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Job Interview
clsCorwin
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I've got an interview for an entry level programming job. Well, 2nd interview actually. What should I be expecting from this?
Its from a college recruitment thing, so we (unsure how many will be there) will do a tour of the facility and a dinner one day, followed by the interview itself the next day.
Its from a college recruitment thing, so we (unsure how many will be there) will do a tour of the facility and a dinner one day, followed by the interview itself the next day.
clsCorwin on
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I'm assuming the tour and the dinner is to make sure you can handle yourself around others. Questions probably wont be too technical until the formal interview (well the 2nd one).
Good luck!
We also do a dinner, during which the 3-4 company attendees will get to know the candidate, while trying to figure out if s/he is any good at relating to people. We also try to gauge interest in the company and what the company does. The next day, which is interview day, affords another opportunity for others to gauge interpersonal skills with lunch. The interviews themselves are basically an opportunity to gauge technical and business skills. We do 2 technical interviews, with two different technical engineers, and a business interview with someone who does work on the business side.
[so the schedule is like this: Candidate arrives during afternoon. Evening is dinner. The next morning, we do a quick breakfast with them then throw them into their 3 interviews, each 45 minutes. Then lunch, then a plant tour. Then they meet with the person who will make a hiring decision. After that, while they are in an HR overview which tells them benefits, company policies, etc., the team that interacted with the candidate will meet and discuss their opinions. The section head will use their opinions and his own experience to make a hiring decision. They decide whether to reject the candidate out of hand (rare), make a spot offer (rare), pass the candidate on to another portion of the company (common), or make the candidate an offer after a few more days of thinking (common).]
Spoil'd for real-life good and bad examples of dinner and lunch sessions:
Candidate #2: He was awkward as all hell. Our dinner was myself, another female engineer, and a male engineer. The candidate was incredibly awkward when talking to myself and the other female, but obviously relaxed when speaking to the male. He looked extremely nervous, his eyes darting around, his sentences stilted. He didn't seem to be making conversation; instead it seemed like he was just regurgitating one-liner questions that he'd heard made good conversation starters, but he didn't bother to show interest in any answers, or follow up with more questions. On top of that, he showed little to no interest in our work lives, and when we told him what our work was like and asked if he thought he'd like it, he made a non-commital "Uh sure, sounds interesting" kind of response. The next day he went to lunch with the same female from dinner along with 3 other girls. When he got back, he immediately went into an interview with my section head (aka, the guy making the hiring decision); when he was asked how he liked lunch, his response was a nervous chuckle and the priceless one-liner "It was all girls!" Don't be like this guy.
During the actual interviews: Don't hold back on these interviews; if you are humble, your interviewers are not necessarily going to realize it. Demonstrate your knowledge without bragging. Treat it as a discussion of these things, not like you're giving a lesson or revealing your skills; try to get them talking about it with you. Not only will this keep them engaged, instead of you just lecturing them, but it will also afford you multiple opportunities to demonstrate knowledge within one question. Whatever you do, don't try to fake knowledge or make shit up.
tl;dr: My three best pieces of advice:
-Stay relaxed during dinners and meals, joke around, make conversation.
-Take any opportunity when speaking with someone to find out how the company works and how they feel about their job. It's a guaranteed conversation starter and it makes you look interested, which is good.
-Don't be afraid to pour it on during the interviews when they expect you to demonstrate knowledge. Go overboard if you must, but don't let it turn into a lecture or a bragging session. Involve your interviewer.
My additional advice:
-Be polite but not condescending. Never treat someone as if they're "just" an assistant, they might be advising managers about your people skills.
-Be conversationally conservative. That's not to say don't talk, but avoid subjects that some people might consider inappropriate. Joking around is fine, bawdy jokes aren't appropriate (you'd think this would be obvious, right?) If 'touchy' subjects like religion or politics comes up, be honest but brief. It's okay that you voted for Joe Schmoe, but don't spend 20 minutes talking about why everyone else is an idiot. Avoid swearing.
A couple people have said to learn about the company before you go. Do this. I cannot stress this more. Go to their website, find out what they do. Also, they probably should have given you a description of the entry-level position you're looking at. Read it over a few times, so that you understand the job you're applying for. Asking questions about the job is great, but you should have some knowledge basis going in. "So, uh, what's this job again?" is not a good question. I've had it asked, more than once.
On the flip side of the coin, remember that you're applying for an entry-level position. I had a guy once applying for an entry-level position who looked briefly at our site, drew some incorrect conclusions, and proceeded to tell me in detail why we were 'doing it wrong.' Ideas are good, but always remember that the people making the decisions probably have more information than you do. Try to focus on your potential job, not someone else's.
Brush up on your technical skills, especially the ones that the job is looking for. If the position requires C++, you may well be asked to write a little code. Think of the interview as a semester exam, and study appropriately. Crack open those books and notes that you haven't looked at in 10 months because it's your senior year and you're taking ice skating, dammit, and refresh your memory. The company wants to know that you can do what's on your resume.
Don't be afraid to put yourself forward, especially if there are multiple people there. You don't want to be that shy person in the back that no one remembers. Think of a few things to ask beforehand, and if you don't have anything to say, at the very least, smile and look interested.
Best of luck to you.
I'm not sure how technical the interview will be. The position is with a manufacturing company with a pretty good sized tech department. So, while the point of the job is software (Java), the goal of the company is not.
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How should I wear my hair?
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What kind of hair do you have that that's actually a question? :P
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
I work for a company like this to - what this means is that software isn't their money-maker but is usually a central figure in their business plan. Make sure you emphasize you know how much well-written software can help the bottom line of a company, how it can streamline processes, improve customer satisfaction, etc. The non-technical people who will consider hiring you aren't as concerned with your technical skills as they are with your ability to translate business problems to coding solutions.
Not like this, you'll look like a douche:
But a well-trimmed cut with gel for styling, there's nothing wrong with that and it will look quite good:
Btw, for dinner, you should consider wearing nice slacks (maybe khakis), a nice shirt, and maybe a tie. You want to look slightly better than the people you're eating with, but not so much that you make them feel uncomfortable. You want to project an aura of "I've come prepared" and overdressing just a tad (by wearing a tie) will do that. However, do not wear a tie if you choose to wear khakis.
The next day, you should wear a suit. Obviously. :P
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Tomorrow, the interview... which is 5 interviews and a case study.
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They'll warm you up with stuff like "reverse a linked list of integers" and probably get to tougher design questions.
The brain teasers you can find on a bazillion websites. The answers aren't really important. The most important thing is to TALK OUT EVERY SOLUTION. Never be quiet. Learn how to ask for help without explicitly asking.
"So I'm thinking that if I square each value then blah blah blah, am I on the right track?"
The worst thing you can do is be silent for 5 minute and then say "I don't know."
5 interviews?
Holy Jeesus.
Software development tends to have intense interview processes.
I felt it went well.
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
See how many books I've read so far in 2010
See how many books I've read so far in 2010