So you've managed to land that interview you've been wanting (perhaps with the help of my last post in this series). Now what? This will be your make it or break it moment. You're very close to securing a that job you want, but the interview process can be long and honestly very nerve-wracking. You can find multiple guides online about how to carry yourself in a professional manner. I think it's fair to say at this point, we all know how to be professional. But being professional isn't necessarily going to guarantee you'll nail your interview. While I wouldn't claim to know every "industry secret" to getting hired, I think it's fair to say that we've progressed past "just be professional". Every person interviewing has something they can bring to the table and beyond professionalism, the only thing you can do be as genuine and sincere as you can.
Personally, I hate interviewing. Like in most situations where attention is placed on me, I get incredibly nervous, anxious, and well, sweaty. I don't consider myself to be a smooth-talking person. If I had to admit one thing, it's that I'm honestly very surprised I manage to perform well enough in interviews to receive a job offer. If you're the type of person who thrives during these types of situations, I'm truly envious. Otherwise, if you're anything like me, there are a few things you can do to ensure your success in interviews!
1. Do your research #
It is so, so important you're prepared when going into an interview. Never go in blind. Figure out what the company you're interviewing for does. You'd be surprised to learn that people go into interviews not even knowing what the company is responsible for. Interviewers want to know what value you can add to the company and it would definitely help if you knew what was important to the company itself. Ask yourself why you want to work for them (because they will probably ask you) and what you can add by being an employee there. If the company does work in something you're not familiar with, familiarize yourself!
In addition to researching what the company does, try to find out what the company is like and what you can expect from the interview. Websites like Glassdoor and even Reddit have posts from former candidates describing the interview process and what kind of questions to expect. How many interviews should you expect? Will there be technical or behavioral questions? What should you be expected to know? Although most companies frown upon or even prohibit sharing specific interview questions, you can still get a general idea of what to look out for. While you should take these things with a grain of salt, it's better to be equipped with answers to some of the questions that could be thrown at you.
For behavioral questions in general, try to think of a few situations during school projects or at previous jobs where you exhibited leadership, teamwork (there it goes again!), or tenacity. You will probably be asked to describe any or all these situations. This is for CS students, so adjust for your field of study, but for technical questions, brush up on a data structures/algorithms, object-oriented programming principles, and your favorite programming language (usually Python, Java, C or C++). Almost all of the technical interviews I had allow you to just write in pseudo-code, but it's a good idea to nail syntax down as well. There are a ton of study guides for CS-related interviews online, as well as books dedicated to technical interview preparation. Although I don't personally own these, Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions and Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job are highly rated and recommended.
2. Show your personality #
At the beginning of the interview, you will almost ALWAYS be asked to talk about yourself. Discuss your education and experience. That's a given. But what do you do outside of class and work? What are you passionate about? What are your hobbies and what do you do in your free time? Try to paint a full picture of yourself, without taking too long of course. If you're lucky, your interviewer(s) might have similar interests and you might have a casual exchange about it. Of course, this helps build rapport, but it can also help relax you and make the rest of the interview feel a little less scary.
Here's a personal anecdote: In an interview for the internship I had last summer, when asked to talk about myself, I mentioned that I loved animals and that I had a cat named Sprinkles. My interviewer happened to be dog-owner and we chatted about that briefly; she shared a cute little story about her dog. It turned out that my interviewer would later on become my direct manager during my summer internship! During a performance review (interns had them every week just to talk about progress and concerns), she revealed that me owning a cat named Sprinkles was one of the things she remembered about me and that during deliberations with other managers about who to hire, one of the things everyone knew about me was that I was "the girl with the cat" (among other things, hopefully...). Not only that, but once we had a team meeting where the team building exercise was 2 truths and a lie, and my truth was that I had a cat, and everyone knew that was a truth because I apparently talked about it before. Aside from being essentially being known as a crazy cat lady, I felt comfortable being myself, which is a great thing to be able to do in a professional environment that can make a lot of people feel uncomfortable.
Anyway, back to the point. Assuming you've got the technical abilities required for a particular position, it is so, so important to let the interviewers know who you are. Make yourself memorable. Behavioral questions show your character, but what is it like to be around you? It's a given that they want to hire you for the technical value you can bring to the company, but it's vital that you fit in with the culture of the company and its current employees. In most cases, you might be a technical wizard, but if you can't get along with the people you work with, you will only hurt whatever team your on and ultimately the company. Interviews not only help determine if you're qualified for a job, but help determine whether or not you'll be a good fit, as well.
3. Remember - the interview goes both ways #
You might hear this a lot from people who give career advice. That is because this statement is 100% accurate. While, yes, you are going to be grilled for the majority of the time, you will almost always have the opportunity to ask questions in return. Be sure you have the right questions in mind! Being able to ask the interviewers not only gives you answers to things you may want to know, obviously, but also shows that you're interested in the company. Not only that, but just as they're trying to figure out whether or not you'll be a good fit, you have to determine whether or not you'd want to work there yourself.
Here are some questions I like to ask and why:
- What is the company culture like? - This is extremely important. Software development at a lot of companies is undergoing a lot of organizational changes nowadays, especially at older companies, because of the shift from waterfall methodology to agile. The thing known as "start-up culture" is desired by a lot of people. Things like openness to collaboration, diversity, and work-life balance are things that can drastically affect your experience at a company, personal life, and career.
- What would my day-to-day look like? - Pretty self-explanatory. You should want to know what kind of work you'll be doing. After all, you'll be doing this for 40+ hours a week.
- What kind of opportunity is there to move around? - You can take this either figuratively or literally. A company may have multiple locations across the country or even the entire world. If moving or travelling is something you want to do, it would be nice to know if you'd be able to take your job with you. Beyond that, however, it's beneficial to know what options you have in situations where you're stuck doing something you don't know. We all have at one point in our lives will have to work on something we don't necessarily enjoy, but being forced to work on a project you don't like for 6 months, a year, or 18 months is entirely different from working on that project for the rest of your time at that company. Most companies will have different areas you can work in, so figuring out how easy (or hard) it is to move between them is a good idea.
- What is the company dress code? - It's related to the company culture, but I always personally make a point to ask this. Aside from two pairs of trousers and a few modest dresses, I don't own very much business attire. Not that I would have a huge problem going out and buying less casual clothes, but it's a huge plus to me if the dress code is business-casual or even casual. A lot of tech companies have shifted from being more formal to allowing more comfortable clothing for their developers and engineers. I've worked at places that allow you to wear shorts, t-shirts, and even sandals. Of course there's a limit to the freedom that is allowed when it comes to dress, but every bit of freedom is to make employees more comfortable (and therefore productive) at work.
- If applicable, what is the policy on piercings/tattoos? - Another question I always ask. If you didn't know, I have a few small visible tattoos on my arms and fingers if I don't wear long sleeves and rings. I also have a nose piercing. As a general rule, I've made a point to conceal my tattoos for the first initial in-person interview. I also usually replace my nose piercing with a clear spacer. Every place I ended up working at did not have any policies against visible tattoos or piercings, as long as they weren't vulgar or offensive. I never had to conceal any of my tattoos and I wore my piercing to work every day. I also recently dyed my hair purple (which you can see on my Instagram! :P). I found the tech industry to be very flexible in this front, probably because the idea is that you're at not going to be public-facing. Plus, creativity is encouraged in engineering, so that might have something to do with it. This is not the same at every company, but at the end of the day, it's your decision whether or not you would want to work for a company that has an issue with these types of things.
4. Don't be afraid to say "I don't know" - be honest #
You can be prepare all you want for those interview questions, but sometimes there are some things you weren't expecting and some things you just don't know. Don't worry, it's not the end of the world, especially for internships or entry-level positions. There are going to be many things in your career that you're not familiar or experienced with. Sometimes you just have to figure it out. The best thing you can do in this type of situation in an interview is show your problem-solving skills and willingness to learn. When posed with a question you're unsure about, talk through it with your interviewer, something you should always do when answering questions. Don't just jump straight into answering the question. Ask questions to gain a better understanding of what the interviewer wants. Even if you don't arrive at the correct answer, you'll show that you're putting in the effort to figure it out.
If in the end you really don't know or you're unsure of your answer, just say so! Explain why you're unsure. Sure, you'll be be admitting there are gaps in your knowledge, but it's better to admit you're mistaken then to go on explaining something that's completely wrong. Think about a project you'd be working on. Would you continue on coding something you don't even know is right? No! You'd ask and make sure you're producing quality results. Talk about the steps you'd take to figuring out the problem and what you would do fill those gaps in your knowledge. We all learn from mistakes, but it sure does save time and money when we can prevent those mistakes to begin with.
5. Don't be nervous #
You'll hear this time and time again, but it's honestly the best advice you can take. The best interviews are the ones where you (and the interviewer) feel like you're just having a friendly conversation. Don't make it out to be more, because you'll psych yourself out. And don't worry too much about them being able to tell that you're nervous. If anything, it shows that you care. The interviewer really isn't out to get you and (hopefully) want to hire you; otherwise, they wouldn't waste their time interviewing you along with all the other candidates they have.
Chances are, nobody notices that you're a nervous wreck on the inside. The best advice I received from a former manager is to "fake it 'til you make it". One of my personal self-improvement goals was to be less introverted and anxious. I admitted this, along with the fact that I was extremely nervous during my interview and my former manager said she couldn't even tell, and that I seemed like a very friendly and out-going person! I had no idea and I was just beating myself up the whole time. I apologize in advance for all the cliches, but you are honestly your worst critic. As life advice in general, learn to take compliments to heart and gain some self-confidence. You will learn to loosen up and be more comfortable interviewing (or in my case, talking to people in general).
The way I see it, you're either qualified for a position, or you're not. If you're not, you don't belong in that position, but you shouldn't beat yourself up over it. It just might not be the right time or place. If you are qualified, it's just a matter of whether or not you'd be a good fit for a company. Being honest, sincere, and genuine - basically, being yourself - will help ensure that both you and the company will be happy with your potential employment there.
Thanks for reading,
Christina