What to expect from a job interview
It’s important to acknowledge that experiencing a range of emotions before and after a job interview is completely normal. To set realistic expectations, remember that you may need to interview with multiple companies before securing a job, and a rejection is not personal.
Additionally, keep in mind that the interview process often doesn’t accurately represent the day-to-day work environment, and the feedback you receive may feel irrelevant to how you would actually perform on the job.
Embracing this perspective can help you navigate the ups and downs of the job search with greater resilience.
Keep track of your applications
When applying for multiple positions, it can be hard to keep track of the different roles you have applied for.
Use a project management tool, like Trello, to record each job you have applied for. Include links to the job description, company benefits, pros/cons, and the status of your application. If an application stops at any point, note down the reason why.
This simple system allows you to keep track of applications easier and gives you a central place to refer to for asking questions in interviews.
Use the STAR technique to answer interview questions
In an interview, time is limited, so it’s essential to communicate your experience clearly and concisely to demonstrate your suitability for the role.
A method of answering behavioural questions is to use the STAR (Situation Task Action Result) technique. This is a way of structuring your answer to guide the interviewer through a story of your experience with a beginning, middle, and end, making it easier for them to follow.
Example:
“Tell me about a time when you were under pressure”
Situation – My colleague had been struggling with two big projects, and was now away for two weeks.
Time – I was tasked with continuing work on these projects.
Action – I established with my manager which project was a higher priority. One of the projects had a hard deadline due to regulatory changes on a specific date. We found lots of issues during testing so I worked with the Project Manager to prioritise them. I worked through the most critical bugs and raised tickets for the other bugs.
Result – The higher-priority project was delivered on time but with some compromises. The PM praised my effort in getting the project completed by the deadline.
You can learn more about the STAR method here.
Practise tech tests
It’s common for tech job applications to include a test. Where possible, it’s best to ask for information on the exact test so you can prepare in a targeted way.
Often the environments interviewers use to assess your skills don’t reflect the full set of IDE extensions and tools you use daily to complete tasks. For online code challenges, there will be a basic development environment and limited debugging tools.
Practising code challenges before you need to will help you solve them during the interview. Though these challenges are unlikely to help in your day-to-day work as a developer, they will help you overcome the interview obstacle.
Getting familiar with a less feature-rich environment will reduce the likelihood of you feeling overwhelmed when confronted with a different environment than you’re used to. What’s more, once you solve a problem, the next time you encounter it, it’s easier to solve.
These sites offer code challenges:
- https://www.codewars.com/
- https://icodethis.com/ (more realistic code examples)
- https://leetcode.com/explore/
- https://www.codecademy.com/code-challenges
- https://www.codingame.com/start/
Reflect on your interview to improve for next time
You can use feedback and reflection of an interview to improve for your next one.
From each application question, screening call, and interview, note down all the questions you were asked. Once you go through multiple application processes, you’ll start to notice similar questions emerge.
Before the next interview, use these notes and try to think of examples from your past that could be used to answer them in a way that demonstrates your ability. By preparing for questions when you are calm and don’t have a time limit, you will be able to build up a portfolio of better interview answers.
Following your interview, research terms and topics that came up but you’re unsure of. If there was a question you could have answered better, practice answering it now.
Did you get feedback from the interviewer you didn’t have experience in a skill/area you think you are good at? Look back on the interview, and try and remember if your answers conveyed that you are competent in that area. For the next interviews, ensure the examples you give in your answers clearly explain you do have that area.
If you feel the interview highlighted any knowledge gaps, you could develop your understanding with an online course, such as these IT & Computer science courses from FutureLearn.
Preparing for a job interview, especially in the tech field, may seem intimidating, but by following these strategies you’ll be ready to enter your interview with confidence.
With practice and preparation, you can navigate the interview landscape with greater ease and resilience, ultimately paving the way to secure your ideal tech position.
