Ask HN: How can I be successful in job interviews?

I don't have a CS degree...I actually studied English. I'm self-taught, and over the last 8 years I've worked my way up from a freelance web designer writing spaghetti code to a senior developer at ClearChannel, to a director of engineering at a 40 person startup.

The most important part of any interview is confidence. The dating analogy is appropriate. Realistically, no one ever has to write code under the gun like in the interview. If you draw a blank, at least get some ideas out in pseudocode, or describe your thought process.

I have drawn a blank in an interview, and what I've done is email the interviewer later with the solution. In each time, I got the job.

Good advice thanks for the reply

A degree is not going to help you with white board programming (I think degrees are extremely useful, just not for that).

I try to turn the tables a bit. "What are you trying to measure, and I'll help you measure it?" Sometimes that goes over, well, not so well, but so be it. A thoughtful person recognizes that all this interviewing crap is not much more than tea leaf reading. Someone smart but that hasn't thought about it will still hear you out. And you don't want to work for the remainder, trust me ("what do you mean it'll take 3 months, I want it in two weeks" type conversations will fill your days).

I don't know. Some random guy started blogging (Joel) and now we have these crazy interview rituals. Talk about cargo cult engineering. In another thread recently we had somebody claim that only one person in all the years he interviewed could answer his pet interview question.

You are being measured poorly. Try to keep that in mind when you are being grilled - that this is an interview of the person behind the desk as it is of you (trust me, don't take a job offer just because one is offered to you, make sure they are as good as they are representing that you have to be. They often aren't). If they put you in front of a whiteboard and have you freeze up, and then don't detect that and change something immediately, they are failing the interview, not you.

>>>>> I have over a decade of professional experience, but not a CS degree. I know multiple programming languages, but during most interviews I blank out on the questions asked. I panic and my brain refuses to work with.

The same thing happens when I'm asked to write code in front of the interviewer - I panic and lock up.

I've started to lose confidence in myself even though I know I'm good at what I do. Often times I feel that I'm being judged a bit harsher because I don't have a CS degree - though that could be me projecting my own insecurities.

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It's like dating. If you think you suck, they will too. Here's a nugget: I'm mostly self taught. While I do have a CS degree, I didn't learn anything "new" until more than halfway through the program. Others that went through the same program and didn't learn shit got CS jobs, not because they were good programmers (they were not), but they behaved like good programmers.

Don't sell yourself short. As a hiring manager myself I can comfortably say you are more qualified than half of the people that get hired in technical positions.

Ignore your "lack" of education, and just concentrate on showcasing what makes you awesome.

The rest will come.

> Others that went through the same program and didn't learn shit got CS jobs

That's probably due to the Dunning–Kruger effect: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect

(The reason you think you're shit, is because you're actually good)

I've read about this before on HN. Not having a CS degree also makes me feel like I've never had my knowledge formally validated though. That goes a long way to tear down my confidence.

Thanks for the encouragement... and yes I think showcasing what I'm capable of has become very necessary. I've spent so much time building proprietary applications (many of which have never seen the light of day) or websites (that go defunct or the client redesigns) that I only have a handful of side projects to show off. Increasing my portfolio with more side projects would probably help me out in the long run.

I've been in the same situation as you just 6 months ago. Was switching from freelance-to-fulltime. And blanked out at nearly every interview.

I did get hired in the end. When that was done, I also helped a few friends tweak the interview process at their startups/companies.

Over time, during my job hunt, I had to tweak stuff in order to get results. Basically try and observe what worked. Here's what worked.

* Find places that use your work (apps/libraries/articles)

If you have been writing software for a few years, there's a probability that you've written a few libraries or handy apps or really good blog posts. You can find people who are sharing links to these on Twitter. Checkout their workplace. If they seem interesting, apply. The tech interview will matter less to them because they've seen the value you provide.

* Write good cover letters/mails

Your application is your first point of contact. It has to be short, crisp and make them want to know more about you. My application email is usually just one or two sentences and then 4 links (github, resume, and a couple interesting projects). If you have interesting projects in multiple languages, change them to suit the company you apply to.

* Try to avoid any automated forms to apply to a job

They most likely end up in a blackhole at popular or larger companies. Find a person who works there and send him/her an email.

* Don't panic and take it slow

It took me a couple months to find a place I'll be comfortable at. Offers will come and go. Pick the one you'll be comfortable with.

All the best. There are jobs waiting for you to find them :)

Tell the person in step #3 about this. They might be able to give you an alternate coding test, or at least be more considerate during the interview. We sometimes give candidates "homework", where they have 24 hours or something do something "simple" but more complicated than a whiteboard problem.

It would might put you at a disadvantage to a similar candidate, people might worry that you might "lock up" during a stressful situation at work, but it's certainly putting you in a better position than freezing during the interview.

Also -- have some portfolio project, and public github projects with your past work, if you can. I've had interviews with folks that I was on the fence about, and then went and looked through some of their code and that helped make up my mind.

Forgot to mention - freelancing has only been going on for a couple of years. I've had multiple full time jobs in the past, a couple of them for years on end. This isn't my first attempt at getting a job, but its the first in several years.

Your situation is just what I am trying to solve: http://siscia.github.io/open-hire/

There is a nice company in our list, maybe it can be helpful.

I would recommend doing what I did so you blow the interview out of the water and they shred any other candidates resumes, cancel any further interviews and run to their boss and say hire this guy now before we loose him. The main thing you want to bring is value, this is what gives you the ability to put that nice grin on the interviewers faces when your done with them. Think of it as finally meeting that girl that has everything in common and really likes you for who you are and makes her smile and laugh naturally. Only way you can mess this up is not being prepared and not engaged.

How to get prepared? Go search for that job you really want that matches your salary expectations, benefits, location, etc. Look at what they are hiring for and take a note of the technologies they are using and/or want to use. If you have experience in them that is wonderful, there may be some that you are not used to using but you will be adding this to your catalog of skills. Next, write up a brief problem you are going to solve using the technology listed in the job description. Prototype the features, user interface some code and architecture using a pencil and paper. Then sit down and build a full blown app using all the technology listed in the job description that includes tests, user, admin and developer documentation. Once your application is completed create an executive summary of the application's purpose, features and return on investment the user can gain from using the application.

Why are you doing this? This will help you destroy the anxiety that comes up during your steps 4-6. This will help bring your confidence way up and will help prevent you from crashing and burning. As the crash and burn is a good indicator to yourself and others of what might happen if an emergency pops up on the job and your the only one that can fix it. If your confident in the interview your chances of staying calm and being able to think in an emergency will normally be higher.

Getting prepared? All the tech you just worked with or will be working with will require you to get a stronger base so your not thrown off guard on basic technical questions that might pop up. Make sure you have read some books and put into action what you have learned so you have a strong base for the technology your interviewer will be asking you questions on.

If you want to give yourself a leg up I would recommend taking your app and putting it online along with doing a couple of high quality contributions to some projects that are of importance to you and put them on your resume. There is somewhat of a wonderful non-verbal connection that occurs when your asked how much experience do you have in x and you can say I am very comfortable with x as I am the creator of x. You will normally get the oh wow your the guy behind the curtain smile or even better grin that they are trying to hold in, especially if your project has already received recognition from people using it. Think of it as you being Guido van Rossum interviewing for a Python job at Google and the interviewer doesn't know your the "Guido van Rossum" creator of Python. In these cases you will pass the interview with flying colors and be able to get a very generous offer letter.

Focus on your side projects I noticed you have some interesting side projects going. For the games your creating have you thought about polishing them and putting them on the various mobile and desktop stores for sale? If you have not thought about that, make sure you still pursue your day job and check to make sure the job you get will allow you to work on your side projects and you don't sign any one-way documents that prevent you from owning your side projects or create new ones.

This is a great suggestion - thanks for the reply