How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
stackoverflow.blog
How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
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Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#2Good advice. My first (sometimes only) question when I interview people is: Tell me about your favorite project.
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#3Also, As well as words, I would recommend practising the key diagrams that represent the projects(s) - so you leave enough space for the important elements, and don't fall of edge of page/board.
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#4I 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.
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#5Good advice. My first (sometimes only) question when I interview people is: Tell me about your favorite project.
This is a good question if your goal is to hire people who can talk a good talk about an unverified favorite project. It also assumes that someone has a clear favorite project ready to discuss. People who do not are put at a disadvantage. (Though I do understand this question is well-intentioned.)
The article doesn't really justify the process people go through as a good one. People who think they have a good approach to interviewing, but their sample size is too small to back it up or worse, present an opportunity to people who are good at telling stories but may not have the skills to go along with the story in the end. People who hire based on the story-telling experience will eventually get burned.
I think someone should read this and feel a little worried. This is story-telling. People who might argue that telling a story is being able to communicate---it's merely one form of communication of many that are needed depending on the work environment, and results in a blind spot for your team's hiring process.
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#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.
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#7I 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.
I did this in my resume for my first job out of college, and I still do: "Open Source Software Project Experience". List of projects, with details on impact and relevance.
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#8Good advice. My first (sometimes only) question when I interview people is: Tell me about your favorite project.
I do that too and look if the person has a project he/she is excited about and can talk about decisions that have been made and other details with some clarity.
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#9> 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?
Re: How to talk about yourself in a developer interview
#10Good advice. My first (sometimes only) question when I interview people is: Tell me about your favorite project.
This is a good question if your goal is to hire people who can talk a good talk about an unverified favorite project. It also assumes that someone has a clear favorite project ready to discuss. People who do not are put at a disadvantage. (Though I do understand this question is well-intentioned.) The article doesn't really justify the process people go through as a good one. People who think they have a good approac…
Having done many interviews, mentored interns and full employees, I'd argue storytelling is a _key aspect_ of performing our job in a larger team. Perhaps I'm being too liberal in my definitions, but I see substantial overlap between "talk about your last project" (and then digging into pitfalls, hacks, workarounds, conflicts; and mind you, I don't mean just PASSION projects, literally any work prior one can speak fluently on) and "tell me how you want to spec this architecture; why".
Much of how we discuss what we do can't be empirically precise, unambiguous, and scientific. Certainly the more social and abstract aspects of our jobs begin to sound, as you put it, like storytelling.
(To be clear, it's far from the only thing I look for, and can be taught/learned to a degree, but I consider it as a key skill in the broader bucket of "communication"; alongside problem solving and base competencies. And like programming itself, having some experience helps.)