IT Interviews Exposed -- Tip #3

we're back with the third interview tip!

In the second edition of "Programming Interviews Exposed", we
talked about the need to "sanitize" your online profile. This
is even more true now, as recruiters make it a habit to search
for information about job candidates. They're looking for red
flags, clues that the person they're interviewing isn't who
they say they are or isn't a good fit for the company. That's
why you'll want to ensure that you use the right privacy
settings for your Facebook profile, that you remove potentially
offensive pictures, and so on.

But you can also do stuff online to improve your chances. One
of the easiest things you can do is participate in online
forums or Q&A sites like StackOverflow. For example, I recently
joined StackOverflow and answered some questions like this one:

Sample StackOverflow answer

Smart answers to questions that others have can go a long way
to convincing others that you're the real deal. (Of course, the
corollary applies: dumb answers -- or even worse, dumb questions --
will likely harm you.) Especially good are answers to questions
that rely on some specific expertise you've developed.

It's not something you can do overnight, of course. It takes
time to find and answer questions. So you'll want to start it
as soon as you can. And you'll want to use a name and picture
that clearly identifies who you are -- otherwise how will the
recruiters know it's you? (If you're a very private person,
this may not be something you want to do. At least, though,
you're probably not doing anything online to harm your reputation,
either.)

Anyhow, something to think about!

IT Interviews Exposed -- Tip #2

We're back with another interview tip!

Perhaps the worst thing you can do during a job interview is to
be quiet. Here's an example. One of us recently interviewed some
students. When asked to describe his favorite school project, one
of the interviewees said that he didn't have any favorites, and
just stopped talking. It was a big strike against him, because one
of the things that employers look for in technical interviews is
passion and interest in programming. Not every programming task is
enjoyable or memorable, but if you're a keen programmer there's
something you did somewhere along the line that will have piqued
your interest.

You need to be able to talk passionately and expressively about
a programming project you did, whether it's something you did on
your own, at school, or in a previous job. If you've NEVER had such
an experience, either you haven't programmed enough or you're in
the wrong field. And good technical interviewers will figure that
out pretty quickly.
  

All your talking shows an interviewer that you know what you're doing and gives them insight into the way you'd approach real-world problems if you were working for them.

Talking is hard for some programmers, this we know. But it's really
important. Don't just limit your talking to answering the problems
you're given, though. If you're given the opportunity to talk about
yourself and what you've done before, don't waste that opportunity.
Show them that you're a good programmer who takes pride in his or
her work. Tell them about the programming-related books you've
read lately (you do, don't you?). Don't hide in your shell. Talk!

IT Interviews Exposed -- Tip #1

Here's our first interviewing tip. It's really simple.

GO TO THE BATHROOM WHEN YOU ARRIVE FOR THE JOB INTERVIEW.

We're not kidding. The interview process is nerve-wracking enough
without having an anxious bladder to deal with on top of everything
else. Get to the interview location early (always a good idea, of
course -- never be late for an interview!) and make yourself as
comfortable as possible. And go easy on the coffee, it dehydrates
you. Drink some water, go to the bathroom, sit down and relax. Easy
stuff to do, but you'd be surprised how many people aren't at their
peak because they don't do it.