DZone
Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile
  • Manage Email Subscriptions
  • How to Post to DZone
  • Article Submission Guidelines
Sign Out View Profile
  • Post an Article
  • Manage My Drafts
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone.
Log In / Join
Refcards Trend Reports
Events Video Library
Over 2 million developers have joined DZone. Join Today! Thanks for visiting DZone today,
Edit Profile Manage Email Subscriptions Moderation Admin Console How to Post to DZone Article Submission Guidelines
View Profile
Sign Out
Refcards
Trend Reports
Events
View Events Video Library
Zones
Culture and Methodologies Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks
Culture and Methodologies
Agile Career Development Methodologies Team Management
Data Engineering
AI/ML Big Data Data Databases IoT
Software Design and Architecture
Cloud Architecture Containers Integration Microservices Performance Security
Coding
Frameworks Java JavaScript Languages Tools
Testing, Deployment, and Maintenance
Deployment DevOps and CI/CD Maintenance Monitoring and Observability Testing, Tools, and Frameworks

Integrating PostgreSQL Databases with ANF: Join this workshop to learn how to create a PostgreSQL server using Instaclustr’s managed service

Mobile Database Essentials: Assess data needs, storage requirements, and more when leveraging databases for cloud and edge applications.

Monitoring and Observability for LLMs: Datadog and Google Cloud discuss how to achieve optimal AI model performance.

Automated Testing: The latest on architecture, TDD, and the benefits of AI and low-code tools.

Related

  • Mastering React: Common Interview Questions and Answers
  • Probing Questions for Your Interview
  • Interviews from the ALM Forum: Like SETI@home, but For Your Builds
  • TypeScript Interview Questions and Answers

Trending

  • Securing Your Applications With Spring Security
  • How To Create a Resource Chart in JavaScript
  • Exploring String Reversal Algorithms: Techniques for Reversing Text Efficiently
  • Essential Complexity Is the Developer's Unique Selling Point
  1. DZone
  2. Culture and Methodologies
  3. Career Development
  4. How to (Partially) Control Your Technical Interview

How to (Partially) Control Your Technical Interview

Dave Fecak user avatar by
Dave Fecak
·
Jun. 14, 13 · Interview
Like (0)
Save
Tweet
Share
4.18K Views

Join the DZone community and get the full member experience.

Join For Free

Generally speaking, when you walk into an interview you are at the mercy of the interviewers.  Although you may be given some general information regarding the interview format and probably have an idea about the questions or exercises you may encounter, there are endless possibilities on the topics you may be asked about over a two or three hour session.

As was stated before, any item on your résumé is fair game, so one way to potentially avoid queries on unfamiliar topics is to keep those words off your résumé.  Regardless of what is or isn’t on your résumé, it is quite likely that you will be asked questions pertaining to subjects that are not within your areas of expertise.  Trying to fully eliminate the exposure of certain vulnerabilities is an exercise in futility, but there is one rather effective method to at least attempt to mitigate the risks.

There is an increasing trend in the technical hiring world for employers to request firm evidence of a candidate’s abilities that go beyond what a traditional résumé includes.  For programmers, this typically can be achieved through a code sample.  Front-end designers and developers may be expected to show off some UI or website that they built, and architects may be asked to share documents. Mobile developers may hear this more than any other group, and are routinely asked “Do you have any apps available?” as part of the vetting process.

One way to partially control the content and direction of your interview is to provide interviewers a work sample that will presumably become a point of discussion.  This will turn what could be a technical interrogation into a version of show and tell.  Even if the exchange about your sample only takes fifteen minutes, that is fifteen minutes of the interview where you hopefully will shine, and it is fifteen minutes less time for the interviewers to delve into other topics that are probably less familiar.

To employ this tactic, be sure to make it known at some point early in the process that you have samples of your work for review by request.  A GitHub link at the top of your résumé, a URL to download your mobile app, or a link to sites that you developed are much more graceful than large file attachments.  You can choose to extend an invitation to view these projects as early as your résumé submission, and when scheduling the interview you can express your willingness to discuss the projects in more detail and offer to bring a laptop with samples.

Independently volunteering to show representations of what you have produced will give an employer the impression that you are both willing and able to demonstrate the quality of your work.  That act makes the applicant appear more open and trustworthy than someone who hesitates when asked for some samples.  Recruiters and hiring managers alike will welcome résumé submissions that are accompanied by additional supporting evidence of a candidate’s abilities.

When you enter the interview, you can mention that you brought samples to show if the team is interested in seeing your work.  This will typically be received quite positively and could lead to a deep dive into familiar territory.

This post is an excerpt from the recently released ebookJob Tips For GEEKS: The Job Search, available to purchase from iTunes iBookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and (soon?) Kobobooks.  A sample from the iBook in PDF format can be found here.

Interview (journalism)

Published at DZone with permission of Dave Fecak, DZone MVB. See the original article here.

Opinions expressed by DZone contributors are their own.

Related

  • Mastering React: Common Interview Questions and Answers
  • Probing Questions for Your Interview
  • Interviews from the ALM Forum: Like SETI@home, but For Your Builds
  • TypeScript Interview Questions and Answers

Comments

Partner Resources

X

ABOUT US

  • About DZone
  • Send feedback
  • Careers
  • Sitemap

ADVERTISE

  • Advertise with DZone

CONTRIBUTE ON DZONE

  • Article Submission Guidelines
  • Become a Contributor
  • Visit the Writers' Zone

LEGAL

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy

CONTACT US

  • 3343 Perimeter Hill Drive
  • Suite 100
  • Nashville, TN 37211
  • support@dzone.com

Let's be friends: