A door64 success story
Submitted by dgweller on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 4:14am.
Just wanted to say that door64 helped me find a job. I listed my various skill sets and was contacted by a recruiter that found a good match for me (deep C#/.NET development skills). I know it's not easy for everybody to find job opportunities out there, but they DO exist. I am grateful for the work Matt and others have done making door64 such a nice place for connecting skilled people with job opportunities.
That's great news -- Congratulations! Thanks for letting us all know!
Congratulations... You are fortunate to be in one of the few development niches that isn't hugely glutted with people yet. Can you share anything more about your experiences? Do you know how many other people you were up against when interviewing, etc? What kinds of questions did they ask you in interview, etc?
As with most interviews, I had no idea how many others were interviewing for the job, but I was told that they halted other interviews after my second round interview with them (talk about an ego boost :-).
Coming from Microsoft, I'm sure you will know the rather notorious approach Microsoft takes when it comes to job interviews (search "Interviewing at Microsoft", in case you don't know :-). While my final interview with this company wasn't anything like it, it was still deeply technical. Let me go over a few general details:
1) My interview took place inside a small training room with 5-6 people in the room all the time over a 2 hour period. A couple of people came in late, but there were no repeat questions. Group interviews are tricky things, and I don't personally recommend them, but as an interviewee, you have to be prepared for all types of interview scenarios
2) I was asked to start the interview by doing a short technical talk in front of the room using the whiteboard. I must admit I wasn't mentally ready for this, so I just did a quick whiteboard talk about the XNA fremework and some of the architectural differences between Windows and the Xbox 360 regarding the XNA runtimes.
3) Many of the other interview questions revolved around my knowledge of the implementation of architectural patterns (GoF, Fowler, etc.). Some of that stuff I remembered, and in other places where I didn't, I simply said "I don't remember those" instead of BS'ing.
4) Throughout the interview, I took opportunities to relate some of my strengths to the application domain they were working; making tangible connections to some of the things I've specifically done in the past
5) It helps, in some way, that I have published articles in Java Developers Journal, XML Journal, and other magazines, as well as have written two technical books. I cannot overemphasize how important it is to point people to works you've done in the past that have been published or peer-reviewed. It not only shows technical competency, but tangibly demonstrates your writing skills as well (even something as mundane as a technical blog will help!)
Well, that's about all I remember (or more accurately -- I'm tired of typing :-). I will say that I felt unsure of how well I did when I left, but that's typical of me, as I'm my strongest critic. I remember as I drove back from the interview, I was thinking, "Doh! I should have said XX and then YY instead of ZZ" (I had multiple "Doh!" moments, but you get the idea :-)
I'll leave you with some general guides that I always use:
1) Know what you're interviewing for. If you go in for a face-to-face interview, you should be ready to talk about that job as if you OWN it. Not only that, but you should be able to show how understand how that role extends to the team and the company.
2) In any interview (phone, f2f,etc.), have the 30 second pitch ready about yourself. Seriously -- write a speech, then cut out all thefluffy words. Memorize it and be ready to pitch it. Have your peers review it and critique. Former co-workers may be kind (or unkind :-) enough to point out the shotcomings of your pitch
3) Be confident. If you're in for a face-to-face interview, you're pretty much in a strong position to nail the job (remember, interviewing potential employees is an expensive process once you go to the face-to-face round). Don't put yourself in the position to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory by being passive or meek.
4) Don't BS. Seriously. Not even if you think you can pull it off. Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know" or "I don't remember", but DO try to follow up by finding some kind of similar experience or tech, then asking if they would be interested in hearing that. Show some initiative and creativity.
Ok, I've blabbed too long. Hopefully this was helpful. I'm sure I could think of other guidelines, but I need to take my wife to the doctor's office :-)
Hope that helps!
David "LetsKillave" Weller
Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed reply. That is exactly the kind of information that should hopefully be valuable to other people so that they can hopefully duplicate your success!
Congrats!
Thanks Dave! This is most informative, - and great thinking. I will forward it to some friends. Is there an "email this page" capability someplace here? For now I'll paste to my emails.
Cheers, Randall
Hi Randall -- nope, I don't have an email this page capability yet. For now, feel free to email the link to this page. Thanks!
Matt
--
Booyah! Congratulations.
DG
Excellent news that you got a job, and even better that you took the time to share your experiences and give a few pointers.
I definitely agree with the "No BS" rule as well as the 30 second pitch. You need to be strong, passionate and focused with high energy but not over zealous or over bearing which can be off putting.
Anyway, great news. Best wishes and continued success.
Thanks
kmac