Skills You Need to Ace Your Developer Interviews

Mastering only your technical skills or soft skills will not land you a developer job in the competitive industry.

To increase your chances of passing the selection process, you will have to learn both technical as well as some important soft skills a developer should showcase when interviewing with the hiring manager.

The best ways to prepare for a technical interview includes researching and practicing being in that environment. Some of the must-have soft skills are the ability to communicate, presentation, and possessing complex skills. Apart from that, companies will be assessing your cultural fit.

This article will take you through the different skills to help you ace your developer interviews.

1. Technical skills

To ace your tech interview, you need to prepare yourself well beforehand.

You never know which question the interviewer will present, but researching for the best tools available and practicing being in that environment can help a great deal.

While you are at it, you can research the company as well.

Research Tools

There are plenty of tools available for developers looking to ace an interview like Cracking the Coding Interview. It’s an all-in-one resource written by someone who has been both a candidate and as an interviewer.

Prepare yourself to be able to whip up algorithms on the spot and then write flawless code on a whiteboard.

You can also read up resources like the Web Developer Job Interview Questions available online.

Research the Company

Go to the company’s official website to gain insight into what the company is all about. Google is a great tool to unearth press releases, news articles, blogs, and even social media posts about the company.

You can combine all the info information to the most up-to-date account of what the company is best known for. Also, get to know where the company’s focus is currently. It will load you with information for your own questions or talking points during the interview.

Stand out in the Whiteboard Interview

In a tech interview, most hiring managers won’t give you a computer. Instead, they will provide you with a whiteboard to encourage you to think and communicate more. You have to know what to do before you write the code down.

Consider taking help from a friend and practice interviewing with him/her. It will give you more experience both as an interviewee and interviewer.

Keep things simple and clear. Writing an easy-to-read code can stand out. Pick great variable names. Avoid using shorthand names like ‘x’ and ‘y’ to try to move faster lest you end up confusing yourself and your interviewer.

Enrolling in an email course like the one offered by Interview Cake is a good idea. It can teach you the right way of thinking for breaking down tricky algorithmic coding interview questions.

Be Prepared for Mockups

If you are seeking a front-end role, you might end up getting a mockup question instead. Most probably, you will be provided a PDF or some image version of a site and asked to build that out.

You will have to be skilled in HTML and CSS, and depending on the site, you may be required to have even JavaScript skills. In today's industry, having advanced skills like machine learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, and might also come in handy.

2. Soft Skills

Soft skills are the personal qualities that make you easy to work with. Soft skills will tell whether a candidate who looks great on paper will be great in person as well.

Communication

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You have to speak clearly and give clear and logical answers. In order to do that, you need good listening skills. Don’t hesitate to politely ask your interviewer to repeat the question or pause to think about how to best phrase your answer.

It is better to give specific answers that show you’re interested in the job instead of general ones. And be as detailed as possible in your response.
The ability to write well is equally important as your speaking skills.
Presentation

Being personable is another important factor to consider. Before the interview, ensure to update your portfolio highlighting your strengths and latest accomplishments.

When going for the interview, dress to look presentable and professional. Wearing clean and adequately ironed apparel and combing your hair will give a good impression.

In case you have an interview via Skype, make sure the space behind you is neat.

Complex Skills

Adaptability, teamwork, responsibility, ability to work without constant supervision, ability to take criticism, work ethic, conflict resolution, leadership, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills are among the skills that interviewers commonly look for in a candidate.

It will be rare for a person to possess all these skills, but combining some of the essential skills can make you a great candidate choice.

3. Cultural Fit

Are your beliefs and behaviors in alignment with your employer's core values and company culture? As mentioned above, researching the company thoroughly will give you the answer.

Many employers emphasize the importance of hiring for cultural fit. Research shows that people who fit well into their companies show greater job satisfaction, perform better, and are more likely to stick with the same company for a longer period.

Here is a resource that will help you understand what type of cultural job fit questions you can expect from your interviewer. Preparing beforehand is a great strategy.

The image below is of the web developer ad posted by Acadia Healthcare on LinkedIn.

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Winding-Up

People usually feel stressed when they hear about an interview. Of course, acing an interview is not a child’s play. But if you prepare yourself well beforehand and are really interested in the company you are looking to work for, it is not an impossible dream.

Remember that possessing only hard skills or soft skills will not land you a job. Even when you possess the best tech skills, if you can’t adjust with the company culture or the people around you or take criticisms, you won’t be an ideal candidate.

The best candidates are the ones who can tackle the task at hand without constant supervision by collaborating with the team or alone if required.

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