How to prepare for a job interview?

For many years, IT experts have been among the most sought-after specialists on the market. The shortage of employees does not mean, however, that a given candidate will be employed in the company without prior verification. When applying for job offers, a programmer from Lublin, Rzeszów or another city in Poland must take into account the participation in a multi-stage recruitment process. In our article, we present tips that will help you carefully prepare for a meeting with a future employer. We suggest what answers the recruiters expect, what questions to ask and how to determine the salary range. Enjoy your reading!

What is the purpose of the interview?

A recruitment interview is the basic and most popular form of candidate selection. The task of a programmer applying for a given job offer is to present himself from the best side and persuade the employer to decide on employment. A face-to-face meeting allows you to verify the information contained in a CV, as well as assess the so-called soft skills of a developer. In this context, the ability to work in a team, effective communication, as well as the degree of personality matching to other team members are checked.

What is verified during a job interview?

Although the course of a recruitment meeting can be varied, several standard points appear in most job interviews. The issues raised during the interview go beyond the education, competencies and professional experience required in the offer. The employer is also interested in the personality and interests of the candidate, which will allow him to assess his suitability in a particular role. It is worth taking care of preparing answers to frequently asked questions in advance. This will help eliminate stress and significantly increase the chances of getting your dream position in the IT industry.

Basic information about the company and the position offered

Before starting the interview, it is worth getting acquainted with the company’s business profile and the specificity of the position. Questions about the characteristics of the employer appear very often at meetings, serving to check the level of commitment of the candidate. This is a great way to distinguish yourself from other job applicants with relatively little effort. The websites of companies posting job offers are also excellent support for the developer or database administrator. You can often find there tabs on the recruitment process, containing many useful tips and information about recruiters. The

analysis of the mission, vision and organizational culture also allows for a better determination of the level of matching of the enterprise to one’s own professional and personal profile.

Education and professional career

In the recruitment process, the professional profile, i.e. the candidate’s career path, is extremely important. It is worth preparing for questions about the current work model (e.g. SCRUM, TDD), used tools or databases. In the case of programmers with no commercial experience (applying for junior positions), questions related to their education and competencies acquired during studies will prevail. The presentation of the current career path should be carefully considered and made in strict accordance with the requirements contained in the job offer. We recommend that you pre-select your IT experience. First, only this that emphasize the candidate’s usefulness in a specific role should be presented.

Before the meeting, it is also worth clarifying your career plans and goals. It is desirable The future developer or database administrator should have a vision for his development in the next few years. Employers want to be sure that the candidate associates their future with a given position – they do not plan to quit, retrain or change the industry. This is especially important in the case of junior employees, whose introduction requires a lot of time and financial resources.

Knowledge of a foreign language

During the job application process, you can expect that the language level indicated in your CV will be verified. Most often, the verification takes the form of a short dialogue during which the candidate answers questions asked by the selection committee. In the case of larger international corporations, there are interviews conducted entirely in a foreign language (usually English) or separate tests.

Technical knowledge and skills

The verification of technical skills is one of the most important elements of the recruitment process in the IT industry. Its scope varies depending on what the project is about and what level of experience has been indicated in the job offer. For example, questions for interns and young java programmers will verify the theoretical knowledge of the candidate indicated in the CV. During the interview, you may be asked to define concepts and indicate the practical use of a programming language. Often, at one of the recruitment stages, there is a task to be solved on your own at home or the company’s premises.

But what to do when we do not know the answers to the questions asked? First of all – don’t panic and don’t give up. At this point, it is worth emphasizing the willingness to make up for competency gaps and supplement the necessary knowledge. The IT industry is extremely dynamic – a good java developer or database administrator should be able to learn quickly and keep track of technical innovations.

Candidate’s financial expectations

Financial expectations largely affect the outcome of the recruitment process. The pay spreads proposed by the programmer or database administrator should correspond to market standards, which can be read through:

· research among friends working in similar jobs,

· browsing online forums or Facebook groups,

· analysis of industry reports (e.g. Stack Overflow Developer Survey).

In order not to destroy your chances at the very beginning, you should provide proposals that fully correspond to your competencies. Exceeding salary expectations may be perceived as a manifestation of arrogance or problems with the objective assessment of one’s skills. At the beginning of your professional career in the IT industry, it is worth focusing on gaining experience, which will gradually pay off in the future.

Candidate’s initiative – questions to the employer

A job interview is a great way for a candidate to find out more about the company’s operations. For many recruiters, asking questions is proof of commitment and actual interest in the position being offered. The issues raised by the future programmer may concern:

· scope of duties, hours and effects of work,

· currently running projects,

· the company’s values and goals,

· tools and technologies used,

· team characteristics,

· career paths and career development opportunities.

· further stages of recruitment and the planned date of feedback.

The programmer may treat technical questions as an additional opportunity to prove his knowledge and skills to the employer. It is especially worth using in the event of an unsatisfactory test result or practical task. Remember to avoid matters that are considered uncomfortable, such as average overtime hours or employee turnover.

Job interview? It’s not that difficult!

An interview is a stressful experience in many cases – especially for junior programmers or database administrators. Careful preparation for the meeting has a positive effect on the candidate’s self-confidence and the quality of their statements. Before the meeting, it is worth considering the motivation to take up employment, as well as the vision of further professional development. To distinguish yourself with motivation and commitment, you should also familiarize yourself with the company’s activities, the specifics of the industry and the scope of duties in a given position.