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Episode Description / Notes:
Tech Interviews can be tough. Some are super super heavy on the Tech stuff, and would be difficult for even the most hardcore of Developers; Deep dives into obscure algorithms, odd design patterns and generally just requiring a ton of study beforehand.
Other interviews can be quite socially or culturally driven, and this can be even harder given that the majority of developers – including myself when I was younger - it’s like our brain is wired for the logical machine stuff, not the squishy people stuff.
Worry not though, I’m here to help! Having been on both sides of the interview desk literally hundreds of times, I’ve amassed a ton of knowledge on what can make or break an interview. We’re going to cover some of my top interview tips, so you can apply to your dream jobs with confidence.
Episode Script:
Welcome to this episode of SpeakingSoftware. I'm your host Philip, and together we're going take another look at the soft side of Software Development.
Today's topic is about Interview Tips! I’m bringing my wisdom and experience to help you get your dream job!
Lets get right into it!
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I’ve said it before, and no doubt you’ll hear it again from me – You should interview often! Even if you’re happy with your current position. Knowledge is power people, and knowing exactly what your skills are worth on the free market gives you a lot of power and control over your life. You’ll know whether its worth staying where you are, or taking a chance at somewhere new.
Tech Interviews are tough though. Some are super super heavy on the Tech stuff, and would be difficult for even the most hardcore of Developers - going over obscure algorithms, odd design patterns and generally just requiring a ton of study beforehand. Other interviews can be quite socially or culturally driven, and this can be hard given the majority of developers – myself when I was younger - y’know it’s like our brain is wired for the logical machine stuff – not the squishy people stuff.
Worry not though, I’m here to help. Having been on both sides of the desk literally hundreds of times, I’ve amassed a ton of knowledge on what can make or break an interview. We’re going to cover my top interview tips, so you can apply to your dream jobs with confidence.
Tailor your Answers
If you’re speaking to the hiring manager, and you find out maybe they’re not a technical manager – don’t try and impress or bamboozle them with technical words or terms. At best you’ll come off as a know-it-all, and at worst the manager will see you as unmanageable, because you can’t communicate in the way they need.
On the flip-side, if your interviewer is HEAVILY technical – speak specifically! They’ll know you can communicate with them, and they can see your technical competence.
Speaking of tailoring...
2. Prepare answers!
Prepare the answers to common questions. There are lists of the top 50-100 common questions online and example answers. Read and write your own answers. Be aware - Just don’t bring cookie-cutter bullshit! You might thin you’re swish checking the top results on google, but trust me, you’re not.
Speak about your previous experiences here; You can truthfully speak and about your experience from a position of authority!
Most Popular Questions to prepare for:
Tell me about yourself
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
What project that you’ve worked on are your most proud of. Why?
Why are you leaving your current job?
Tell me about a time something went wrong. How did you address it?
What do you do outside of work?
We’ll cover these in a future episode, so don’t worry if this feels a little overwhelming.
I’d also highly recommend having multiple variations of answers prepared. Why? To give yourself some leeway! Have several similar answers prepared, so you can change tactics if you’re reading the room and things don’t feel right. Don’t lie though! Humans are multi-dimensional. Remember this!
PROTIP re: Answer length: Don’t go too long. Think of the fables and stories you heard as a child. There was always a lesson or nugget of wisdom. Keep that in mind when answering, and get straight to the golden nugget!
3. Research your Target
This is a long one folks – buckle up! This is where I see a lot of candidate fails. They’ve failed before the interviews have even started. They never even had a chance. Why? Because they did not prepare!
I want you to remember the 7p’s: Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.
How do you prepare? You have to do your research. What do you have to research?
Research Point 1: You need to know about the company.
Who are they? What do they do?
How did they get started? How long are they in business?
What’s their mission statement?
Recent or Notable awards? Patents/ innovations?
Recent funding or news headlines?
Interweave answers based on these into your conversation. Bringing these up at the right time shows you didn’t just mass apply for every open developer job. It shows you’re interested in more than the Job. (Its okay if that’s not true. But you want the interviewer to believe its true.)
Research Point 2: You need to know the product.
What will you be working on? Can you sign up for it and/or download it? If so – use it! Take it for a spin! You would be surprised how many times I’ve interviewed candidates and none of them tried to actually try and USE the software they’d be working on! Being interviewed, I’d often be told I was the only candidate to make an account and try the tool. Knowing what it does isn’t enough - Bring your tech knowledge here! What can you determine from the package? How is it deployed/executed? Is it obfuscated? I got a job once because I was able to decompile a non-obfuscated Silverlight package and point out a bug and a fix for it, and show it running on my personal machine.
Research Point 3: You need to know who you’re talking to.
In your Screening call, you’ll likely be told the names of who’ll interview you next. Maybe it could be the hiring manager, or future peers, etc... Use LinkedIn, Use google, use the company website. Find out who they are, what they do and what they’re into.
Consider: if the hiring manager you’ll be talking to has a ton of blog posts about MongoDB, and the position you’re interviewing for is MEAN stack developer – you can use this to your advantage. If they hates Relational Database Models and you’re only experience so far is with SQL Server – that’s not a bad thing! You are forewarned and therefore, forearmed. This can be a talking point. When talking about your experience here, Bring up that you don’t like it, and you’re looking for an opportunity to move onto NoSQL stuff like MongoDB, etc…
Preparation means being warned. Forewarned is forearmed. Having this knowledge means you can position yourself as the ideal candidate. OR maybe choose not to. You might do this research and find out something you don’t like about the company. Rather than going through 8 rounds of interviewing and moving job to find out they do something that morally or ethically doesn’t sit with you, isn’t it better to do like 30-60 minutes of research and find out now?
KEY POINT: Lets get real for a second. Being 100% prepared might not be enough. It might not always net you positive points. The org could be restructured, their could be layoffs, a sudden hiring freeze, global pandemic cough cough, your interviewer could be having a bad day, or just might not like you. These things are beyond your control. However being unprepared guarantees you will not get the job. And this IS within your control. Don’t show up unprepared.
Like these Interview Tips? See what else I can do...
4. Speak of what you know
This is definitely a sticking point for me.
What NOT to do: Don’t try and bullshit! 1. If you're asked about something and you cannot speak from a position of authority or experience, maybe consider not speaking about it! Don’t be afraid to say “Hey, I’ve never heard of that library, or I’ve never covered that before. But I’m going to write it down, and I’m going to look it over after this call/interview. This shows initiative, and that you’re a straight-talker. Interviewers LOVE straight-talkers.
What to DO: 1. Talk in commonalities and bring in the underlying theory. If you’re a React Developer, and the interviewer surprises you that they need someone to work on a legacy Angular product that will eventually be converted to React – no problem. They’re both component based architectures, and you can talk about that, They both have the same problems in the JavaScript Ecosystem. They would solve similar issues.
Talk about what you know is common between them. Show that you’re not just a code monkey, and that you can pick up on the syntax quickly. You want to sell that you know what you’re doing and your integration into the company will be quick and painless. You’re ready to deliver value from day 1. If you don’t know the specifics, talk about the commonalities!
5. You’re speaking with real people.
They have emotions, lives, likes, dislikes and work to do. Try to be appropriately comfortable. We’re not talking about leaning back in your chair and putting your feet on their desk. But don’t cower. This isn’t like your first job at McDonald’s out of school where it’s “yes sir”, “no sir”. You have highly technical skills. Don’t feel like a lesser or small person. This will come across in your posture, speaking, etc... Remember: They invited you to interview – you deserve to be there!
Talking about real people – engage them in your conversations. Make them comfortable too. It doesn’t have to be a drudgery or painful discussion. Make them laugh! I remember once a very serious, stern interviewer asked me how I felt about the recent changes and direction in the JS ecosystem. I laughed a little and then deadpan told them “No one knows what their doing and everything is terrible.”. They found it hilarious, and this helped break the ice a little and things flowed really smooth from there.
6. You’re a professional. Act like it.
Dress appropriately. Shower beforehand. You would not believe the amount of candidates I’ve interviewed that were disheveled or reeked of Body Odor. You don’t want that to be the thing the interviewer remembers about you. You want them to remember your professionalism.
If its in person, leave with plenty of time. Its better to arrive early instead of late. If you wear a tie, close your top button. Clean your shoes, tuck your shirt in, etc...
If its a video call or phone-call, make sure you have good reception or network. Do a quick test call with a friend or family member beforehand.
Take the call somewhere comfortable and free from distraction. I’ve had to end calls with candidates where I couldn’t hear them because they were in a coffee shop. I even had one person had to stop the interview as it turned out they were doing it in a free meeting room in their current employers office and were caught!
THE KEY TAKE-HOME point here: If you can’t manage yourself, how can they expect you to manage the position?
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So there we go. 6 Top tips to help you breeze through your next interviews. Lets review our list:
Tailor your Answers
Prepare your answers
Research your Target
Speak of what you know (bring your experience and authority)
You’re speaking with real people
Act like a professional!
I enjoyed writing this episode, I’ve got tons more tips. Keep you ears open for a part 2 coming soon!
If you’re thinking of interviewing and you want to maximize your chances, I provide interview advice and mentorship services. These calls will help test and train you for the Social, Cultural fit and general Soft skill questions, and you’ll definitely come out feeling more prepared for your next round of interviews.
Reach out to me via email at SpeakingSoftwareShow@gmail.com or via DM on Twitter or Instagram. I’d love to discuss your situation and how we can get you into a place of confidence and success.
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We’ve been Speaking Software. Catch you next time!