The Software Developer Interview Primer
So you’re ready to start searching for a job as A Software Developer? Check out this guide to find out what’s in store!
The most important first step is your resume. It’s your first impression! Make sure that it’s tailored for the company you’re applying to. Be sure to reference the coding languages you know and that the company works with. This will help you get through to the phone interview. Remember that HR or a hiring manager is the first to see your resume; make sure they see you meet their specific qualifications.
The second step is getting an initial phone interview. You’ll be asked about your resume in detail and the projects you’ve worked on. Study your resume! When asked about anything on your resume, you should be ready to elaborate and answer questions about it with certainty. They’ll also ask about you to find out if you’re a good fit for the organization and briefly outline the companies history and the cultural environment.
After this, you might be given a take-home programming test or do a phone or in-person conversation with a panel of people, like other developers and a project manager. Your appearance is important; make sure you’re dressed well in business attire unless they specifically say otherwise.
After this, you will be asked to complete a coding assignment in person. For the coding portion, make sure you study the common whiteboarding problems. Fizz Buzz alone filters out most applicants. This kind of problem is falling out of fashion, with take-home problems becoming more de facto.
Keep a proper mindset going into this stage of the interview. Treat every interview as a learning opportunity instead of focusing on whether you’re doing well. Remember to keep an open and curious mind! Even if you don’t get hired, you’ll learn valuable skills that can help you get hired in the future. You’ll get more out of the interview this way. If you get stuck, don’t freak out, but tell the interviewer, “I think I’m stuck; where do you think I could find information about this or any ideas on what I’ve missed?”
Asking questions changes the dynamic, and interviewers love being asked questions because it shows your interest. Instead of sitting quietly for 5 minutes and spitting out the answer, talk through your solution and ask questions. Communication is a key part of the interview process in the tech world because you will be collaborating with a lot of people daily.
Once you’ve finished the coding test, don’t just stop; ask them how they would do it there, or what tests they use, what does their data look like? Learn how the company works. You might have to go to a lot of interviews, but you’re learning at every one of them, and this will help you in every following interview until you land a job! Curious personalities make for better interviewees.
Be present! There are plenty of articles and videos that tell you how to “hack” the process, instructing you to practice answers to common questions and have a memorized response. So instead of actually listening to the question, you end up reciting whatever response is the closest match to the question and not what the interviewer wanted. Actively listen, and have a conversation instead of calculating your next move. Don’t wait to ask questions until the end of the interview, be present and curious. Ask them questions about the company!
After all of this, the company usually has a meeting to discuss your eligibility, or you may be pulled into HR to talk more about what you expect to earn and what the company has to offer you in the way of benefits. Once you are formally offered the job, you can begin negotiating pay.
If you’re rejected, don’t think of it as time wasted; think of the experience you gained. There’s always something to be learned from every interview.
