essays

Interviews, and Getting Hired

This is a revised excerpt from a long email I sent to a college senior who wanted to know if their portfolio was up to snuff to get hired. The rub of my answer was:

  • The portfolio site itself has nearly nothing to do with it.
  • The work will ultimately open the door to an interview or not.
  • After that it’s up to you to be the right person.

The importance of soft skills in an interview

Outside of the obvious “does this person have the skills and experience to do this job,” which is generally readily obvious, employers just want to know how you tick.

“Does this person fit into our culture?” “Do they seem like they could work with so-and-so?” “Are they going to be reliable, how much do we need to hold their hand?”

It’s so hard to fire someone, so employers are taking an enormous monetary risk on someone they’re only going to get to talk to for a couple of hours, hoping that this person is going to create net-less work.

This is why spec work is so common — “code this in front of me” or “do this project overnight and come back” – they want to actually SEE you tick. They want to see how you solve a problem, if you see the same problem they do, and if you can collaborate and communicate.

The importance of showing your process

Showing your process is one of the best ways to let potential employers see exactly who you’ll be when you work with them. Demonstrating that you can go from not knowing how to do something to being able to do it is extraordinarily valuable.

“I didn’t know how to do this, so I figured it out” is the most valuable skill I want from any engineer I work with.

How to show your process

  • Demonstrate how you came to understand what problem you needed to solve.
  • Show how you found various solutions, and how you assessed each option for its viability.
  • Explain why you chose what you did.
  • Tell the story of the problems you faced implementing that solution.

  • Say what you learned and what you would have done differently.

    Using the title you want

When I was first entering the industry, it was trendy for people to say that they were “Ninjas” or “Gurus.” This trend is alive and well today, though using other language.

That this “cooler way to say the job I do” trend has persisted makes me think that it has a function. I’d interrogate yourself and ask why you don’t want to just say you are what you are (or aspire to be).

People who haven’t yet held positions often use this language, until they get a job, at which point they start saying what they are, e.g. “Software Engineer” or “Product Designer”.