The most valuable skill for a junior dev to learn is "communication".
I've been interviewing engineers for 15+ years, and maybe this advice will seem obvious.
A quick thread of great communication in an interview to help you land that software dev role.
I've been interviewing engineers for 15+ years, and maybe this advice will seem obvious.
A quick thread of great communication in an interview to help you land that software dev role.
https://twitter.com/SergiiKirianov/status/1478658976686481409?s=20
The interview intro
Your interviewer will intro themselves and rundown how the next 30+ mins will be spent.
When they ask you to introduce yourself, remember that this is part of the interview!
You're not a prisoner of war, don't just state your name and rank, and go quiet.
Your interviewer will intro themselves and rundown how the next 30+ mins will be spent.
When they ask you to introduce yourself, remember that this is part of the interview!
You're not a prisoner of war, don't just state your name and rank, and go quiet.
Practice your intro beforehand
When an interviewer says tell me a little bit about yourself, please tell them about yourself.
Tell them where you're from, what you currently do, what kind of things interest you.
When an interviewer says tell me a little bit about yourself, please tell them about yourself.
Tell them where you're from, what you currently do, what kind of things interest you.
Pay attention to their intro
When the interviewer introduces themselves, pay attention to the team they work on, how long they've worked at the company. Take notes if you need to.
This will become important at the end of the interview when they give you time to ask questions.
When the interviewer introduces themselves, pay attention to the team they work on, how long they've worked at the company. Take notes if you need to.
This will become important at the end of the interview when they give you time to ask questions.
Research the role and company
When the interview asks why you applied for the job, we want to know if you have researched anything. It's a very obvious and bad sign if you didn't do any research.
I've had so many candidates freeze here.
When the interview asks why you applied for the job, we want to know if you have researched anything. It's a very obvious and bad sign if you didn't do any research.
I've had so many candidates freeze here.
Research the role and company (cont)
Interviewers understand you may not remember the exact things that appealed to you about the job when you applied, but when we ask questions, we note your response.
Please do at least the smallest amount of research. It will go a long way.
Interviewers understand you may not remember the exact things that appealed to you about the job when you applied, but when we ask questions, we note your response.
Please do at least the smallest amount of research. It will go a long way.
Talk through your coding section
Interviewers rarely care about the exact solution to the coding problem. We want to know what kind of coworker you'll be.
Before writing any code:
1. Clarify the problem
2. State your assumptions
3. Talk about your proposed solution
Interviewers rarely care about the exact solution to the coding problem. We want to know what kind of coworker you'll be.
Before writing any code:
1. Clarify the problem
2. State your assumptions
3. Talk about your proposed solution
It’s okay to ask for help
You can say "I'm going to assume we are colleagues for a second and use you as a sounding board."
Interviewers love that. We're always like heck yes. Because do you know how many people are silent in this section and need to be prompted? (A lot)
You can say "I'm going to assume we are colleagues for a second and use you as a sounding board."
Interviewers love that. We're always like heck yes. Because do you know how many people are silent in this section and need to be prompted? (A lot)
Write test cases
If everything is going well, and you have time, please write a test case. Often times, the interview question will come with a test case and your code just needs to make it pass.
If you are running out of time, say "I wish I had time to write a test case".
If everything is going well, and you have time, please write a test case. Often times, the interview question will come with a test case and your code just needs to make it pass.
If you are running out of time, say "I wish I had time to write a test case".
Talk through the good and the bad
Talk about what is working, talk about it even if it's not working.
The interviewer might throw a bonus question at you. "What if upper cases didn't count?" or "what if <other absurd case> happens?"
Don't freeze. Talk through it.
Talk about what is working, talk about it even if it's not working.
The interviewer might throw a bonus question at you. "What if upper cases didn't count?" or "what if <other absurd case> happens?"
Don't freeze. Talk through it.
Ask the interviewer questions
In the final section, the interviewer will ask if you have any questions for them.
WE WRITE DOWN THE QUESTIONS YOU ASK US. PLEASE ASK US QUESTIONS.
Hope you were paying attention / took notes when the interviewer introduced themselves!
In the final section, the interviewer will ask if you have any questions for them.
WE WRITE DOWN THE QUESTIONS YOU ASK US. PLEASE ASK US QUESTIONS.
Hope you were paying attention / took notes when the interviewer introduced themselves!
Good luck with your interviews!
It's hard to get all scenarios in a tweet thread.
But my one hope is that the biggest takeaway is to over-communicate!
If you think this thread will help someone land a role, consider retweeting the first tweet.
It's hard to get all scenarios in a tweet thread.
But my one hope is that the biggest takeaway is to over-communicate!
If you think this thread will help someone land a role, consider retweeting the first tweet.
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