Preparing for your next Software Developer Job Interview

Congratulations! You’ve read our other Foxley Talent blogs and watched our Lightning Talks and managed to “Get the Most Out of Your CV/Resume”, cruised through your “LinkedIn Tips for Django Developers” and used our “Tips to Land Your First Django Job” and bagged your next interview.

Great news, now what?! You have the daunting first stage interview. Well sit back, relax and read through this article giving you tips and advice on how best to prepare for your interview.

Checklist

I always like to have everything in front of me ticked off to know I am ready. You can use this list again and again for every interview you have, giving you peace of mind to know you have completed the first steps to being ready for the interview.

• Date
• Time
• Company
• Website
• LinkedIn
• Job Title (you are interviewing for)
• Job Description (document)
• Manager / Interviewer

That’s it, they are the main things you will need to start preparing yourself for the first (and all other) interviews. If you have booked the interview through a recruiter, I would like to think they have all these pieces of information to hand over already.

If it is through the company directly, then don’t be afraid to confirm the job title you are interviewing for, get an up-to-date job description and ask for the person who is conducting your interview, these bits of information will help your preparation.

The Company

Let’s have a peek around who you may be joining then.

By this point, I hope you have already had a look at the company website, know a bit more about the product or businesses objective (agency/consultancy/research) and have some interest in what they do.

I like to take in as much relevant information at this point as possible and almost prepare a “fact sheet” to start learning. For me, that means reading and writing (by hand) the bits I learn and want to remember, then reading them back - as if I am preparing for a test.

I want to know all about the company products, why they were set up and by whom, for how long have they been established, what is their roadmap, their latest news, do they write blogs or give back to the community, the key figures in the business and finally, what is the company mission statement and values.

All of these things help build a picture of the type of business I am planning to join. Reading an article about why the company was created and understanding their vision for the future helps me align my values and know if they are right for me. By understanding the current products or services they provide, it helps me to know a bit more about the type of work I may have beyond the job description and what I will be able to learn.

It goes without saying, but by reading up and taking an interest in the business I am about to interview for, shows I am self-motivated and helps me answer questions they may ask me, plus helping me prepare questions I want to ask them.

Who?

“Who? Who?”
“Hoo, hoo, what are you a ****ing owl?”

I just had to start this section with that quote. :)

More importantly, who are you speaking to, who will be on your team?! Firstly, ask if you are speaking directly with the manager, then there is no harm in wanting to know who you will be joining and learning from. If the recruiter doesn’t know the team names they should know the manager, then it’s time to break out your Detective Pikachu skills (liking the film references here?).

Why? I hear you ask. Well, this is a great chance to build some rapport with the person you may be interviewing with and understand more about the type of experience and profile they have hired before. Any advantage you can gain over the other person interviewing is one I’d want to take in this competitive market.

So with the manager, I am looking to find out what companies they have worked for in the past, software they have developed, the University they went to and any thesis/dissertation/papers they may have written, or even LinkedIn posts they have commented on or shared. Sometimes they may even follow groups or have their interests on their page and this is a great way to see something you both share in common and highlight in your interview.

Similar to their team, but I’d be focusing more on the tech skills and development experience they have, looking for similarities in programming languages or tools they have used or may be using in the current role you’d be joining.

Finally, drop the hiring manager a message. It shows you have done your research and are interested in being a part of the team. Nothing too elaborate, but a simple “Hi, I look forward to speaking with you next week when I interview for the (Python Developer) role, Kind regards.” is just right. Again, it’s the chance to get a head start on other people in the process and get the manager talking/thinking about you before your call.

TIP! Make sure your LinkedIn matches your CV and looks good. Check out these resources if you haven't seen them already;

• BLOG: Django Developer CV Tips
• BLOG: Tips for Django Developers writing a Resume
• BLOG: Getting the Most Out of Your CV
• VIDEO: Getting the most from your django developer CV

Job Description

You have the document telling you what the job title is and what the responsibilities include. Time to re-read and start to write down what you have done that matches this. We have all had the questions in an interview before, can you explain to me where you have used XXX before?

Well, let’s get ahead of the question and show the interviewer you want the role by beating them to the question. From the job description, you will be able to see what your responsibilities include, if that is “Focusing on our main Python backend, built with Django. Building a robust API, utilising Django Rest Framework, for both our platform and external use”, then when you start talking about your experience in the interview, explain that you are building API’s in Django and DRF by giving an example of this in a previous role or a project.

The key is making sure you have examples of when you have demonstrated these skills and you can present them when asked or prior to the question. It’s easy to say yes I have done that before, but it doesn’t fill an interviewer with confidence when you can’t recall when or why you did it. This is why I like to have it written down or at least have examples in my head before the interview.

In the job description, you will see the “qualifications” section for the role, stating the experience that the company is looking for. Sometimes this is a wishlist, don’t worry about having it all. A great point to highlight in your interview, is if you have experience with a tool/industry in the “nice to have” section.

TIP! When interviewing don’t lie. Sounds simple, but if you try to lie about working with a certain tool or framework that you haven’t and the interviewer can tell this by your answer to a question, you’ve lost trust. The key thing is demonstrating honesty and transparency, the company wants to know you are coachable and can learn in a role too.

Question Time

Always have questions prepped, always have them written down. In my opinion, the second part is just as important as the first. Again, there is nothing worse than someone in an interview saying, “Have you got any questions for us . . .” and replying with “No, you have answered all of them”. It sounds like such a cop-out. At least if they have answered them all you can show them by your piece of paper (don’t screen share it!)

By now, from looking over the company information highlighted above and the information about the job description, I hope you will have a few questions written down.

One of the key things most developers I am speaking with want to know, is more about the people you will be working with and how they will support them.

• So how big is the team?
• How is that split up?
• Does this change?
• Do you interact with other teams?
• Who would you be working with and how much experience do they have?
• What is the culture like and how do they collaborate?

If they say they are rewarding and supportive, challenge them! Don’t be afraid to ask for an example of this.

Another key thing to learn in your first interview is about the future career progression and learning and development. Ask! Don’t walk away from the interview wanting to know more or regret not asking something that will remain on your mind.

There is nothing worse than completing an interview process to find out the company does not have something that is imperative to your search requirements. Again, this means salary & benefits, so if you do not know what that looks like before the interview, I would ask for a document to be shared with you at the end.

Who am I?

This isn’t a philosophical outlook on your character and person, but, more preparation and reminders about the things you have said and done, that the interviewer has already seen to help you to get through the CV screening phase.

Take some time to refresh yourself about your experience, journey into software development or to help you gain the experience you have today.

Being asked about something you have forgotten you did and then not backing it up, looks like you have lied on your CV, when a lot of the time this isn’t the case. This is key when they are going to ask you about your experience relating to the role you are interviewing for, be that leadership/industry/or tech stack.

If you know that you are interviewing for a "medical company" and in your thesis you wrote about something matching the technology or industry, refresh and have a read over it. You may find that this bit of information could help them with a problem, create an innovative discussion about a future product or simply help you build rapport.

What Do I Want?

As a developer and human being, this is another chance to evaluate what you have learned during your preparation and the interview and align it with your expectations, career goals and personal values.

There is nothing wrong with realising before the interview that you can not see yourself working in that company. Just do not commit to completing the interview half-heartedly and making yourself look bad, you don’t know who the manager knows and what recommendations they can give about “that interview” in the future.

Likewise, if career progression and becoming a leader is important for you, ask yourself about what this company can help you with on your journey to becoming a CTO. The same applies to your learning and development. Know what you would like to learn about the company before the interview, that helps you in your career.

Tips

A few tips have already been dropped in the article because they make sense in that section. I will also just highlight a couple here which may seem super obvious, but sometimes are forgotten or ignored.

• Make sure you have enough time for preparation before your interview and after. After; to take a moment for yourself to reflect, jot down any initial thoughts/emotions to look back on, refresh yourself and take a break or make a drink, then continue with your day. Do not book the interview knowing you have another to jump straight into, meaning you miss out on asking questions or rush your answers to cut time.
• Get rid of distractions, this means the night before the interview and during. Do not have a late-night gaming or a full bottle of wine that will fog the brain before your call. First impressions are vital. The same for during the interview, close your messaging apps on your laptop and stick your phone on DoNotDisturb if you are able to.
• Sounds crazy, but be hydrated and alert, if that means having a 15-minute walk to get some fresh air, do it. Don’t be hungry or hangry before or during your call. Make sure you have eaten and feel good, the last thing you want is anxiety about your stomach rumbling on the call.
• Setting. Think about where you are going to be for your interview, make sure it is quiet, away from kids screaming or dogs barking. Try to think about your background noise and the distractions you may have on show behind you. If WiFi connection can be an issue, switch off other devices that use it before your interview and try not to have a call whilst walking in the countryside.
• Wear something appropriate. Yes we all loved underwear and a shirt when we were on a zoom call during covid, but there is nothing worse than being on a video call - needing to answer the door - knowing you have to stand up and be seen walking to the door in Minion (Despicable Me) pajama bottoms and a formal shirt.
• Stick to a manageable number of applications or prioritize the ones that you are interested in the most. If you are preparing properly for each interview, this will take time. If you are working during this process, have a family or other commitments, then you will become burned out. By trying to balance to many applications at one time, the quality you give each one will be reduced.
• Try to avoid the talk of money on your first call - unless this is your motivation. It’s never something to be ignored, we all work to pay the bills and be happy, but it isn’t the best look on the first call when people are trying to get to know you. It can sometimes make it look like your only or main motivation for the role.
• Community/Interview Buddy. You may already do this, or have never thought about it before. But I like the thought of preparing with a friend or community member who may be going through the same process as you. Prepare questions to ask one another, jump on a call, test your knowledge about the job/position/your own experience. Throw in a question that is a curve ball to see how you think on your feet. This small tip can have such a huge benefit, by speaking about things over and over we build confidence and things become more comfortable.

Overview

The same applies to this article as all of the ones I write, these are my personal opinions and thoughts when it comes to offering tips and advice for your interview process.

I want to note that sometimes you can prepare and be ready for the interview, but it will not be a good fit for whatever reason. That may not be your fault, you simply may just not click with the manager, and in my opinion by not continuing or being rejected during the process, that may be best for both of you.

Likewise, not every company or job will be for you, don’t be afraid to withdraw from a process.

Finally, if you’re getting through CV screening reviews and managing to get interviews, congrats, you’re smashing it and should be pleased, well done and keep going, now it’s time to prepare for the interviews.

I hope you find this article useful and manage to take some positives from it, if you have, then please share it with others you know who are looking for work to help them.

Good luck in your next interview.

Josh

If you are a Python/Django Developer looking for a role, please check out our Jobs Page and see if any of our positions fit your experience and search requirements.