In my previous post, we went over creating your resume and writing the cover letter. But what happens after that? If you have what the employer is looking for, you may get an interview.
The Process
The process is most likely multiple interviews. Many companies have created a multi-layered filtration process to find the right person for each position. In some cases, they use Artificial Intelligence to sort through the submitted resumes looking for what they want.
The better companies communicate their process up front, letting you know what to expect. In my case, they had a four-part process and made sure I was aware of every step in advance. They wanted me to succeed and made sure the process was as smooth as possible.
Recruiter Interview
Most hiring processes start as a series of conversations with a recruiter. In my case, it happened to be the department manager. He asked about my experience and skills while I asked about a typical day of a developer at the company. Sometimes, this process is multiple conversations or a single one, depending on the company.
Technical Evaluation and/or Interview
If the recruiter gives you the go-ahead, most companies have a technical evaluation to determine your skill level. Some companies go straight to a technical interview.
Technical Evaluation
Every company does this differently. In our case, our company has a starter project where we ask you to complete a few features. We also list some optional tasks to complete if you have time, like tests. Once completed, our developers review the code to assess your skill level.
Pairing Session
Sometimes, we send the project in advance and schedule a pairing session with a developer. We want to understand why you code the way you do and see your decision-making process. The pairing session often tells us more about you as both a developer and a person versus a project you turn in.
Technical Interview
After I turned in a project, I talked with several developers and answered technical questions about React, coding practices, and how I solved problems.
Some companies ask more esoteric questions about algorithms or university-level book knowledge that you will most likely not use in your day-to-day work. Thankfully, I have not endured one yet.
My advice is to take the project and technical interview seriously. I have reviewed many evaluation projects that seemed like the interviewee did not care. Instead, knock their socks off. Go above what they ask for and show them what you can do.
Cultural Interview
After this, there was a group interview with people not in my department. The idea was to involve people outside engineering to ensure the interviewee was a good fit for the company. The name can be a little misleading, so let me explain.
Culture, in this case, is not about being a comic book nerd, what kind of food you like, or which holidays you celebrate. It is about how and why you get your work done and if your work values match everyone else at the company. This part varies widely between companies, but they may include things like:
- Fight for a good experience - even though you may have a great idea, it might be the best thing for the end-user, so work for what is best for them.
- Be teachable - know that you do not know everything and that it is ok. Remaining humble helps you work better with others because you know they do not know everything either. Help others learn as they help you learn.
Other considerations could be:
- work-from-home vs in-office/on-site
- deadline-driven versus product-driven
Having one work-related value versus the other is not wrong, but if you and the company have opposite work values, you are less likely to be a happy, long-term employee. That, in turn, costs the company more money by repeating the hiring process with someone else later. It is cheaper, easier, and better to hire a good fit over someone who is merely qualified.
Examples
Here are some cultural values from large tech companies:
Apple
- Top-notch excellence, in particular with product design and experience
- Creativity, think different
- Innovation, specifically rapid innovation to bring new, exciting products to market quickly
- Secrecy, minimize corporate espionage and only debut products that are ready for sale
- Moderate combativeness, although this has toned down under Tim Cook’s leadership
- In-office work preferred
- Openness, share knowledge freely with other employees and encourage communication
- Innovation, out-of-the-box thinking and inventing new solutions
- Excellence that comes with smartness, work smarter not harder
- Hands-on approach, experiantial learning is the best way to improve knowledge, skills, and abilities
- Small-company-family rapport, especially at the department and workspace levels
- In-office work preferred
- Creative problem solving and decision-making, generate unusla ideas to solve problems
- Boldness, face problems head-on and tackle them right away
- Openness, communicate openly with other employees to focus on solutions to the business’s problems
- Speed, smal lteams, high flexibility, and rapid development
- Continuous improvement, continually iterate and improve
- Work from wherever
Leadership Interview
Typically, this would be one of the final steps. The management and leadership get to know you a little and see if they spot any red flags.
What’s Next?
After all these interviews, there’s usually a meeting where everyone talks over their conversations with you. The main point of this meeting is to discuss any red flags we spotted. We want the interviewee to be successful, but we also want to protect our company and hire the best possible employee.
After this meeting, the recruiters, management, and HR discuss if they want to offer you the position.
Onboarding
If you get the job offer, your company should have a clear path forward for starting your new career. At my company, we call this onboarding.
When I started my current position, they laid out how they expected my first year or so to look. It went something like:
First month:
- HR stuff
- Get set up with the development environment
- Pair with an onboarding buddy
- Meet with department leaders to learn more about the product and architecture
- Work on an onboarding project of some kind, depending on experience and need
- Work with onboarding buddy to commit some low-level contribution
By month three:
- Finish onboarding project
- Begin working with a team and learning their area of work
- Work with onboarding buddy to begin contributing
By month six:
- Work with the team and participate in the team meetings, like estimations, retros, and stand-ups
- Familiar with at least one area of the software
By one year:
- Fully integrated and ready to take in any incoming work
- Could help someone else onboard
This process will also vary between companies. I know some expect you to start contributing as soon as your computer is ready. The onboarding project can also vary based on your experience; a more senior engineer will probably want to jump into real work sooner than a more junior one.
Some job postings include these expectations, which gives me confidence they have thought about how to help someone have a successful career there.
What to do if you do not get the job
Most people do not make it through one of those filtering layers. If you are in that position, I would advise you not to give up. You will be happier and more successful at another company.
Conclusion
Interviews are a learnable skill to master. Some people do this naturally; some do not. Either way, keep working on your skills while applying for different positions.
Thanks for reading this short series on web development jobs; I hope it’s helpful.
