I have an interview tomorrow (http://www.ping-tech.net/)...

 

Just wondering what did you say when you were at interview? I usually struggle to answer when they ask "why did you choose our company?", because I don't really have a reason why I would work for a specific company. i do have a good reason to be in web development though.

 

I generally struggle to sound enthusiastic even though I am, but I have an idea of what I could do for tomorrow. I am probably going to tell them I appear shy at first but once I get to know people (after a few weeks) I open up. Most people think that I sound quiet and appear a little uninterested.

 

What questions did you ask them?

 

And also what are they looking for? Does anyone here interview people? So I know exactly what they want to hear. I remember before going to an interview and they asked me to give them an example of websites that I liked and why I liked them, I think they were trying to figure out whether I would notice design principles being applied to websites.

 

And I also think it would be good to mention that I quickly get bored if I'm not doing work, so I would be happy to work as long as they wanted, also say that i'm the type of person that can really put in effort if I wanted to get something done.

 

I also read in a book that you've got to find something in common other with the interviewer, so you do research on the person who's interviewing, and if they ask what your hobbies are say you also like what the person likes. If you show you've done research on the company, it makes you seem interested. Half the time I can't really find too much information on what a company does.

If you started you interview with me like that then you wouldn't get the job.

 

I look for enthusiasm, people with ideas and confidence but not cocky. People who challenge and are positive in their approach, who can work in a team, able to take criticism and accept a bollocking when they mess things up. People who have done their research and are knowledgeable about the company and the job they are applying for.

 

Anyone who suggests they get bored at work won't even finish the interview. If you have no current tasks then you should go looking for work or spend time practising and researching new skills.

 

It's up to you to convince me that you are better than all the other candidates. This is after 30 years experience interviewing people for all sorts of posts. I can normally tell if someone is right for the job within a few minutes. The way you enter the room and greet the interviewer is crucial. Get this right and you are halfway there.

I also read in a book that you've got to find something in common other with the interviewer, so you do research on the person who's interviewing, and if they ask what your hobbies are say you also like what the person likes.

 

 

I doubt the person conducting the interview is likely to be a stalker.

 

I read an article not long ago about interview mistakes. One amusing one was some bloke who replied in the third person, such as 'John is a conscientious, hard worker'.

Here's the article

 

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/interview-answers-drive-some-recruiters-edge-john-rindy-edd

 

Some good points in there.

Be honest about your skill level, both to yourself and the interviewer. It's pretty easy to discover someone's lying, and it's not always going to be a deal breaker, especially for junior roles.

I can't help with your question but by linking to your potential employer here you may have just made them aware of your tactics!

 

How did the interview go in the end?

Hope the interview went well @@NullDrone

I think it went well, I was able to answer the questions, not sure what he thought of me as a person, but he said that I scored 50/100 on the test that I done, which apparently was quite high, I prepared for the interview well I think, just have to wait for the response, apparently my weak point is javascript, I agree. I still have the gut feeling that I'm still a little weak on my skills and need improvement though. I just wonder where would I get more in depth information about HTML, CSS, Javascript? Surely I should of scored near 100 if codeschool had taught everything that I needed to know (I thought I had learnt the majority of the language).

 

I'm mostly glad that I think I will be able to focus from now on, today I've put in like 6 hours work and i'm not even tired. Even rode 15 miles the other night (the doctor gave me adderall which helps with the ADD).

He asked me what was your weakness? I said that in the past I used to have the problem that I would be like a jack of all trades and a master of none, but I said that I realized that I needed to improve on that so now I focus on specializing in one thing, that it would take 10,000 hours to be an expert at anything, also said I used to have organization problems, but then said now I've changed that, I even showed him my nice new shiny shoes, I think I was well dressed. But again often I think I do well in interviews then am surprised that often there's reasons they find to not employ.

Edited July 10, 201610 yr by NullDrone

In my experience when they say 'We'll let you know', it means you haven't got the job.

 

On average people will be successful in one interview in eight.

I still have the gut feeling that I'm still a little weak on my skills and need improvement though. I just wonder where would I get more in depth information about HTML, CSS, Javascript? Surely I should of scored near 100 if codeschool had taught everything that I needed to know (I thought I had learnt the majority of the language).

 

No doubt your skills will forever need improving, that's the nature of the beast. New languages, frameworks and devices constantly come and go, there will always be something new around the corner. Keeping up with these changes is part of your job as a developer really. Ideally you need to be passionate enough to be putting in the extra work outside of your day job if you want to stay current and on top of your game. Don't put yourself down too much though, there's a very common problem with developers referred to as "imposter syndrome" (if you haven't heard of it, Google it).

 

I can only speak for the route I've gone but once you've learned the basics, the best way to improve your knowledge IMO is through experience. Build new things constantly. Try new things. Look at popular open source projects. Get involved with the communities surrounding these open source projects.

Edited July 10, 201610 yr by MikeH

In my experience when they say 'We'll let you know', it means you haven't got the job.

 

On average people will be successful in one interview in eight.

 

Yeah I think that's probably the case.

Just because you have done the CodeSchool course doesn't mean you fully understand everything they have taught you, it's easy to get things mixed up, especially in a language as nuanced as JavaScript is.

I stand by my statement that CodeSchool is all you need to land a junior role, some companies ask questions that are too complex or expect too much from a Junior dev and those places are best avoided anyway. The important things for a junior role are attitude, enthusiasm and a willingness to learn, take on criticisms and be a team player. Skills you already have are secondary to that.

What you need skill wise is just a solid baseline understanding that can be built upon. This is what CodeSchool provides - You will need to go beyond this to progress though.

The best way to deal with an interview is not to have to faff about taking one in the first place. This is where social and professional networking, aka creep arsing and brown nosing, comes into play. Never forget, it's not what you know but who you know.

 

Shiny shoes are also a good idea. If you watch someone when they meet somebody for the first time, they shake their hand and look at their face and then immediately look down at their feet. It's a natural instinctive human reaction. God knows why, do they think your legs might not reach the floor?

The best way to deal with an interview is not to have to faff about taking one in the first place. This is where social and professional networking, aka creep arsing and brown nosing, comes into play. Never forget, it's not what you know but who you know.

 

Shiny shoes are also a good idea. If you watch someone when they meet somebody for the first time, they shake their hand and look at their face and then immediately look down at their feet. It's a natural instinctive human reaction. God knows why, do they think your legs might not reach the floor?

 

Nobody would get a job where I work just through knowing people or by being a name in the industry. The interview process is a very necessary procedure. In an industry where ability and talent matter so greatly I would strongly argue what you know is more important.

If I recommend a friend to the recruitment team that person is still treated just like any other potential candidate, if they lack the ability they will not pass the process, there is zero favouritism.

Edited July 11, 201610 yr by rbrtsmith

Yup, but for junior positions at least you can just mock up fake projects, I've found so long as you can demonstrate what you've learnt in a practical way then you should be fine. At the end of the day the employer is simply looking for a return on investment so if you can demonstrate you will give them that you stand a good chance of landing the job.

I should add for reference, I did part 3 of the CodeSchool JavaScript road-trip four times, each time I went back I found I got a more solid understanding of the concepts explained. You must be willing to spend substantial time repeating exercises in the key concepts before progressing.

For example when learning React and Redux you need to have fully nailed down concepts like scope, closure, high-order functions and immutability to a level where they are second nature otherwise you become overwhelmed.

 

Again you should not expect to have experience in something like React for a Junior position, but the point I am making is that this is very much a long term thing. Do not rush and attempt to learn everything too quickly doing so is a fruitless endeavour.

Edited July 12, 201610 yr by rbrtsmith

 

Nobody would get a job where I work just through knowing people or by being a name in the industry. The interview process is a very necessary procedure. In an industry where ability and talent matter so greatly I would strongly argue what you know is more important.

If I recommend a friend to the recruitment team that person is still treated just like any other potential candidate, if they lack the ability they will not pass the process, there is zero favouritism.

 

That might be true in bigger companies and organisations but smaller businesses function very much on word of mouth and insider knowledge. They don't have the time or the money for applications and interviews so operate more on recommendations from others in the industry.

 

Even in bigger organisations if someone working their can put in a word for you then it can go a long way to easing the interview process. So you won't need to go over your toe caps with a hot spoon.

One piece of advice I would offer is to always ensure you arrive in good time and make sure you have used the toilet. I know two blokes who **** themselves during interviews because they had rushed to get there. Do that in their office and you won't be getting that job or any other that they might have coming up.

 

 

Yep, I'm teaching myself React now. It's definitely has a fairly high barrier to entry. However, the more I use it, the more sense it makes.

 

It's brilliant isn't it. Once you start running into issues of maintaining state in a complex check out Redux, it's just so elegant. At just 2.2k it is unbelievable how groundbreakingly useful it is. It's creator Dan Abromhov is nothing short of a genius.

https://egghead.io/courses/getting-started-with-redux

There are some important points here as well http://www.iofficecorp.com/blog/10-interview-questions-every-facility-manager-should-ask-and-answer

Just be technical, because your knowledge can get you to your success. Furthermore, you can search on Google about how to give interviews. Best of luck.

Just praise the company in a good manner.

 

Well you would need to do more than that. Though I wouldn't advise going in and roundly criticising the company from top to bottom just blindly brown nosing isn't likely to cut it in most places either.

 

You need to consider what the employer is likely to be looking for and research the company or organisation first. In some cases, particularly for an engineer it might be an idea to work out a list of things you could perhaps improve on if given the job. In other words make them feel that they will be losing out by not employing you.

 

Where interviews are concerned there are no hard and fast rules and you need to do some research and make your best judgement based on what you think they will want from candidates. This could vary from company to company so you might need to tailor a few interview strategies in the same way you tailor applications depending on the company and position applied for.

 

Essentially you have to show the interviewer what you can bring to them if they give you the job.