There isn’t a lot of information available about developer job interviews.
Many excellent developers struggle with job interviews, in my experience, since they spend more time focused on what they are genuinely passionate about, technology and development, and less time practicing their interview skills.
It’s a shame, because strong job interview skills may help you progress your career by providing you with opportunities you wouldn’t have had you not been talented in this area.
Do some research about the interviewer.
When I do a developer interview and send an email with my complete name and blog address to the developer I’m interviewing ahead of time, they appear to know nothing about me when I talk with them in the interview.
On the other hand, I’ve had interviews when I’ve interviewed someone and they’ve slipped a mention of a blog post I’ve written or a Pluralsight course I’ve taught into the conversation.
Which developer would I be most likely to suggest for a job?
We are all human, and we all want to know that someone cares about us. The best method to pique someone’s interest in you, according to Dale Carnegie, is to exhibit genuine interest in them. (Yes, this is the eighth time I’ve recommended this book, and yes, that is an Amazon affiliate link.)
It doesn’t matter if something is fair and objective. Assuming you’re interviewing for a job, it’s ridiculous not to do some preliminary research on the firm and the interviewer (if you know who it will be).
Finding someone’s Facebook page, Twitter account, or blog is now easier than ever. With just a little study, you can learn a lot, and it demonstrates that you are detail-oriented and concerned about your job.
Get a tip from a friend.
Do you want to discover the simplest approach to find work? Obtain an insider recommendation.
You’ll get twice as many interviews and have a 40% better chance of getting hired. That’s correct, it has that great of an effect!
It isn’t even difficult if you are willing to sow a few seeds ahead of time to ensure that there will be plenty of apples on the tree when you need one. I identified a firm that I wanted to work for a while ago. So, what exactly did I do?
So, I discovered a developer at that business who I believed shared some of my beliefs and ideals, and I began reading his blog.
I left a comment on his blog expressing interest in his job and the firm he worked for, and as a result of that interaction, I was able to acquire an inside recommendation.
“Well, I don’t know anyone at XYZ Corp,” many coders remark. If you want to quit up there, great, but I’m sure you can find a way to meet and befriend someone in almost any organization if you try.
However, the trick is that you must network before you need a job, so get started today!
Acquire the ability to answer issues based on algorithms.
I have a six-step approach for solving algorithm-based challenges that come up frequently in developer interviews.
It’s a vital skill for every developer to have, and it’s not that tough to acquire. Many touch job interviews include one or more questions in which you must answer a programming problem on a whiteboard or at a computer; nevertheless, many developers, who are generally excellent programmers, get utterly immobilized and flub the task.
You’ll easily place yourself in the top 10% of developers who interview for most positions if you take the time to understand how to solve these types of challenges, and you’ll be a lot less worried about being asked to solve a problem on the spot if you do.
The reason we become worried has nothing to do with performance anxiety and everything to do with our experience and comfort in addressing challenges of this nature.
You wouldn’t become all anxious and thrash around if someone asked you to perform 10 jumping jacks, for example… why? Because you’re certain you’ll be able to accomplish it.
You won’t be anxious if you get confidence in this area. When it comes to developer jobs, internet is your friend. You can get online tips on performing better in interviews. For example, you can check react js interview questions and get yourself ready.
Never, ever be brutally honest.
Many developers go too far in the opposite direction, disclosing far too much personal information about themselves, believing that honesty and complete transparency are the best policies.
While you should never lie, you should also avoid disclosing all of the unpleasant aspects of your life and all of your weaknesses to your interviewer.
People are drawn to a sense of mystery, and they don’t want to take a chance on your OCD or preoccupation with World of Warcraft causing you to fail at your job.
Character defects are terrible, but personality is excellent.
Never lie, but don’t reveal anything that may cast you in a negative light. Not only will that information be harmful to you, but it also demonstrates a lack of judgment.
Must have a solid solid understanding of the basics of computer science
Because it is so vital and can be learned in less than an hour, I cover it in my Job Interview training as well.
Yes, many developers argue that they are unaware of linked lists and stacks because they lack a proper computer science degree or because they graduated from college too long ago.
Although most programming positions do not require profound computer science knowledge, as a professional software developer, you should at least be aware of the fundamentals.
You wouldn’t employ an electrician to rewire your house if that electrician didn’t grasp the fundamentals of electrical engineering, so don’t presume that someone wants to hire someone who can code but doesn’t understand the fundamentals of their trade.
You don’t have to be a computer science professor, but you should grasp the fundamentals, which I am confident can be taught in an hour, as I do in my Job Interview course.
Last but not least
Hopefully, you found these suggestions useful. I discovered that there isn’t a lot of useful information out there for developers searching for job interview tips, so I created a Pluralsight course on the subject, which you should check out if you want to learn more about the suggestions discuss here.
You might be thinking to yourself, “Ah, that John Sonmez character creates a blog post to discreetly advertise his Pluralsight video while appearing to give free advise,” if you’re observant.
Well, I got the idea to write this blog post to help market my Pluralsight video— after all, that’s what I do, I make Pluralsight videos— but I hope you found these recommendations useful as well.
If you have the talents but aren’t having the career success you deserve, have a look at our Simple Programmer course “How to Market Yourself as a Software Developer.”
