I discussed in a previous post some of the effective tactics needed to find the perfect dream job. That is really only part of the story. At some point you are going to have to interview for the position and the entire interview process can be pretty demanding for a software development position. So what should you expect? In general, the company will want to do a preliminary phone interview to gain a quick feeling of your personality, background, and oral skills. If you get passed the phone stage then a congratulations is in order.

Getting passed the phone interview is the hardest portion of the interview process in my opinion. You are given a minimal opportunity to make a lasting impact on the interviewers mind. Once the phone interview is finished you tend to have no idea how it went as the interviewers are unusually emotionless. If this happens to you, do not worry this is very common. Just sit back and wait to here if you passed this round of interviewing.

The next stage of interviewing can either be another round of phone interviews, but more than likely they will fly you out to visit the facility you will be working at. The interviews from here are by those that will be working with you directly if you are offered the position. These interviews are directed at personality and behavioral questions. Common questions you will be asked are how you dealt with some problem, something related to working in a team environment, overcoming a disagreement with a coworker, and you goals. There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. The most important thing they are looking for are honest answers. When asked any of the questions, if you do not know the answer simply tell them that. I tend to ask for the answer if I do not know the answer. This is so I will know it if I am asked again in another interview and also because it shows the interviewer that I am interested in learning. I cannot stress not making things up in interviews. Talking with friends who preform interviews for their companies, you would not believe some of the “fluff” that goes into stories and answers. They will see right through this and you effectively killed your chances of getting that position.

In my next post I will talk about some of the common technical questions you will be asked and other information regarding the type of questions you will receive about your resume.

Update: Part 2 of this series has been posted.