how they will provide space for people to have a voice and feel a true sense of ownership in the work.
How would you handle a situation where an apprentice or co-lead is not being a servant leader to you or to someone else?
How would you handle situations of uncertainty, or situations where your team or the client is not providing direction you need as a team?
They should speak to their self-organization principle in Agile.
Do you have any questions for me?
Look for their readiness to dig into the project work and their prior preparation in the Notion deliverables that were produced by previous teams.
Look for their willingness and initiative to be an Agile servant leader and what they are looking to give back to others over giving to themselves.
Look for how much they have prepared their questions.
They should have a firm understanding of service leadership and how it relates to : psychological safety, self-organization, and continuous improvement.
They should be referencing the tenets of .
Everyone plays a role in this, every single team mate, .
Everyone should be building the tenets of starting with psychological safety. Strong co-lead candidates will should describe how they will approach this.
They should be able to describe how they will handle conflict resolution as a service leader according to their .
They should have read the and understand how to resolve conflict while still being a service leader with psychological safety to others.
They should be able to describe how they will introduce iterative value every moment when there is no certainty, they will empower their team to make value and introduce .
They should! They should have prepared pretty deeply in these two things through the . If they do not answer adequately, it's a sign they are less ready for Agile team roles and may have more preparation to do.
They should have a firm understanding of servant leadership and how it relates to : psychological safety, self-organization, and continuous improvement.
They should be referencing the tenets of .
Everyone plays a role in this, every single team mate, .
Everyone should be building the tenets of starting with psychological safety. Strong co-lead candidates will should describe how they will approach this.
They should be able to describe how they will handle conflict resolution as a servant leader according to their .
They should have read the and understand how to resolve conflict while still being a servant leader with psychological safety to others.
They should be able to describe how they will introduce iterative value every moment when there is no certainty, they will empower their team to make value and introduce .