RESEARCH.PREPARE.

PRACTICE.GET THE JOB.

CONTENTS

1. What hiring managers want.

2. What do you want?

3. Research & Preparation.

4. Why are you a good fit?

5. First Impressions.

6. Questions to ask & avoid.

7. Questions to expect.

8. Competency-based questions.

9. Top telephone interview tips.

10.Top video interview tips.

11.Top face to face interview tips.

1. WHAT HIRING MANAGERS WANT.

Your CV’s done its job, the hiring manager thinks you might be a match and now you have an interview.Congratulations but don't put that deposit down on a new car just yet.

You may have the right skills on paper but that's only a small part of why hiring managers hire.Luckily, I'll give you the benefit of the countless and sometimes frustrating conversations I've had with hiring managers.

Learning why they hire & why they don't.

How can you stand out in a good way?• Prepare properly and have some insight into their business.

• Show that you've got the personality to collaborate well with others.• Express that you have a passion for what you do, and you see it as more than just a job.

• Be enthusiastic about the role and have some clear reasons why it’s a role you’d like.• Show that you're professional but you can have a laugh as well.• Be humble and show that you understand you have more to learn.

• Be confident in your skills without being arrogant.• Show a history of initiative, ideas and innovation.

• When discussing previous projects, what did you personally do? What was the tangible impact you had?

• Show a good understanding of the technologies they are looking for.

• Make it clear that you like a challenge and can be relied upon.Most importantly, remember that they're interviewing you because they see something they like.

Feed on this, don't be nervous & be yourself.

2. WHAT DO YOU WANT?

If forums & social networks are to be believed, most recruiters don’t really care about what you want as a candidate.I disagree with that.

This is why I think it’s important to help you really think about what’s important to you.Looking for a job is like dating. You are both assessing each other for compatibility.

Like dating, you won't find a company that's perfect in every single way, so concessions need to be made.

It's important to really think of the key things that matter to you.

Areas to consider• Size and reliability of the company.• Location, length of commute and fuel costs per year.• What industry does the company work in? What types of clients do they have?• Company culture, values, and corporate responsibility.• Social events and team events.• What’s the hiring manager’s background? (Hands-on? Corporate?)• What’s their management style?• What’s the team size, structure and what methodologies do they use?• Projects. (Greenfield? New Functions? Improvements? Legacy?)• Do they use modern technologies, methodologies and architectures?• What you will learn here?• What’s the seniority of the role? What responsibilities will that entail?• Opportunities for progression. (Technical or management routes)• How seriously do they take training and development?• Is the salary level fair? • Benefits. (Pension? Bonus? Flexible hrs? Homeworking? Car Allowance? Days holiday? Healthcare?

Other?)

3. RESEARCH AND PREPARATION

Lack of research and preparation is a key reason why people get rejected after they interview for a role.Bear in mind that the person interviewing you has probably been there a while and will be pretty proud of the company they work for.When you casually drop in comments about the hiring manager’s background or the company you'll stand out as someone who cares, who's organised and wants to work for them.

Who doesn't want to hire someone like that?

Where to find the information• Company Website - About Us / Meet The Team / News or Press

• Type the company name into Google News• LinkedIn - Both for the interviewers and the employees

Checklist of what you need to know• Company - When was it founded? Who founded it? Any other locations? How many employees?

What's their turnover? Company values/culture?

• Product / Services - What do they offer? What's good about it? What's their target market? Who are their key partners/clients?

• Interviewers - What's their background? Do you have anything in common? Have they written any interesting LinkedIn articles?

• Development / Tech Team (LinkedIn or Website) - How big is the team? What technologies do they use? How do they explain their role? Do you have anything in common with them?

You may have to invest some of your spare time but if you get a job that improves your life financially, logistically or technically then surely, it’s worth that little investment isn't it?

4. WHY ARE YOU A GOOD FIT?

If you’re not clear on why you're a good fit for the role then how will you convince the hiring manager?The key is to remove any potential worries from the hiring manager’s’ mind before they voice them.

Be the one to bring them up first and tackle them in a positive way. Above all else, BE HONEST.• Job Spec / Advert - Are you clear on what the role is? What tech/tools are they using? What types

of projects? Minimum skills needed?

• Your CV - How do you see yourself? What relevant projects have you worked on? What impact did you have? What are your biggest recent achievements?

• Compare to Job Spec / Advert - What areas are you strong in? Why are you strong? What areas are you weaker? How can you convince them that you learn quickly? Do you have previous examples of this?

• How will you explain why you've left roles in a way that's not negative?• Have you had short-term permanent roles? - How will you explain these while convincing them

you are looking for a stable role?• Have you had some gaps in your employment? - How can you explain these, so they are not an

issue?

• Social Profiles - What do they say about you? Have you written any negative articles or posts? Unprofessional profile pictures? Does your work history match your CV?

• Passion for development - Do you have side development projects?• Examples of Code? GitHub? Are you attending meetups? Do you spend time improving skills

outside of work? Avid reader? Blogger?

All of these areas help build a picture of why you should be confident and proud of yourself.This confidence will also have a great impact on the hirer.

5. FIRST IMPRESSIONS

People are judgy.

We do it all the time both consciously and subconsciously.

I hear a lot from hiring managers that they knew within five minutes of the interview, that someone was or wasn't right for them

Are they psychic? Are they detectives? Do they feel it in their water?

No.

It's a judgement based on the first impression that they get from you.

How can you create a good first impression?

• Dress appropriately - Tech companies do tend to be a little more relaxed once you start working there but for an interview, it's always advisable to dress smartly as it creates the impression that you’re taking this seriously. If in doubt, ask me.

• 15 minutes early is on time - Do you have the address? Have you checked the route? Have you looked to see what the building looks like on Google Street View? Have you checked the train/bus times? Do you know the name of whom you are asking for? Do you have the company phone number? Above all don't be late!

What should you take?

Take a few copies of your CV in case the interviewer doesn't have one or there is another person in the interview.

If you have some examples of relevant projects or code that you are particularly proud of its worth taking that with you to show them. If in doubt, ask me.

Make sure you take a pen & a notepad. This will be crucial for writing down key points & making a note of any questions you might have throughout the interview.

Take a prepared list of questions to ask them. (More of that on the next page)

6. QUESTIONS TO ASK AND AVOID

With software and tech businesses, it’s tough for me to write a list of technical questions you can ask as each tech stack, architecture and method of working is different so it's advisable to have a mix of your own questions about the projects/technologies.

However, here’s a list of mainly non-technical questions that you could ask that will set you apart from the rest.

Good questions to ask• What does your development process look like?• What are some of your initiatives regarding learning and development?• What are the goals of the company/team in the short and long term?• How would you describe the working environment and culture?• What types of career opportunities may open up for someone like me and how is my performance

measured?• What does a typical day look like in this role?• What do you think are the most important qualities to have to excel in this role?• Whom do you consider a top competitor and why?• What do you consider the biggest challenges to be facing this team at the moment?• What do you like about working for this company?

Questions to avoid. (Because you should either know it or can ask me)• When was your company established?

• Can you tell me about your company?• What's your position?• Why did my predecessor leave?

• What's the salary on offer?• Will I have to work overtime?

• Can I work from home?• How long is the lunch break?

7. QUESTIONS TO EXPECT

This is not an exhaustive list but it will give you a lot of the main questions.

• Tell me about yourself?• What do you know about us?• Why do you want to work here?• What are your strengths?• What are your weaknesses?• Why should we hire you?• What can you offer us that other candidates can't?• What are three positive things your last manager would say about you?• What are your goals? Where do you see yourself in 5 years?• What is your biggest work achievement in recent years?• What did you most enjoy about your previous role?• What did you dislike most about your previous role?• How do you like to be managed?• How do you cope under pressure?• What concerns do you think we would have about your profile?• What other jobs are you interested in at the moment?• What was your most recent project and what did you do specifically to complete it?• Describe the process you use for writing a piece of code, from requirements to delivery.• Did you run into any specific problems during the project and how did you overcome them?

Development specific questions• What programming languages have you used?• How do you keep your skills up to date?• How do you keep up to date with the industry?• Describe a time you were able to improve on an original design?• Given this example problem, what solution would you provide?• How much coding are you doing on a daily basis?• What do you think makes a great software engineer?• What's the most important thing to look for or check for when reviewing another colleague’s

code?• Do you follow the Agile development process?• What are your thoughts on Unit Testing / TDD?• How do you design scalable applications? Walk us through your process.

8. COMPETENCY-BASED QUESTIONS

Competency-based questions are a fair and very popular interview technique to find out whether:

1. You can articulate the real-life challenges you've faced and how you found the solution.2. You can cope under pressure.

3. You have the relevant experience for the role and are aware of what they need.4. Your personality will fit with their existing team.They always require an example of something you have done in the past and typically start like;

• Tell me about a time when...• Give an example of when...

• Describe a time when...• Have you ever been in a situation where...These questions are scenario-based and it’s important to see these questions as an excellent opportunity to show why you are the right person for the job.You can use the STAR technique to help form your answers...

SITUATION - Briefly describe the situation backgroundTASK - Specifically describe YOUR responsibilityACTION - Describe the action that YOU took and why

RESULT - Describe what the outcome of YOUR actions was and what you learned from itUse the job advert/description to get ideas of the types of competency-based questions you need to prepare for.• Listen carefully to the question before answering so you are highlighting the right competencies• Keep the answers as relevant as possible to the role

• Keep your answers waffle free but tell a compelling story• Don't repeat yourself too much

• Give clear evidence and be honest• Keep a positive tone throughout• Don't focus on negatives or criticise others

• Emphasise the impact that you had on the successful outcome

9. 15 TOP TELEPHONE INTERVIEW TIPS

The majority of companies treat telephone interviews as the first stage of their official interview process, so they need to be taken very seriously, which means preparing for it properly.They normally last around 30 minutes and because it’s a phone interview, they won't have the benefit of facial expression, body language and your couture fashion sense to help their decision.So, the tone/speed of your voice, your choice of words and your way of speaking will be factors that you need to really consider.

Top tips (Some should be common sense!)1. A good way to sound clearer and think more quickly is to take the call standing up. If you have a

headset/headphones that free your hands up this will also help a lot.2. Make sure you have enough charge on your phone.3. Check beforehand that you are in a place with a good reception.4. Avoid taking the call somewhere really noisy or windy. (Empty room, car, home is all good options)5. Make sure you can take the call on time and with no distractions. (Like kids, partner, dogs and your

BOSS)6. Have your CV and any prep notes within easy reach. (Printed if possible.)7. Have a few well thought out questions prepared.8. Keep the focus of what you say about your professional life rather than your personal life unless

asked.9. Avoid any long-winded answers or waffle filled answers.10. Focus more on listening and responding once they finish speaking rather than interrupting or

talking over them.11. If you can't hear a question clearly, ask them to repeat themselves rather than answering before

understanding.12. Speak clearly, speak more slowly than usual and focus more on getting your point across than

getting the words out.13. Eliminate filler words like ‘um’, ‘er,’ ‘like’, or any similar ones.14. Use comments like ‘ok’, ‘sure’, ‘that's interesting’, ‘yes’ and ‘great’ to show that you understand and

are listening.15. Close the interview by asking if they have any areas of the call that need clarifying and reiterating

your interest in a face to face.

10. 18 TOP VIDEO INTERVIEW TIPS

This is not quite as common as the other types of interviews but can be handy if you're in another country or hundreds of miles away.

Top tips (Some should be common sense!)1. Dress smartly and professionally just the same way that you would in a face to face interview. (The

colour blue looks great on camera)2. Set everything up before the interview making sure your webcam and audio are working fine.

3. Check that your device is plugged in and charged, you have a good internet connection and no one else will be taking up the bandwidth.

4. Make sure you can take the call on time and with no distractions. (Like kids, partner, dogs and your BOSS)

5. Make sure that the backdrop is not distracting and you’re in a tidy room, if at home.

6. Check how you look on the camera, check your posture and don't slouch.7. Have your CV and any prep notes within easy reach. (Printed if possible.)8. Have some well thought out questions prepared.

9. Aim to make good confident eye contact with the interviewer. (Not too much as that’s creepy!)10. Make sure your body language shows how engaged you are.

11. Keep the focus of what you say about your professional life rather than your personal life unless asked.

12. Avoid any long-winded answers or waffle filled answers.

13. Focus more on listening and responding once they finish speaking rather than interrupting or talking over them.

14. If you can't hear a question clearly, ask them to repeat themselves rather than answering before understanding.

15. Speak clearly. Speak more slowly than usual and focus more on getting your point across than getting the words out.

16. Eliminate filler words like ‘um’, ‘er,’ ‘like’, or any similar ones.

17. Use comments like ‘ok’, ‘sure’, ‘that's interesting’, ‘yes’ and ‘great’ to show that you understand and are listening.

18. Close the interview by asking if they have any areas of the call that need clarifying & reiterating your interest in the next steps.

11. 15 TOP FACE TO FACE INTERVIEW TIPS

Hopefully the final step for you now and if you have followed all the preparation advice in this guide you should be feeling pretty confident by this stage!

Top tips (Some should be common sense!)1. Have your printed CV and any prep notes within easy reach.2. Have some well thought out and relevant questions prepared.3. Don't have too much caffeine before the interview as it can make you quite jittery and on edge.4. Be confident. Hiring managers don't do a face to face interview unless there is a real interest in

taking it further.5. Make sure you shake hands with your interviewer. If they don't offer their hand? Offer yours

anyway.6. Aim to make good confident eye contact with the interviewer and don’t be scared to laugh or

smile.7. If there is more than one interviewer, make sure they all feel included by shifting your attention

between them when answering questions.8. Make sure your body language shows how engaged you are.9. Keep the focus of what you say about your professional life rather than your personal life unless

asked.10. Avoid any long-winded answers or waffle filled answers.11. Focus more on listening and responding once they finish speaking rather than interrupting or

talking over them.12. Speak clearly and more slowly than usual & focus more on getting your point across than getting

the words out.13. Try to speak about past colleagues or employers in a positive way.14. Eliminate filler words like ‘um’, ‘er,’ ‘like’, or any similar ones.15. Use comments like ‘ok’, ‘sure’, ‘that's interesting’, ‘yes’ and ‘great’ to show that you understand and

are listening.

Great example interview closing statement"Thanks for your time. From my perspective, I think the role is a good fit for my skills and experience, so I'm definitely interested.

Are there any areas of concern from your side?Do you feel I'm a good fit?”