No one likes interviewing. And I mean no one. It’s exhausting. To make it a little easier, I’m going to tell you what ACTUALLY works. There is a lot of fluff online but honestly most of it is BS. I’m an IT recruiter with a great track record of placing IT candidates. Last year, I place 50+ people in jobs securing them remote work and huge salary increases. I only get paid when people get the job and so I don’t have time to mess with tips that don’t work. On average, ~40% of my candidates that interview get the job. This is how I prepare them. IT WORKS. Let’s take a look at how to go through an interview and land that offer. We’re going to talk about:
The STAR method
Interviewing virtually and remotely
Understanding your audience
How to answer when you don’t know the answer
Interviewing when you have no prior related job experience
STAR Method
First, let's talk about the STAR method. This is a powerful tool for answering interview questions and can help you showcase your skills and experiences in a clear and concise manner. Too many times when I ask a candidate what they did in their last job, it goes like this:
Me: “So, tell me about your current position? What are you doing there?”
Candidate “I’m a Java developer.”
The problem with that? I’m looking at the resume and can clearly see their current job title says Java Developer. They just effectively told me nothing. That’s definitely not going to fly with a hiring manager. Remember you have a limited amount of time in the interview to sell yourself. This is where STAR method comes in.
The STAR method stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. When answering a behavioral interview question, start by setting the stage by describing the Situation or context. Then, describe the Task or goal that you needed to accomplish. Next, explain the specific Actions you took to complete the task, and finally, describe the Result or outcome of your efforts.
Me: “So, tell me about your current position, what are you doing there?”
Java Dev:
S: The project I worked on was a real-time data processing system for a financial company.
T: The challenge was to process a large volume of data within a tight time frame while ensuring accuracy and reliability.
A: To overcome this challenge, I used several strategies. First, I optimized the algorithms for data processing to reduce the processing time. Second, I implemented a multi-threaded approach to process data in parallel, which helped increase the processing speed. Finally, I conducted extensive testing and debugging to ensure the system's accuracy and reliability.
R: As a result of these efforts, the data processing system was able to handle the large volume of data within the required time frame and met the client's expectations for accuracy and reliability.
Now THIS is what a hiring manager, recruiter, tech lead, etc. wants to hear. They’ve given me a story to work with. Everyone wants to hear a story. They’re not a Java Dev. They’re a Java Dev that can handle and manipulate large data sets, optimize algorithms, manage testing and debugging, and meet a deadline. THAT is the guy that people want to offer a job to.
It take a bit of getting used to answering questions with STAR method to do it on the fly. Here are so sample questions you can work through and apply your own experience to practice:
Tell me about yourself and your current role. What do you do there?
Tell me about a time that you weren’t able to meet a deadline that had been set by the project manager?
During your bootcamp, tell me about a time that you were lost and needed help. What did you do?
Tell me about a time that you were given multiple priorities to manage at once, but it wasn’t possible to complete both by the deadline.
Onsite and Virtual Interviews
Now, I want to cover interviewing both virtually and remotely. Most companies are starting to go back onsite, at least in a hybrid model. However, most interview, especially first rounds are taking place remotely. We need to know how to approach both interview styles. Let’s talk about interviewing remotely first.
Here’s what you need to know:
24 hours before the interview, make sure you know what platform it is taking place on. Is it a phone call, bridge line, WebEx, Teams, Google Meet, etc. Whatever platform is being used, you need to download it to your computer before hand. If at all possible, DO NOT take an interview on a phone or tablet. You may be asked to screen share and type code, whiteboard something, or go to a specific web page. Once you have the platform downloaded, do a test call with a friend. Is your audio clear? What about your background? Is it neat and professional? You’re already going to be a bit nervous before your interview, you don’t want to make it worse by being unprepared.
Now, when it’s time for the interview, you want to join 5-10 minutes early. The hiring manager may join early, and if they do this gives you an extra 5-10 minutes to convince them to hire you. Also, by joining early it gives you a small buffer to troubleshoot any issues. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a candidate join just on time, but then 7 minutes are spent trouble shooting a mic or camera issue and the manager only has 23 minutes left to conduct the interview. DON’T short yourself on time. Join early.
There are some things you’ll want to have ready for when you join the call. A bottle of water - being nervous and talking a lot make your mouth dry. Taking a sip of water also gives you a second to think if you need it, without pausing awkwardly. You should also have a copy of your resume to refer to as well as something to take notes on. Below, I’ll outline the questions you should ask.
Finally, make sure to dress professionally. You don’t necessarily need a suit but a nice dress shirt that isn’t wrinkled is great. Make sure to tidy up any facial hair and comb your hair before hand. I recommend placing your laptop on top of a few books. This positions the camera at eye level and saves the hiring manager from looking up your nostrils for 45 minutes.
Let’s address interviewing in person. Most of the tips from interviewing virtually will be useful, but there are a few other things we need to be mindful of.
You’ll want to dress professionally. For most environments a suit is going to be too formal but slacks and a nice shirt are going to be perfect. Now when it comes to getting to the location, I recommend arriving 30 minutes early. DO NOT GO INSIDE 30 minutes early. The reason we arrive early is to account for traffic, finding parking, finding the building etc. Once you’re there you can sit in your car for a bit. You want to go in about 5-8 minutes early. The second you walk in the door, the interview starts. Be pleasant to everyone you see. The doorman, the front desk lady, the food cart guy, anyone you see in an elevator. Just like above, have a bottle of water, several copies of your resume, and pen and paper to take notes on.
Taking Notes and Asking Questions
When you’re in the interview, you’re going to want to make sure to take notes and ask good questions. Here’s what you need to write down:
The name of every person you’re speaking to, and their position: Jim - PM, Katy -Senior Dev
A quick summary of the project they’re working on - IAM tool upgrade
Tech stack in environment - Python, Django, MongoDB, AWS
And here are the questions you’re going to want to ask:
What is the team size?
Why is this position open? Person left, got promoted, new position?
If I were hired in this position, what would I be expected to do/deliver in my first 30/60/90?
How does your development process typically flow? Waterfall/Agile/hybrid
How do you prioritize technical debt?
Can you tell me about any recent technological advancements the company has adopted or is planning to adopt?
How is collaboration between teams/departments managed?
Understanding Your Audience
Next, we need to talk about something that so many people get wrong. You need to understand your audience when you’re answering questions. During the interview process, you’re going to speak to both technical, and non-technical people. A typical interview process might go like this:
HR Screen
Interview with Project Manager
Interview with Senior Engineer
When answering questions from technical and non-technical people, it's important to tailor your response to the person you're speaking to. When you're speaking to a non-technical person, like a project manager or HR representative, you want to make sure your answers aren't too technical. Instead, focus on giving a good overview of your contribution to the project. For example, you could say something like: "I developed APIs for the public-facing website. In my day-to-day work, I collaborated with three front-end engineers and two back-end engineers. The application was built using Angular on the front-end and Java in the back-end." This way, you're providing a clear and concise summary of your role and responsibilities.
When you're speaking to a technical person, like an engineer or senior developer, you'll want to be more technical with your responses. Be prepared to screen share and write code, whiteboard a solution, explain your troubleshooting and debugging process, etc. Technical interviewers are likely to ask more in-depth questions about your technical skills and experience, so it's important to be prepared to provide detailed answers. By being able to demonstrate your technical abilities, you'll be able to show that you're a competent and knowledgeable professional.
Interviewing When you Don’t Have any Experience Yet
I feel like this wouldn’t be complete without addressing how to interview if you don’t have direct experience. Maybe you attended a coding bootcamp or cybersecurity bootcamp and you’re trying to break in and land that first job. Here are some pointers to follow:
Emphasize your passion and drive: Show your enthusiasm and explain why you're excited to get started in your chosen field. Emphasize your passion and dedication to learning and growing as a professional.
Highlight your skills and projects: Discuss the projects you've worked on during your bootcamp and what you learned from them. Explain what you're proud of and what you would do differently if you could go back and start the project again. This will show your technical knowledge and problem-solving skills.
Be prepared to answer questions about your learning process: Interviewers may ask questions about how you learned a particular skill or how you approached a challenging problem. Be ready to discuss your learning process and explain how you stay current with new technologies and trends in your field.
Show your motivation and adaptability: Explain why you chose to attend a bootcamp and why you believe it was the right choice for you. Demonstrate your ability to learn quickly and be flexible, which are important qualities for a junior developer.
Ask thoughtful questions: Demonstrate your interest in the company and the role by asking thoughtful questions about the team, the projects they're working on, and their technology stack. This will show that you're serious about the opportunity and want to learn more.
Now that we are at the end of the interview, let’s wrap up. I always recommend candidates to ask “After our discussion today, would you have any reservations about moving forward to the next round/with an offer?” This gives you a chance to show you are coachable and a last chance to sell yourself to the hiring manager. Make sure to thank them for their time, as well as ask for next steps.
Finally, my most important interview tip. You are going to be asked a question you cannot answer. Maybe the company is using a tool you’ve never worked with. Maybe you get nervous and just blank. Here’s what to say:
“You know, to be honest, I’ve never worked with Tool B before. When I was hired on at GloboCom, they were using Tool C which was completely new to me. I did XYX to learn it, and was up to speed within 90 days. I may not have used it yet, but if I join your team I’m committed to learning it and integrating it in to my tech stack”.
Let’s wrap up
We learned a LOT in this post. I recommend reading through it a few times so it really sticks. Practice STAR method with those sample questions I provided. Following these steps I’ve outlined has a great track record of getting my candidates hired. I’m confident it will work for you. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions!
“Your interview starts when you walk in” is very true. I got a job once because (or do they said) they had trash on the ground right by a trash can everyone walked by. I was the only one who picked up the trash. Lol
I've put together a cheat sheet to keep on the desk during interviews from this post. Please keep em coming! Clutch info