For over 4 years, MichiÂganÂLabs has hired AssoÂciate DevelÂopÂers who are typÂiÂcalÂly in colÂlege or are new to softÂware develÂopÂment. Our goals have always been to help menÂtor them, treat them the same as any othÂer team memÂber, and have them directÂly conÂtribute to projects we’re pasÂsionÂate about. As we’ve improved our interÂviewÂing processÂes overÂall and are being more open about how we hire, I wantÂed to share this post in colÂlabÂoÂraÂtion with Rohit Kartha, one of our newest 2023 AssoÂciate DevelÂopÂers. We’ll be lookÂing at highÂly actionÂable advice, techÂniÂcalÂly and behavÂioralÂly, for anyÂone lookÂing to apply to our AssoÂciate proÂgram in the future, and what they each mean to us interÂnalÂly. Rohit will start us off with behavÂioral prep advice, and David will respond.
BehavÂioral prep #
Rohit Kartha — AssoÂciate SoftÂware Developer
DurÂing the interÂview process, and typÂiÂcalÂly before any techÂniÂcal interÂview, behavÂioral quesÂtions are asked to get a betÂter underÂstandÂing of the appliÂcant and assess their fit for a role. In my opinÂion, answers to these quesÂtions are best unpremedÂiÂtatÂed. In othÂer words, it’s a good idea to think of what types of behavÂioral quesÂtions might come up, but preparÂing a script or memÂoÂrizÂing exact responsÂes to comÂmon quesÂtions should be avoidÂed. I usuÂalÂly aim to keep this porÂtion of the interÂview casuÂal and conÂverÂsaÂtionÂal by knowÂing broadÂly what I’m going to say, but not how I’m going to say it. There are countÂless blogs that conÂtain popÂuÂlar behavÂioral interÂview quesÂtions that might be worthÂwhile to look at. It’s a great idea to have a couÂple of talkÂing points ready for these comÂmon questions.
David CrawÂford — SoftÂware Developer
There’s no quesÂtion that the longer your career is, and the more expeÂriÂences you’ve had, the easÂiÂer behavÂioral quesÂtions are to answer both natÂuÂralÂly and with litÂtle prepaÂraÂtion. BehavÂioral quesÂtions are best answered with stoÂries that exemÂpliÂfy whatÂevÂer the answer to the quesÂtion might be. That being said, for our AssoÂciate proÂgram, we underÂstand that this could be your first job and that you likeÂly haven’t worked in softÂware develÂopÂment before. So how can you draw from expeÂriÂence withÂout havÂing experience?
HavÂing a portÂfoÂlio of projects done on your own can help bridge this gap. When asked about how you deal with chalÂlenges, use the chalÂlenges you’ve faced on your own perÂsonÂal projects. We also recÂomÂmend using school as examÂples, such as detailÂing how you navÂiÂgatÂed a difÂfiÂcult group project, or a tight deadÂline. EveryÂthing you expeÂriÂence in life conÂtributes to your behavÂiors, and that’s preÂciseÂly what you should draw from durÂing a behavÂioral interview.
Rohit’s advice about keepÂing the interÂview casuÂal and conÂverÂsaÂtionÂal is imporÂtant. Our goal isn’t to ask you trick quesÂtions, but to have a conÂverÂsaÂtion about who you are. Be honÂest about your strengths and weakÂnessÂes, and be able to articÂuÂlate how you manÂage them.
PreparÂing for the TechÂniÂcal InterÂview #
The MichiÂganÂLabs techÂniÂcal interÂview helps us underÂstand how you approach probÂlems. It involves a probÂlem that can be realÂisÂtiÂcalÂly solved in day-to-day develÂopÂment. We want to know if you have enough of a founÂdaÂtion to underÂstand and apply data strucÂtures, and that you can comÂmuÂniÂcate your thought process to us.
Although the thought of a techÂniÂcal interÂview might seem intimÂiÂdatÂing at first, there are sevÂerÂal resources out there to help preÂpare for a codÂing interÂview. Here are some that I perÂsonÂalÂly used before interÂviewÂing with MichiganLabs:
LeetÂcode — The wideÂly known platÂform, with over 2500 codÂing interÂview probÂlems, is a great way to pracÂtice workÂing through the types of quesÂtions asked in a typÂiÂcal techÂniÂcal interÂview. TakÂing a data strucÂtures and algoÂrithms course before comÂpletÂing pracÂtice probÂlems on LeetÂcode is extremeÂly benÂeÂfiÂcial, as sevÂerÂal of the probÂlems are based on the usage of basic data strucÂtures. When comÂpletÂing probÂlems, it is often imporÂtant to look for patÂterns rather than comÂpletÂing probÂlems in a ranÂdom order. Leet​code​.io is a great resource for focusÂing on comÂmon probÂlem patÂterns and the Blind 75 comÂpiÂlaÂtion is a great startÂing point for comÂmon probÂlems asked in techÂniÂcal interviews.
For our AssoÂciate proÂgram, we’re not lookÂing for masÂtery of techÂniÂcal skills. We underÂstand that this may be your first develÂopÂment job, or that you’re still in colÂlege and learnÂing. We’re instead deeply interÂestÂed in how you approach someÂthing unknown, what type of quesÂtions you ask, and how you break down a probÂlem. LeetÂcode, and othÂer algoÂrithm pracÂtice soluÂtions, are great at framÂing your mind around how a comÂplex codÂing probÂlem can be broÂken down into manÂageÂable comÂpoÂnents. We want to see that you can logÂiÂcalÂly folÂlow a probÂlem, and talk through, oftenÂtimes with pseuÂdo code, what you would do if you had more time outÂside the interview.
Pramp — SomeÂtimes overÂlooked, the pracÂtice of explainÂing your own thought process and comÂmuÂniÂcatÂing the approach to a givÂen probÂlem is extremeÂly imporÂtant in the techÂniÂcal porÂtion of an interÂview. Pramp is a webÂsite that pairs appliÂcants up and proÂvides a colÂlabÂoÂraÂtive enviÂronÂment for a mock interÂview. The enviÂronÂment is extremeÂly simÂiÂlar to what one expeÂriÂences durÂing a techÂniÂcal interview.
If you don’t have a lot of expeÂriÂence with interÂviews, findÂing soluÂtions like Pramp to fill that gap is imporÂtant. Everyone’s day-to-day at MichiÂganÂLabs involves explainÂing our thought processÂes to each othÂer or to clients. Because of this, we want to know that you can articÂuÂlate quesÂtions you have for your menÂtor, explain what you’re workÂing on to a client, and comÂmuÂniÂcate well with your team. Take advanÂtage of mock interÂviews at your colÂlege, or use Pramp to pracÂtice with othÂer develÂopÂers. Even though you may not get all the feedÂback you want, what realÂly matÂters is getÂting into the mindÂset of comÂmuÂniÂcatÂing your thoughts out loud.
ConÂcluÂsion #
We want AssoÂciate DevelÂopÂers who are comÂfortÂable articÂuÂlatÂing their thoughts, who know how to break a conÂcept into manÂageÂable pieces, and who love softÂware develÂopÂment. We underÂstand that you may not have a lot of expeÂriÂence in this field and that you’re still posÂsiÂbly in colÂlege. What we offer you is a place to learn, a menÂtor who can help guide you, and an opporÂtuÂniÂty to develÂop softÂware for, and directÂly comÂmuÂniÂcate with our clients.
If this interÂests you, look out for our next openÂing in the AssoÂciate DevelÂopÂer proÂgram, and folÂlow Rohit’s advice. We would love to hear from you!
LatÂer this year, Rohit and David will conÂtinÂue this conÂverÂsaÂtion through more blog posts tarÂgetÂing application/​resume advice, and finalÂly a retÂroÂspecÂtive on Rohit’s project experience.
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