A few days ago I found out about Seattle Central Women in Tech and I joined them on Facebook. Their very first event – Interview Strategies Forum was held in Chef Offices on January 15th 2016. This event was amazing in so many aspects: well organized, informative, and fun. I wanted to jot down the main points so I could share them with friends who could not attend.
Why is it important to support women in tech?
Research has shown that the most diverse teams are the most productive ones. Companies like Chef realize the importance of diversity, the gender gap and the female leadership problem. They want to be a part of the solution. Sure enough, their actions speak louder than words. Chef hosted this event in their office space (which is absolutely astonishing), and selflessly offered 3+ hours of their time, on a Friday night, to give us valuable advice and answer numerous questions. We had the pleasure to hear from:
- Barry Crist – the CEO of Chef
- Wendy McIntosh – Chef’s recruiter with years of experience in the industry, and
- Maureen Andersen Crist – Seattle Central’s Web Design student with years of experience in Finance and Sales in numerous tech companies.
Here is what they advise:
Do not:
- Have a resume that is longer than 1 page (Unless you have more than 10 years of experience)
- Put personal information on your resume.
- Be sloppy. Double check for typos.
- Let the job requirements stop you from applying. The requirements are more of a wish list, and only seldom a candidate meets them all. Apply even if you are not an exact match (ex. You do not have the required years of experience). They might have another position you might be a good fit for. Most of the companies will train you for the work they need done, they are more interested to see how you think, if you can learn and contribute, and fit within the company.
- Come overdressed. (ex. suit and tie for a developer position in Seattle). It will harm your chances because it might seem like you do not fit in the company. Don’t come in a dress, it might be distracting. They usually mention the dress code in the interview invitation. If it’s not mentioned, you could ask them. Barry Christ said: “Dress half a notch higher than usual; if everyone wears wrinkled shirts and jeans to work, you come in an ironed shirt and jeans to the interview.”
- Try to conceal your nervousness. Being nervous means you care about the job, and it is a form of excitement. Nobody will look down on you because of that. The truth is that the interviewers are nervous too, no matter how many times they’ve been through this process. You are new to them. They are trying to get to know you by asking questions, not to prove you are wrong, or stupid.
Do:
- Give a damn! Be active about finding the job you like, join groups, go to meetups, and follow the companies/people you are interested in professionally on the social networks.
- Research the company and their products before you interview. The very first question in their interviews is “What do you know about Chef? Come prepared to the interview: Download their products and “play” with them. Read their web site. Contribute to their open source projects. Write a blog post about their products (ex. A comparison with competitors’ products)
- Know the company’s core values; the interview panel will be divided so each interviewer will ask you a question related to their core values. If you know them you will be better prepared. (You can only know them if they are publicly available though.)
- Ask the panel questions when offered the opportunity. They DO weigh in this in their decision making process. You come across as interested and proactive if you do. You can ask different member of the panel the same question. This is an opportunity for you as a candidate to get to know them and the company better. Take advantage of it.
- Do “requirement gathering” for the technical part of the interview. Ask additional information about the task you have been given. (This is very important, the interview panel discusses if you had additional questions and asked for clarifications). Always check the code before submitting.
- Send a brief “Thank you” email after the interview. If you thought of a solution or an answer to a question you can write that in that email. Again, brief. (4-5 sentences)
- If you did not get the job, you can ask them what you can do to strengthen your application in the future. You can apply again, there are people who get the job after applying and interviewing for 5+ times; do not give up if you really like the company. Work to show them you can learn and improve so you became a good candidate for them.
- Think of a message/ story you would like to convey. Best if the story presents you as a person who has the core values of the company. Ease your message in when asked open ended questions. Come prepared with copies of your resume, and something additional you can present, if applicable. Have a portfolio of your work: It can be school projects or open source contributions if you have no work experience.
codeococcus 