Narrative and Interviewing
If someone asks you to “Tell me about yourself” they are giving you the opportunity to say this 60-90 second spiel - _______.
Elevator Pitch
What does “Easy Apply” mean and what job board advertises this application option?
Linked-in provides this option for employers to advertise positions more visibly. It’s always a good idea to apply on the company website as well though.
True or False: When you are networking with people, you are asking them for a job?
False - Networking is not about getting a job, its not about asking for a job, it's not even about asking for referrals (until later potentially). Networking is about learning and hopefully creating warm leads that could turn into an informational interview where you can be curious and get exposure to the industry and the people in it.
If there is a skill listed in your technical skills section, where else on your resume should it be?
Your bullet points! They should incorporate all if not most of your tech stack.
What are the three buckets of the job search and our recommended percentage breakdown (per the job strategy workshop)?
1) Applications (20%)
2) Networking (30%)
3) Continued Learning (50%)
What do the letters in the STAR method stand for? And what is its purpose?
The situation, Task, Action, Response/Result. To give you a formula to effectively and concisely respond to situational and behavioral questions in interviews.
Why is it important to have a weekly application goal in the job search? / How many applications did we recommend in our previous job search workshop?
25 applications/week. Weekly application goals help us to stay consistent with applications and when it comes to the job search, consistency is what helps us keep our momentum, which is vital.
Name 3 people or titles of people you could reach out to network with on Linked-in once you’ve applied to a role at a company?
Technical Recruiter, Software Developer, Software Development Manager, CTO, Lead Software Developer, Technical Product Manager, etc.
What are two things you should avoid on your resume?
IE: personal information, columns, templates, longer than 3 pages, inconsistent formatting, possessive pronouns (I or we), charts or images, headshots etc.
When you’re focused on the ‘application bucket’ of the job search you should split your time between job searching, applying and _____________.
Follow-Up
What are two examples of questions you could ask the interviewer in your interview?
What will your average day look like? What do training and onboarding look like? What are the opportunities for professional development/learning? Can ask about the company, the role, the culture, the business needs/goals, their experience/career path, etc.
Approximately how many days should you wait until you follow up with an employer after applying? How do you follow up?
10 Days. Email, Linked-In, Phone, Referral
Name three ways you can network and/or meet people.
MeetUp Groups, Linkedin Connections, Linkedin Groups, Cold Emails (hunter.io), organically via pre-existing relationships/warm connections, hackathons, diversity groups, tech talks, etc.
Knowing your audience is important. Who or “what” will be reading your resume when you submit it? Name 3 different “audiences” that will ultimately be screening your resume.
Recruiters, ATS, Hiring Managers, etc.
Why is it important to schedule your time for the job search and to calendar your days?
It’s a proactive tool that helps to minimize stress because you know you’ve already carved out time for this very big daunting task of “the job search” each week. Being specific and setting tangible achievable micro-goals is much more satisfying and essentially eliminates all the guesswork from your schedule. You lose time switching back and forth between tasks and going down time-consuming rabbit holes. So being detailed in how you organize your time is important.
Name three places you can research the company before an interview
Company website, linked-in, Glassdoor, Pathrise, Your Network, Google Search, News Articles, etc.
What are 5 websites where you can find and apply to open job positions?
Linked-in, Indeed, Dice, Built-In, Nocsok.com, Jr.DevJobs.com, Careervault.io, angel.co, etc.
Name 2 differences between recruiters and hiring managers and what they’re looking for.
Recruiters: the messenger | generally the first touch-point |looking for key competencies and general fit | Skim your relevant skill sets/tech
Hiring Managers: the decision-maker | usually 2nd, 3rd, or 4th touch-point | looking for impacts made and how you’ll contribute to the team | Go deeper into your technical knowledge and experience
What are Impact Statements? What are the 4 pieces that it’s composed of?
A statement that showcases your skills and quantifies your experiences in such a way to show “impact” They highlight achievements and accomplishments NOT just tasks and duties.
4 components: Action Verb + What? + How? + Why?
- What: What did you do? Explain the feature, module, integration, or project piece you built!
- How: How did you do it? What technologies were utilized?
- Why: Why are you building this? Who is it for? What is the goal or business impact? What was the outcome?
What are 4 things you should be tracking in your job search?
Applications, Interviews, Offers/Rejections, Follow-up emails, Networking connections, etc.
What are three resources available to you to practice technical interviewing?
Leetcode, HackerRank, FullStack Cafe, CodeWars, pramp, Coderbyte, interviewing.io, Pathrise, Cracking the Coding Interview, Coding Dojos’ Mock Technical Interview Workshops (Hosted by Kristin Simmons)
When searching for technical positions - what kinds of position titles or roles should you be searching for to apply to? Name 3!
Web Developer, Jr. Software Engineer, Full-Stack Developer, Application Developer, Software Developer, IT Support, etc.
When connecting with people on linked-in you have 300 characters to build rapport and start a conversation - what are some things you can talk about or questions you can ask? Name 3 Ideas.
Mutual connections, similar background - ie: boot camps, common interests specific to the industry, you saw their portfolio on Github or read an article with their name, their career journey, how they like what they do, their company, etc.
Name two examples of technical lingo or jargon (not languages or frameworks) that would make your resume jump out to an employer? IE: full-stack
IE: End-to-end, full SDLC, scalable, agile, UX, CI/CD, user engagement, AB testing, minimal viable products (MVPs), process inefficiencies, build something from scratch, wire framing, etc.
What are 3 resources to help with your continuous learning?
Build New Features/Projects: Youtube Tutorials
Learn/Review New Languages: The Learn Platform
CS Fundamentals Practice Resources: LeetCode, HackerRank, FullStack Cafe, CodeWars, pramp, Coderbyte, interviewing.io, Pathrise, Cracking the Coding Interview
Interview Prep: Technical Interview Workshops with Kristin