Your First Interview with a Software Firm is in Four Days - A Unique Approach to Consider

Pretty much since the dawn of time, we have processed interviews in the context of your individual performance. So you had the interview yesterday and in your eyes, how did you do??In no way am I trying to challenge that standard but I've been thinking a lot about interviews lately and for my software engineering audience, I wanted to present a different approach that could yield some nice returns for you. Please remember that as you interview with companies and hiring managers throughout the course of your career, the #1 objective is to build your software engineering brand in a positive manner and yes, build your network. Make no mistake that interviewing is networking.?

When I work with software engineers in a job search, my first step is to present a short list of companies that I'm working with and once they let me know if any of them look interesting. Upon identifying a particular firm of interest, we then explore the opportunity that is available at the company. This usually results in my sending over a job description for the developer to review. Believe it or not but it's right here that I have been pivoting towards a new approach to software engineering interviews. As I prepare the developer for the upcoming series of conversations, I let them know that my entire goal is to make sure the first call is as successful as possible. First impressions just mean so much.??

Rather than telling the engineer to start "prepping for the interview" I go this route

Yufan, let's look at this first interview in the context of a high level, introductory conversation where you get to learn about the company's engineering organization, its culture as well as some of the problems they are working on. As the interview starts, you'll exchange pleasantries with each other but from there, please allow the interviewer to kick things off. Please don't forget the subtle flattery that comes with inviting the other party to start a conversation. People love to be listened to. As they begin speaking with you and describing the company's engineering organization, in a sense, they are painting a picture for you. Even more importantly, as you have allowed the interviewer to kick off the process, it then becomes more clear when it's your turn to start talking. Your interjections and responses will be perfectly timed.?

While this is a formal and professional interview, do what you can to subtly move away from the formal Q&A of an interview designed to assess how well you meet their requirements to more of an organic conversation between a sharp software engineer like yourself and the company's hiring manager. The end result is that the two of you have a very healthy, back and forth conversation.?When that happens, there is always the strong likelihood that the company wants to move to the next stage.??

Okay, I know what some of you all are already thinking and to be clear, I am sure as hell not putting C#/.Net job opportunities in front of React.js or Golang developers. No backend data engineering interviews are getting schedule for UI developers. I make sure that the fundamentals are strongly aligned and the furthest I will reach is when I present a Python developer opportunity to a strong Java engineer (or vice versa). The delicate issue is an engineer will scrutinize the "nice to haves" and it can impact their mindset going into the interview. And you would be surprised how that can influence the direction of the interview.?

Software Engineers initially get curious about companies. The majority of the time I work with them, they do not obsess over the job description. I steer the focus towards the problems they would be working on as well as the impressive team of software engineers they would be working with. The hard requirements of possessing a CS degree and Object Oriented technologies is not a concern.?But when the developer notices that the job requires exposure to articulating Services Oriented Architectures as well as Docker based services and they don't have that exposure, it can immediately fester in their mind. Will this be brought up in the interview and if so, how are they going to address this deficit??

And this is my justification for doing your part to create the environment and setting of a high level conversation rather than an interview. When you define this experience 100% as a formal interview, you might pay too much attention to the requirements that you don't meet. And even this small amount of thought in your mind can impact your overall performance.?Given that your lack of SOA experience is in the back of your mind, does that consciousness subtly influence the interviewer to ask about this one requirement that you don't meet??What is that called when we steer conversations to our vulnerabilities??The concern that we don't have something the interviewer is looking for leads to that very question???

The words below can be used once you confirm the interview. The message assumes you're communicating over email but it could easily be said over the phone as well. With this confirmation, you are "setting the table" so to speak and in my opinion, positions you nicely for this first conversation. Here you go,?

Thank you very much and that day and time works for me. Feel free to send the invite and I'll accept immediately. I'm really looking forward to speaking with your hiring manager regarding the engineering organization as well as some of the problems the developers are working on. I also imagine we'll discuss the engineering culture as well because that has always meant a lot to me. And of course, I look forward to sharing more about my background and experience.?Thanks again and I'm looking forward to this!

Allow me to repeat:?When you process conversations with companies in the singular sense of an interview, you potentially contemplate the requirements that you don't meet and that can impact your performance. Your delivery is narrower compared to having this nice, open ended conversation about your background and experience. If you are able to create a more conversational experience in your first call with a company, your flow and delivery is better. Not to mention, some of your nuanced assets have a better chance to emerge in the call. By no means am I implying to go off course in this first interview but let's do whatever we can to create a conversation that flies over the 1-2 qualifications that unfortunately you don't have. This moment is about you presenting all of your special qualities you are capable of bringing to this organization.?

I struggle to find the value in you, a very capable software engineer, telling an interviewer in the first call that you have not worked with Kotlin. Your foundation is a strong match for their job opportunity. You have a Hard Sciences degree (or you've even earned a very impressive boot camp certificate), you've worked under some strong engineering leaders and you've always delivered on everything that has been asked of you. And yet, when it comes to interviewing for this one position at a company, you find yourself painted into a corner of discussing a technology you have not worked with? Let's do what we can do avoid this moment.?

My favorite comparison to this dynamic? Everyone knows I love Deion Sanders so let's assume in his off season at Florida State back in 1988, he comes strolling out to Panama City Beach and there is a semi-pro Beach Volleyball team doing some tryouts for their squad. Deion comes up to the Captain asking if he can try out and the exchange goes like this,?

Captain?- You're welcome to try out but what is your volleyball career like. Where did you play?

Deion?- I've played five different sports but I've never played beach volleyball before.?

Captain?- Oh really??So, why should we even consider you?

Deion?- Well, I have a strong athletic foundation. 53 inch vertical, I'm told I have excellent hand/eye coordination and I possess the shoulder mobility of a Yoga instructor. Culturally, the #1 focus in my entire athletic career is to build really strong bonds among my teammates. I create families and everyone has each other's back on my teams.?Further, I play to win and I can assure you that if I were to join this squad, our goal would be to get to the championship round and nothing less.?

Who knows, maybe Deion doesn't make the squad but in his tryout, he creates that special moment where his athletic foundation and his ability inspire and uplift others is the defining impression. The volleyball captain will have this impression embedded in him for years. The end result is that a 21 year old Deion has built his brand and realized another successful networking moment with a brand new individual.?

A 26 year old developer I recently worked with who reminds me of Deion is a young man by the name of Troy Stidd. An emotionally mature, modest four year engineer who also brings some very real engineering horsepower to the table. When I recently worked with Troy on a job search, his first point of curiosity was the company itself. He would review their website and problem space to get an idea of what they were doing. From here, if he found the company interesting, I would then work on setting up a conversation. We didn't deliberate over a job description to see if there was a fit. The approach would be a phone call or a virtual meeting with the company's Engineering Manager to learn about one another and determine if there was enough of a fit to continue moving forward.??

People might say that if a company commits to this kind of approach, you run the risk of filling up the Manager's interview schedule with a bunch of unqualified candidates. I won't argue that position. However, I can also say that even if he weren't a fit for the company, there is some very real value in the Engineering Manager speaking with a Troy Stidd; just like there was value in the volleyball team captain meeting Deion. This isn't an easy line to walk. Internal recruiters' #1 priority is to save the company valuable time and engage only with candidates that are strong matches with the job descriptions. My point here is that there is some nice hidden value in both parties moving away from the formality of a proper interview and instead, having a company's leadership team talk with software engineers in a manner where their whole story can be told. The result is a more comprehensive first impression on the candidate's end and a broader evaluation on behalf of the hiring manager. And yes, I believe this can still be done inside 60 minutes.?

If Troy gets a call scheduled and the moment presents itself where he can begin talking about the development environments he had worked in, projects he has delivered on and the caliber of engineers he has worked with in his career, I'm serious, any hiring manager in the country would come back to HR and request to move forward. The deficit of Kotlin would be the last thing on their mind. The high level, free form conversation from Troy brings out his gifts and the magnitude of his ability. Just like with Deion in Panama City.?

In closing, if you feel you have to, go ahead and look over the job description but please do your best to look beyond itemizing which bullets you do and don't match up with. Take this upcoming interview to a higher level and process it as what will be a very productive conversation on both ends. Allow the interviewer to kick off the meeting by discussing the company's engineering environment and what the teams look like over there. As you take all this in, you can interject at the appropriate times. Once the interviewer has laid the initial ground work in the first 10-15 minutes, you can then start talking about your background and the nice overlap you have with their organization. The conversation can guide away from the bullets in the job description that you don't match up with. You deliver like they do, you approach problems in a similar manner and you have a curious passion for the company's problem space. Before you know it, you are wrapping up what has been a very productive introductory conversation for both parties. It was a "win win".

True, I haven't said one word about Round 2 in this process and I will concede that the forthcoming technical assessment could very easily disqualify you. But even if that does happen, you have still left a positive first impression with this company. And not enough is said about the career value of strong first impressions. They can benefit you for years to come. So if you have an interview coming up with a company, please look beyond the job description and approach this first call as a high level, introductory conversation projecting all of your engineering qualities.?Make it your aim to build your brand and realize a successful networking moment.??

Thanks,?

Mark Cunningham

Technical Recruiter

512-699-5719

[email protected]

https://thebiddingnetwork.com

https://markcunningham91.blogspot.com

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/markhc