How to talk about yourself in a developer interview • Hacker News Board

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#11

Post by wallflower » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:04 PM UTC

If you don't agree with this slightly-contrived (I'm talking about the 'start with punchline', specifically) storytelling technique endorsed here, at the very least, please be aware of the STAR technique commonly used in behavioral interviews.

One benefit of using the STAR technique is that you are not going to ramble. It should not take you more than 1 minute to fully lay out the Situation, Task, Action, Result. After that "executive summary", if they want you to go more in depth, the interviewer(s) can ask you.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Situation,_Task,_Action,_Resul...

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#12

Post by digoM » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:08 PM UTC

Google has published some of their data on this and behavioral questions about teamwork (e.g. handling disagreements) are reasonable and can be valuable. Software development is usually a team activity. The rest of this post is a useful, if anecdotally sourced, guide to answering the more technical class of behavioral questions. It should include a block on follow up questions. Good behavioral interviewers, like you might find at Google or Amazon, will ask specific follow ups for each question. See: http://www.businessinsider.com/google-laszlo-bock-interview-...

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#13

Post by bphogan » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:12 PM UTC

midgetjones wrote: post #4

I was updating my CV recently. I don't have the longest employment history (switched careers, then stayed at a job for 5 years), so I padded it out with a few short paragraphs of projects I'd worked on. It actually worked really well - it brought some projects I'd forgotten about back into my mind making it easier to talk about them, and gave the interviewers specifics to latch on to.

More importantly, it shows accomplishments, not job duties. And that's what everyone wants to see - how your wins there will translate into wins here.

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#14

Post by lighthazard » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:15 PM UTC

pawadu wrote: post #9

a3n wrote: post #6

> If you’ve been through interviews at some companies that are not as good at interviewing, then you probably had some questions on your list such as > Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Dead . > Why do you want to work here? You have money. > How do you handle disagreements with coworkers? Attempt constructive engagement, and if that doesn't work then shun them.

Sorry, but you are too honest to work in our industry. Have you thought about going into politics or drugs instead?

Sorry, no culture fit.

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#15

Post by MatthewMcDonald » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:17 PM UTC

ganley wrote: post #2

Good advice. My first (sometimes only) question when I interview people is: Tell me about your favorite project.

My favorite question is to ask them about their failures, and what they would do differently now

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#16

Post by digoM » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:18 PM UTC

wallflower wrote: post #11

If you don't agree with this slightly-contrived (I'm talking about the 'start with punchline', specifically) storytelling technique endorsed here, at the very least, please be aware of the STAR technique commonly used in behavioral interviews. One benefit of using the STAR technique is that you are not going to ramble. It should not take you more than 1 minute to fully lay out the Situation, Task, Action, Result. Aft…

+1

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#17

Post by mwcampbell » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:18 PM UTC

Interesting. I naively assumed that the most important part of preparing for a developer job interview was to prepare for the coding exercises -- the stereotypical algorithm stuff.

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#18

Post by fecak » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:28 PM UTC

wallflower wrote: post #11

If you don't agree with this slightly-contrived (I'm talking about the 'start with punchline', specifically) storytelling technique endorsed here, at the very least, please be aware of the STAR technique commonly used in behavioral interviews. One benefit of using the STAR technique is that you are not going to ramble. It should not take you more than 1 minute to fully lay out the Situation, Task, Action, Result. Aft…

Resume writer here to add that the STAR technique applies to resume writing as well. For any accomplishment on a resume, it's ideal to have these four items covered in at least some detail.

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#19

Post by graphitezepp » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:29 PM UTC

wallflower wrote: post #11

If you don't agree with this slightly-contrived (I'm talking about the 'start with punchline', specifically) storytelling technique endorsed here, at the very least, please be aware of the STAR technique commonly used in behavioral interviews. One benefit of using the STAR technique is that you are not going to ramble. It should not take you more than 1 minute to fully lay out the Situation, Task, Action, Result. Aft…

Yeah trying to create a model of 'how you should talk' is probably often counterproductive as everyone responds differently. Your suggestion of STAR is better as it is far more generalized while still giving you a guideline to focus on so you don't get lost or off track.

Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview

#20

Post by sweezyjeezy » Fri, Apr 28, 2017, 2:34 PM UTC

> If you give them a resume, expect questions about stuff you worked on at your past jobs. If you gave them a link to your Github profile, expect questions about your projects. If you gave them a link to your Stack Overflow account, expect questions about some of your answers.

On my Linkedin (and also resume etc.) I give a link to my blog / github. Every time I've been asked about it in an interview setting, it was actually when I was the one conducting the interview, and the interviewee was trying to impress. Much as it pains me to say, I don't think side projects are a good way to bolster your CV, at least in my field.