How to get Hired – Painless interviewing
How to get Hired – Painless interviewing
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How-To-Get-Hired
On Github daveroberts / How-To-Get-Hired
How to get Hired
Painless interviewing
Created by Dave Roberts / @_daveroberts
Heads Up
You don't know what you're doing
That's okay, most people don't
Much of this is common sense
But much of it is not
(so pay attention)
Question
Who likes interviewing?
I do!
Interviewing is a skill. You need to do it often to get better.
This is not just because I am the interviewer now. I also like interviewing for new jobs.So, why are you applying for this job?
Because you're hiring, and I need money.
Employers ask this question because most candidates are bad
I hate when interviewers ask this question. The above is the honest answer, but don't be so brutally honest. Instead, highlight something else about the job you like, "I'd really like to be doing X in my career". Don't badmouth your current job! Most candidates are bad because good candidates generally don't interview as they are already working.Reasons you may want to switch jobs
- Vacation Time
- Jobs no longer have pensions
- Yearly budget for salary increases
Job Hopper
Most employers don't really care
They just care if you can do the job for them. I've never had this be an issue. Just explain why you've left positions, be able to explain gaps. Don't leave gaps on the resume.Cost of Living
Take home pay is much different in different parts of the country
Even in the same city, you can pay vastly different amounts depending on where you live
Question
What is the purpose of an interview?
Most people feel that the interview is like a test. If they pass, they'll get the job. This is an important part of the interview, but not the only part. You should also be interviewing the company that's interviewing you.The company is buying your time and experience
This means you are a salesperson. It's your time to advertise
Food for thought
During the weekdays, I spend as much time with my co-workers as I do with my wife
(8 hours wife, 8 hours co-workers each day)
Question
Your friend says: "I have an idea for a web business. I can't pay you, but you can have 10% of the profits."
What should you say?
It's a tough question when it's a friend. You don't want to hurt his/her feelings.Question
How much is an idea worth?
Ideas are worthless, execution is everything
Common Sense Rule #1
Do not quit your current job
if you are interviewing for a new job!
(even if the other job is a sure thing)
Unless your job really really sucksDon't tell your boss you're leaving until you have a start date.
Your new job will ask when you can start. Just say, "I'll need to give my current employer two weeks notice". Once you've signed the contract and you have a start date, then you can tell your boss"Corollary to Common Sense Rule #1
Do not tell your co-workers you are interviewing for a new job
This is the same as telling your boss you are planning on leaving
Aren't my co-workers going to figure it out if I come to work wearing a suit instead of jeans? You can change in the bathroom. If other people see you, tell them you need to go to court. Tell your boss you're going to the dentist, doctor, etc. A good employer shouldn't balk at the fact you may be interviewing.Putting "yourself" out there
Job websites
monster.com vs beyond
Sign up for job alert newsletters. Put it keywords with technologies you want to work with.
The smaller sites are better. As they grow larger, they become worse.Staffing Agencies
The good, the bad and the ugly
Most candidates these agencies present are bad, because good candidates don't interview as often as bad ones.
Robert Half skims off the top. No guarantee on salary once you switch from a contractor of the company to a FTE. Some firms take 1/4 of your yearly pay. Many of the employees working for these firms aren't technical, so they don't care about the compiler you built using Javascript, they care about results. Talk about process.Common Sense Rule
Be wary of recruiters that want your money
Be wary of "professional services" that will review your resume for $500
Be wary of job sites that charge you money
They say that if the better resume gets you a job that pays $10K more per year, then the $500 was a bargain. I've gotten plenty of calls from recruiters on free sites.Linked In
Recruiters pay money to contact you on this site. It's the biggest right now. Use it and fill out your profile completely
Including a picture on all your profiles
Pictures mean you're serious. Put a serious picture there.Conferences
Businesses send employees to conferences
Those businesses need new employees
Unemployed people generally don't go to conferences
If you take one thing away from this talk, make it this slide. Conferences are expensive. Email the conference coordinator and ask if you can volunteer to help with the conference. Say you're unemployed and can't pay the $700 ticket fee.When you get an email from a recruiter
If you're not currently looking for a job, reply and say that you're not currently looking, but your contract / project will be up for review in X months, and tell the recruiter he or she may feel free to contact you again then with other opportunities.
Save the email in your "Job Leads" folder
If you ever lose your job, you can look through your old leads.Your Resume
What to include on your resume
Know your audience
Sometimes your resume needs to be Ctrl + F friendly. If you don't write Microsoft Office, they will assume you don't have that skill. Resumes that list lots and lots of skills do better at larger companies, where less technical HR people "screen" resumes. Certifications are important for this reason.Show Actions; Show Results
"Worked on a project in C++" doesn't say anything
"Delivered software upgrades that saved accountants hours of work" shows business value
"Used Jenkins" What if they don't know what Jenkins is?
"Used Jenkins to support continuous integration in our development environment to ensure code updates didn't break our application" - Still has Jenkins, include continuous integration buzzword, explains value
Bring extra copies of your resume when you interview
College Student Resume
Look at your University's website for awards and accredidations your college or program has received.
Put those on your resume.
Chances are good that the recruiter won't be able to tell the difference between "Sprint Hill College" and "Prescott College". Your resume may as well say college. If you put accredidations, you will stand out.Resume Templates
I suggest avoiding them
(I realize this presentation is using a template)
You want to stand out. A template doesn't give you that feel.Please attach a Word version of your resume
If they ask for a Word version, it's because they want to edit it. This could be to remove contact information, or to "add" qualifications to match job descriptions! One employer told recruiting agencies they wanted experience in pink box testing (which doesn't exist, white and black box do). He got resumes with pink box testing experience.Getting Selected for an Interview
At larger companies, HR will "screen" your resume
HR selects candidates that meet their needs (to meet stats). HR gets audited, they need to be able to justify their selections. They want to make sure they won't look stupid for passing you to the next level. Your resume should match the job description if possible. If you are a minority or woman (in technical fields), highlight that somehow (join women in technology or similar).Before the Interview
Learn about the company you are applying towards
Be able to talk about what the company does for 30 seconds.The Interview
Common Sense Rule
Don't be late.
Rule of thumb: double your expected travel time. If it's 15 minutes away, leave 30 minutes early. If it's an hour away, plan for two hours of travel.Dress Sharp
Men: Wear a suit
Women: Wear a business suit
Dress up even if everyone else is wearing t-shirts and jeans. My wife, when interviewing for a teaching job, never wears what she'd normally wear day to day. Dress up even if it's a start up. Dress up even if they say they don't have a formal interview process. There's only ONE exception to this rule: the company specifically request you not dress up for the interview. If you haven't dressed up in years, and many of you college students haven't, you may have grown since your suit last fit. Buy a new suit.Appearance
Men: Shave (sorry)
No cologne, perfume
Women: Jewelry to a minimum. (Men: Wedding bands only)
Hide tattoos if possible
People disagree with me saying: "This is who I am! If they can't handle that during an interview, I don't want to work there!" The person interviewing you may not be a future co-worker. Whether we like it or not, people judge us. Keep the interview focused on your abilities, not your appearance. You can dress however you like once you have the job.Yes or No questions
How should you respond to a yes or no question?
Giving Answers
Explain like I'm five
More detailed answers are not always better. If the interviewer wants more detail, they will ask for it.Giving Answers
If you don't know the answer:
Don't say I don't know
Don't pretend you know
Say, "I'm not sure, I think that's *insert guess here*"
Some questions are meant to see how you would reason about a problem, not trying to get the one correct answer. Just saying "I don't know" is the worst possible answer for these questions. For interns, I ask questions in three categories: general programming, database, and web. At the end of the day, if one candidate gets most right in all three categories, and another candidate says "I don't know" to all questions in just one category, we have to go with the candidate who at least tried to answer all questions.Tell me about yourself
Answer should be about one minute long.
Share your professional background.
They don't want your life story
Only details related to your working history.
If you're in college, explain what type of projects excite you and what kind of company you want to work for.
What is your biggest weakness
Be specific.
Be honest.
Avoid deal-breakers.
Be specific - Don't say something general like "communication skills". If you're general, they could assume the worst about your weakness.
Be honest - don't disguise a strength as a weakness and say, "I work too hard!" You could be seen as avoiding the question.
Deal Breaker - A skill that is crucial for a job. "Public speaking" would be a good weakness to list as a programmer, but a bad weakness if you were applying to be a teacher. Public speaking is a good weakness to list as most people can relate to poor speaking skills.
Tell me about a time you had a problem and how you resovled it
Avoid drama.
Show evidence that you communicated.
Don't badmouth your former co-workers.
At the same time, recognize that people are the most difficult part of work, not the work itself
Show that you're understanding: People go through personal drama that affects their work. Show that you were sensitive and understanding to that.
Show that sometimes irritation is misunderstanding or lack of understanding. For example, your boss is tough on you because his boss is tough on him.
Communication is key. Show that you communicated to people that there was a problem.
Show that you communicated with people how to solve the problem.
Show that you communicated with people to show how the problem was being resolved.
Don't bad-mouth your last jobs
Could "red flag" you
Be able to explain why you left your last job without bad-mouthing the company
Red Flag Jerks - If you tell the interviewer that you've worked with a lot of jerks, they may assume that you were actually the jerk. Be as positive and professional as you can.
Be able to explain why you're leaving your current position in a positive manner.
If fired - Say you understand the reasons and you were show the reasons and you are working in those areas to improve
If laid off - Say you understand the circumstance the company was in, and that you're committed to moving forward in a positive way with a new company
If you quit - Tell them you valued your experience with the company, but you feel you need a new opportunity to grow and expand your skills an knowledge, and only a new company can do that
You will get bad questions
Just answer them anyway
Interviewing is tough for the interviewers as well. Just humor them and don't look down on any question. Example of bad question: How many blocks are in the following diagram.Gotcha questions
Light Bulb factory
Microsoft's famous interview questions
You work in a factory that makes light bulbs. The quality control department tests each batch of light bulbs by dropping them out the windows of buildings. First they drop the light bulb from the first story window. Then the second story, and so on. If you were allowed to break two light bulbs maximum, how would you minimize the number of drops. Microsoft famously asked why manhole covers aren't square. Microsoft also hired thousands of developers in the 90s. They statistically couldn't all be superstars.Never "give up"
No matter how bad you think you're doing!
If everybody gets all the questions right, you'll never know who's a good candidate. A good interview will push the candidate to his/her limits!
We had a candidate that was doing well, even though he didn't get the live coding question correct. He knew the general algorithm. He threw a temper tantrum and said, "I can't code with you both staring at me". He went from a hire to a no-hire in two seconds.
Luck plays a role: If you perform at a "B" level, but they've seen "D" candidates all day, you look outstanding.
The interviewer wants to know
Are you smart?
Can you get things done
Try to convey these two qualities to the interviewer in your answersMy interview at Fog Creek Software
Interview guide on their website vs. actual interview
Read the guide, it's a good guide, but it may not always be accurate. If you have the opportunity, get "wined and dined" for an interview once in your life.A good sign is when
They have you write code
Remember that you're interviewing the company as well. A job where they don't have you write code may have coworkers who are not great coders.Don't ask
Salary or benefits during the interview.
The employer may ask for your salary requirements.
Answer with: "I'd like to be considered for the job based on my qualifications rather than my salary requirements".
If they keep insisting, be flexible but firm: "I'm willing to negociate, but I'm currently looking at offers around $X"
They may say, "The best we can do it some lower number. Would you work for that? If they do, answer, "Maybe, I need to compare the total package of compensation against other offers I have"
Do ask
Why is the position open?
What would I need to do to be successful in this position here?
Are there reservations you might have about my fit for the position?
When do you expect to make a hiring decision?
Is a typical workday from nine to five, or is overtime often required?
I don't mind if a candidate has no questions, but some interviewers do, so try to ask at least one question about the job.
Some positions ask their employees to work 10+ hour days. This doesn't work if you have a family. I try to frame the question this way because it seems less rude.
You can ask about anything else that's important to you: telework policies, etc. You can always ask these questions AFTER you get an offer BEFORE you accept.
Stock Options
Treat them like lottery tickets.
Think of them as lottery tickets. They may be completely worthless.Benefits
Companies go on and on about their benefits when the salary is lacking
Salary can make up for almost any lack of benefits, usually, salary is more important
The Salary Dance
Often on the job application
Try not to be the first to name a price
You can leave it blank. When that ask you in person, you can say, "I didn't want the hiring decision to be based upon my expected level of compensation, but rather my skills and abilities"
This is often impossible
If they ask
What are your salary requirements?
Tell them: If you're willing to share your salary range for this position, I can tell you whether it matches my salary requirement.
If that doesn't fly, you can tell them: I'm hoping to earn in the range $X-$Y.
If they ask
What is your current salary?
Tell them: I'm hoping to earn in the range of $X-$Y, which is in line with my current salary
Be honest about what salary you want
If they ask
What is your salary history for your past three jobs?
Don't answer
I had a company refuse to make me an offer until I answered this. I think it's a rude business practice. It's up to you at this point.Don't ask
What is the salary for this position?
They will say: "It depends on the experience of the candidate"
Instead ask
What is the salary for this position for the most qualified candidate?
Note: This will probably upset them
Waiting for an offer
If you don't get an offer
- Interviewing well is difficult. You may have had a bad interviewer
- Four Yes's and a No is still a No
- It's a skill you'll get better at
- Use it as a learning experience to study on weak areas
If you do get an offer
Congratulations!
You can try to negociate.