csglobaltalent

Continuing Professional Development as a Leader

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 04:41:10 GMT

Leadership is often regarded as innate, and therefore formal development can be forgotten about.

If you felt 2024s job market was tough as an engineer spare a thought for the leaders of the industry, many of which would have had a hellish job search last year.

- How do you seperate one engineering leaders from a CV from another, at scale? Well, with great difficulty it turns out.

If you know the space at all, the detail is critical - and AI, or your generalist TA person, are not great at teasing it out, especially when there are hundreds of applications.

- A big challenge for people entering leadership is that it is expected to be innate. And therefore, an issue exists in continuing development in a structured way.

As an engineer the scope to learn to learn is vast, but at least defined. As a leader though, training and development outside of an MBA can be difficult to continue.

- I tell any engineer who will listen to me about 'roadmap' - I was very pleased to see they had recently completed one for ‘engineering management’.

roadmap.sh/engineering-manager

Whilst it can’t get the naughty AI talent screening bot of death to put your CV through to a hiring manager. It will help you define what to discuss on your CV, and continue learning. Defining the intangible waters of engineering leadership skills, which are so often overlooked by traditional L&D programs.

Getting Hired - Job Skills Vs Interview Skills

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 07:32:46 GMT

Are You Failing To Land Your New Your Because of Job Skills or is it Your Interview Skills?

Have you ever rejected a candidate or been rejected at interview, not because of job skills but because of interview skills?

- I think its a shame that within software engineering, an industry made up of primarily introverts that our interview processes seem to be designed to select extraverts.

A couple of examples are live coding, and behavioural interview questions.

Some people are better at live coding than others. Does an interview process that includes live coding serve people who are good at that, and punish those who aren’t? - How often do engineers do live coding in a high pressure situation, in their day-to-day job. Hopefully never right?

Behavioural questions - such as “tell me about a time you...” But then end up rejecting or being rejected because there wasn’t a good example, or often a rambling answer.

- Does this serve people who have had lots of interviews recently and have the examples ready to go, and punish those who haven’t interviewed in the last few years?

How do you account for that and hire people who are good at their jobs, rather than good at interviews?

Or is it acceptable good engineers, who are bad at interviews just fall through the net?

An Effective Interview Process

Tue, 19 Mar 2024 23:56:51 GMT

What Does an Effective and Efficient Hiring Process Look Like?

It is interesting to me how every Engineering Manager seems to do something different when they are hiring engineers for their team. ��
So what does an effective and efficient hiring process look like. What do the best companies do, and how do some places get it so wrong?

Stage One - A VC or Telephone Call for ~30-minutes

The ideal first stage is a charismatic, senior, technical person in the business who can both assess suitability of the candidate and sell the business and the opportunity to them. As an employer you want to come away from this stage knowing that this is worth the time investment of the rest of the hiring team, as well as having an applying engineer who is bought into seeing the process through. A positive assessment of the candidate doesn’t mean anything if they drop out - because the conversation was one-sided.

Stage Two - A Technical Assessment ideally in person for ~90-minutes

You might think 90-minutes is a long time. But in my experience candidates don’t mind longer interviews. What they mind is lots of repetitive interviews. Do what you need to do assess their technical suitability, but if you’re asking them to come in again for an another technical chat then you’ve not done enough here.

Stage Three - HR, Product and Culture ~30-90- minutes

Ideally conducted in person again or via VC is fine here at this stage. The idea is that you get the engineer to be assessed by the remaining key stakeholders whilst giving them an opportunity to settle any doubts, have any questions answered, and your chance to ensure they are as bought in as possible.

They should come out wanting to accept your offer, and you should be able to put an offer out after this stage - either later that day or the following morning.

Here are some key points:

Hiring has momentum -
There is a point where every candidate is happy and excited about the opportunity, that enthusiasm drops each time the process slows or feedback is delayed. An efficient hiring process enables you to secure the candidates you want, otherwise the exercise is a waste of time.
Momentum is key to that.

Technical Assessments -
Ideally after the first stage and before the second. They should be 1-2 hours long.
A technical test is the biggest factor in candidates deciding to drop out.
Why that is, is a whole new post but if you’re setting an assessment it should accomplish what you need to see, in the shortest amount of time. And your feedback should be prompt. If you ask someone to do a 2-hour assessment you need to provide feedback even if they are a no. It’s basic manners.

Everyone is concerned about their employer brand these days, and they should be. It’s the major factor in getting good engineers to apply in the first place.

How Job Descriptions Undermine Recruitment Strategy

Tue, 06 Feb 2024 04:41:13 GMT

How Job Descriptions Impact Employer Branding and Recruitment Strategy

Your job descriptions are potentially undermining your entire recruitment process. They has been a part of the recruiting landscape for decades because a lot of applicants want to read something or research before committing to apply to a role, but often job descriptions, intended as half internal, half external document don’t make compelling advertisements for your role or company.

Firstly, the real problem -

The review of the JD takes place by the candidate in isolation. Meaning the candidate will read it and self-exclude themselves. There is no opportunity to discuss it with them. And the problem with self-exclusion is you don’t know who you’re missing out on.

Is it an internal or external document? -

Use of job descriptions that have been on a drive for 5-years as document used to measure capability internally is probably okay. The problem is if the document leaves the company it will end up as a recruiting tool, some agencies may copy it onto the job boards or send it directly to candidates.

If you do send the document external it needs to be perfect, as applicants will take it literally and at face value.

From an agency standpoint, often you will have a great conversation with a candidate, send a JD if requested, and if that JD contradicts the conversation, the candidate will believe the JD and may withdraw, or be very difficult to bring back into the process. If you can even contact them again.

Your Ideal Applicant Vs The Applicants You’d Like to Apply -

So, you create a JD designed to go external. A big mistake you can make is aligning the JD against what your ideal candidate looks like.

I had a client ten years back who insisted on stating the latest version of Oracle. The client wasn’t using that version of Oracle, so why was that? Well “it’s the latest version, James. Why would I ask for something older?”

Because when candidates look at that on your JD they assume either - you’re working with it, and they’ll get to learn it. Or they need to have experience with it to apply. Neither was true in this case.

The key points are you need to mention both what you are currently using - and when discussing the criteria for an engineer to apply - it needs to align to the minimum criteria you would accept. Or applicants will self-exclude, even if you may have found them suitable.

Sounds Like a Mine Field, What Else Can I Do?

Well, it is. And the answer depends on your hiring strategy (Agencies, TA, Seek etc). All routes will be benefit by improving your employer brand.

Rather than a JD the best companies do the following:

⁃ Visible executives, providing thought leadership on the business domain or the technology they use.

⁃ Video – on your LinkedIn pages and website with high production values showing your team, your culture, engineering team, leadership etc.

⁃ Information on your website catered to people researching your business before applying to roles.

Searching for a Tech Lead/ Principal Engineer role

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 00:39:55 GMT

Finding a Tech Lead role is one of the toughest job searches you can do, especially as a Senior Engineering trying to progress in their career, and even moving from one Tech Lead job to another. That's for a few reasons.

- 'Tech lead' is an ambiguous job title. I had three clients in the same building at one point all recruiting for a 'Tech Lead', and all were completely different jobs.

- They might not even call it a Tech Lead. Whilst you may think that it is fairly obvious what the difference between a Senior Engineer, Tech Lead, Team Lead, Principal, Staff Engineer and so on are; it is actually not clearly defined company to company. ��

- Companies would normally prefer to promote someone into that position then hire externally for it.

As a Senior/ Tech Lead then, how can you navigate that? ��

- Rather then focussing on the job title, think deeply about what it is you want to do on a day-to-day basis. The clear separations you need are (1) what percentage hands-on coding are you happy with, from 0% - 100%. (2) are you looking to manage the team from a human resources perspective, or lead from a technical one. For example, if someone is sick or underperforming - do you want that to be your problem, or someone else?

- Once you know that, I would strongly recommend exploring an internal move if you can. If a company is going to hire externally for a 'tech lead' they will want someone with significant 'tech lead' (in their definition of that role) experience, not normally a Senior stepping up, unfortunately.

- If that isn’t possible, I would recommend looking for a sideways step into a business with a career path, and a proven track record of promoting senior engineers into the type of Tech Lead role that you want. Proven promotion, retention and succession planning of engineers are key indicators of a healthy engineering team.

Is the move about progressing your job title/ not taking a backwards step, moving into management and away from code, increasing your pay, or is it about shifting the focus of your role into architecture and solution design?

- If you’re not too bothered about the job title, or directly managing other engineers, you may find that there is enough variation with how companies define a senior engineer to offer you what you want.

A lot of my clients for example set a bar for a senior engineering hire at what many would considered a tech lead level elsewhere because of the focus on architecture and design. If you want to step away from purely coding, or have a bigger input into the solutioning you might be able to achieve that by finding a better Senior Engineering role, rather then thinking you need a Tech Lead role.

And it will make your job search much easier. ��

Is Rust the language for the AR/VR future?

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 01:30:33 GMT

The main application of Rust in the last 2-years has been within the AR/VR space with Meta seemingly to be a major adopter.

It is quite rare to see the creation of a programming language which captures the attention and interest of the engineering community such as we have seen with Rust. Over the last 2-years Rust users have grown from a modest 600,000 in 2020 to now over 3 million in 2023.

According to LinkedIn data there are now 1,800 brave souls who are self-proclaimed “Rust Engineers”, and a cool 91,000 engineers who mentioned Rust in their profiles.

Unsurprisingly the growth is centralised around the US with the FAANG group of businesses making up the majority of that group. That’s not to say that we can confirm they are using Rust, just that the engineers who work there are talking about Rust in their profiles.

India and the Ukraine, interestingly take second and third place.

In a recent article written on ‘The New Stack’ - https://thenewstack.io/rust-whats-next-for-the-fast-growing-programming-language/ - they interview the executive director of the Rust Foundation around the growth, who stated that the majority was from the community of C and C++ engineers, and that the most significant use case for Rust at the moment was in AR and VR applications.

It’s a good article and gets more technical than I am going to here.

Ten years ago, with Ruby on Rails, and more recently with Golang, the start-up community embraced the languages and bought them into the mainstream. There was a clear use-case for each at the time.

Meta, according to LinkedIn have one of the largest pools of engineers with Rust mentioned on their profile, at 420. With the growth of AR/VR and what seems an already enterprise scale project underway with the Metaverse, it could be a very interesting time for engineering and a great opportunity for engineers interested in AR/VR or Rust to start learning the new language ahead of the trickle down in to the start-up/ scale-up community and possible adoption across the rest of the industry.

Asking ChatGPT If It Is Going To 'Take-Our-Jobs'

Mon, 24 Jul 2023 01:33:33 GMT

We asked ChatGPT if it was going to put us all out of work. It said no, because us humans are so awesome, and irreplaceable. But then it would say that... wouldn't it?

ChatGPT vs. Human Software Engineers: Striking a Balance in the Tech World

Introduction

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has made tremendous strides in various domains, including natural language processing. One of the remarkable achievements in this field is the development of ChatGPT, an AI language model designed to generate human-like text. As ChatGPT and similar AI technologies continue to evolve, questions arise about their potential to replace human software engineers. While AI holds great promise in automating certain aspects of software development, a complete replacement of human software engineers remains a distant and uncertain possibility.

The Role of ChatGPT in Software Development

ChatGPT and its contemporaries have shown incredible capabilities in assisting software engineers. They can analyze code, suggest improvements, and even generate code snippets based on human prompts. This is particularly useful for automating repetitive tasks, reducing the burden on developers, and accelerating the development process.

ChatGPT can serve as a valuable tool for providing quick solutions and code examples. It can also help programmers find relevant documentation and resources, acting as an intelligent code assistant. Furthermore, it can facilitate knowledge sharing within the developer community by offering insights into best practices and design patterns.

Limitations of ChatGPT

As impressive as ChatGPT is, it has some inherent limitations that prevent it from fully replacing human software engineers. Firstly, while AI models like GPT-3 have been trained on vast amounts of data, they lack the true understanding and intuition that human engineers possess. They may provide accurate solutions based on patterns in the data they've seen but may struggle with novel or uncommon scenarios.

Another crucial aspect where ChatGPT falls short is ethics and critical decision-making. Software engineering involves making ethical decisions, understanding user needs, and considering various real-world implications. AI models like ChatGPT don't possess moral agency or the ability to reason ethically, making them unsuitable for handling complex ethical dilemmas in software development.

The Creative Element

Software engineering is not merely about writing lines of code; it requires creativity and innovative problem-solving. Human engineers bring a unique perspective to projects, envisioning solutions beyond what AI models can generate. Creativity is a fundamental aspect of design, user experience, and developing groundbreaking ideas, and it's challenging for AI to replicate this aspect of human ingenuity.

Collaboration between Humans and AI

Rather than replacing human software engineers, the future lies in collaboration between humans and AI. ChatGPT and other AI language models can complement human developers, empowering them to work more efficiently and creatively. By automating mundane tasks and providing code suggestions, AI can free up engineers' time, enabling them to focus on high-level design, architecture, and solving complex problems.

Additionally, AI models can learn from human engineers, continuously improving their abilities and expanding their knowledge. This iterative process of human-AI collaboration has the potential to drive innovation in software development, leading to the creation of new tools and methodologies that benefit the entire industry.

Conclusion

While AI, represented by ChatGPT, has certainly brought remarkable advancements to the field of software engineering, it is unlikely to replace human software engineers entirely. The creative, ethical, and problem-solving aspects of software development require the human touch and intuition that AI models cannot replicate. Instead, the future lies in harnessing the strengths of both humans and AI, fostering collaboration to create a more efficient, innovative, and impactful software development landscape. By embracing this synergy, developers can unlock the full potential of AI to transform the way software is developed, benefiting society as a whole.

How to Pass Your Take Home Assessment

Fri, 07 Jul 2023 02:49:00 GMT

Take home assessments are a ubiquitous part of the hiring process for software engineers. No one likes homework, but here's how to impress your prospective employer.

Take home Technical Assessments are ubiquitous in the modern hiring process. And as common as they are, they vary vastly in length and expectations. Of course, it stands to reason a prospective employer who is going to pay you handsomely to write code, will want to see your code before extending an offer to you. And so, love them or hate them, it helps to get good at them. Here are some tips to get you through.

Tip 0:

Why start at zero, I hear you say? Well, this isn’t a programming joke unfortunately. Tip Zero will hopefully help you skip Tip One. Have some code online, whether it is in GitHub, your own personal blog or site.

Many employers just want to see code you’ve written, and you might find them willing to skip the assessment if they can review your code. Just make sure it is at a standard which you feel represents your abilities. Which takes us nicely on to Tip One.

Tip 1:

If you’re being set a small project to complete, do not treat it as a problem-solving exercise. Yes, that is indeed exactly what it is, but your employer will assume the code you return will be what you would put into production if you got the job. Write production standard code. One more time, for the people at the back, do not submit code which is not production standard, or you will not progress.

Tip 2:

Okay, so now you can treat it as a problem-solving exercise. As you know in engineering there are lots of ways to solve a problem, but only a few which are considered best practice, and based on design principles such as SOLID. Solve the problem with the best practice solution, not the quickest one.

Tip 3:

Write unit tests and do documentation. Especially in the form of a ReadMe. You may run out of time doing the assessment, the ReadMe is a great place to let the employer know what you were thinking, where you wanted to take the project, how you’d improve it given time. Remember what we said about production standard code? Write your unit tests.

Tip 4:

If you’re doing a take home assessment in the form of a small project, and time allows, wait till the next day to submit your assessment. Review it again when you’re refreshed and with a clear head. You’ll spot mistakes, small things you can improve and so on. Once you’ve returned it to the agency or the employer it’s probably too late to make fixes. Take a moment if you can.

These tips are aimed at engineers completing take home assessments in a project form. Keep an eye out for tips when completing assessments in the form of quizzes like CoderByte or HackerRank.

In summary, I find the people who fail these assessments are normally trying to complete too many of them, and as a result rush it back. Or they do it last thing at night when they are already tired. Employers get very excited when they see a great assessment and you’ll find the time you spend here will make the rest of the process much easier. If it’s a job you like, consider it an investment.

Technical Testing During Interviews

Sun, 25 Jun 2023 23:41:31 GMT

As Technical Assessments growing in popularity it is critical employers find the balance between effective screening and alienating applicants with large tests.

In the process of hiring software engineers, technical assessments play a crucial role in evaluating candidates' skills and abilities. While traditional onsite interviews have their merits, take-home assessments have gained popularity due to their ability to provide a more comprehensive evaluation of a candidate's technical prowess. In this article, we will explore the best practices for conducting take-home assessments to effectively evaluate software engineers' technical skills and ensure a successful hiring process.

• Define Clear Objectives and Scope:

Before designing a take-home assessment, it is essential to establish clear objectives and define the scope of the test. Clearly outline the key technical skills and competencies you are seeking in a software engineer. Determine the level of complexity and the time frame within which the assessment should be completed. Providing explicit guidelines and expectations will help candidates understand the requirements and focus their efforts accordingly.

• Create Realistic and Relevant Assignments:

Develop assignments that closely simulate real-world scenarios and challenges that software engineers are likely to encounter in their role. Tailor the assessment to match the specific needs of your company and the position you are hiring for. Consider incorporating tasks that assess coding skills, problem-solving abilities, system design, algorithmic thinking, and software architecture. Ensure the assessment accurately reflects the technical challenges your engineers will face in their day-to-day work.

• Set Reasonable Time Constraints:

While it is important to challenge candidates, it is equally crucial to set reasonable time constraints for completing the assessment. Avoid creating a test that is overly time-consuming or unrealistic to complete within the given timeframe. Strive for a balance that allows candidates to showcase their skills without causing undue stress or compromising the quality of their work. Consider providing a suggested time range to guide candidates in managing their time effectively.

• Provide Clear Instructions and Resources:

When distributing the take-home assessment, provide clear instructions on the expectations, submission process, and any specific requirements. Clearly communicate the evaluation criteria and how candidates will be assessed. Consider providing access to relevant resources, such as documentation, APIs, or libraries that they can use during the assessment. This ensures candidates have the necessary information to complete the assignment effectively and showcases their ability to utilize available resources.

• Evaluate Consistently and Objectively:

Establish a structured evaluation process to ensure consistency and objectivity in assessing candidates' submissions. Create a rubric or scoring system that aligns with the defined objectives and criteria. Assign multiple evaluators if possible, allowing for diverse perspectives and reducing biases. Provide feedback to candidates, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. This not only helps candidates understand their performance but also demonstrates transparency and professionalism in the hiring process.

• Balance with Follow-Up Interviews:

While take-home assessments provide valuable insights into a candidate's technical skills, it is essential to complement them with follow-up interviews. Use interviews to delve deeper into the candidate's approach, decision-making process, and problem-solving strategies. This combination of take-home assessments and interviews provides a more holistic evaluation of a candidate's technical abilities, interpersonal skills, and cultural fit within the company.

Take-home assessments offer a practical and effective means of evaluating the technical abilities of software engineers during the hiring process. By defining clear objectives, designing relevant assignments, setting reasonable time constraints, providing instructions and resources, ensuring consistent evaluation, and balancing with follow-up interviews, companies can effectively assess candidates' technical skills and make informed hiring decisions. Leveraging these best practices will enhance your recruitment process and increase the likelihood of finding software engineers who are the right fit for your organisation's technical requirements.

Tips To Retain Your Engineers

Sun, 25 Jun 2023 23:32:23 GMT

The cost of losing skilled engineers is not limited to recruitment expenses but also includes the loss of valuable knowledge and productivity

In today's highly competitive job market, retaining talented software engineers has become a crucial challenge for companies. The cost of losing skilled engineers is not limited to recruitment expenses but also includes the loss of valuable knowledge and productivity. To build a strong and stable team, companies need to focus on employee retention strategies tailored specifically to software engineers. In this article, we will explore key approaches that can help companies retain their software engineering talent.

• Create a Positive Work Culture:

A positive work culture is essential for retaining software engineers. Foster an environment that promotes open communication, collaboration, and respect. Encourage autonomy, innovation, and personal growth. Recognize and reward achievements, whether through promotions, bonuses, or other forms of appreciation. By cultivating a supportive and engaging work culture, you can motivate software engineers and make them feel valued, reducing the likelihood of seeking opportunities elsewhere.

• Provide Challenging and Meaningful Work:

Software engineers thrive on intellectual challenges and the opportunity to work on meaningful projects. Ensure that engineers have access to exciting and stimulating work that aligns with their interests and skill sets. Allow them to take ownership of projects and contribute their ideas. Encourage experimentation and provide avenues for professional development, such as training programs or conferences, to help them continuously learn and grow in their careers.

• Offer Competitive Compensation and Benefits:

Competitive compensation is crucial for retaining top software engineering talent. Stay updated with market trends and adjust salaries accordingly to remain competitive. Additionally, consider offering attractive benefits packages that go beyond traditional healthcare and retirement plans. Benefits like flexible work hours, remote work options, stock options, and performance-based bonuses can significantly enhance employee satisfaction and loyalty.

• Foster Work-Life Balance:

Software engineers often face demanding workloads and tight deadlines, which can lead to burnout and a desire to seek alternative employment. Encourage work-life balance by promoting reasonable working hours and discouraging excessive overtime. Provide support for personal commitments and time off when needed. Implement policies that prioritise employee well-being, such as mental health programs, wellness initiatives, and sabbatical opportunities, allowing engineers to recharge and maintain a healthy work-life equilibrium.

• Enable Career Growth Opportunities:

Software engineers are highly motivated by the prospect of professional advancement. Offer clear and achievable career paths within the organization. Provide opportunities for engineers to expand their skills, take on leadership roles, or participate in cross-functional projects. Regularly conduct performance evaluations and provide constructive feedback to help engineers identify areas for improvement and set goals. By investing in their career growth, you demonstrate your commitment to their development and incentivise them to stay with the company.

Retaining software engineers requires a multifaceted approach that encompasses a positive work culture, challenging work assignments, competitive compensation and benefits, work-life balance, and career growth opportunities. By implementing these strategies, companies can foster an environment where software engineers feel valued, motivated, and committed to the organization's long-term success. Remember, retaining talent is an ongoing effort, so consistently review and adapt your retention strategies to meet the evolving needs of your software engineering team.

The Best Keyboards For Software Engineers

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 04:14:32 GMT

203 mechanical keyboards tested. Scores provided for general office AND programming use.

Check it out - rtings.com

You might not be the best engineer in the team, but at least your keyboard is better then their's.

Roadmap.sh - A great resource for career planning

Sat, 24 Jun 2023 04:00:01 GMT

A career in Software Engineering and technology in general is a career of continuous learning and improvement. Check out this resource.

https://roadmap.sh/

A resource I highly recommend for your career planning. It gives you a clear 'roadmap' of technologies you need to learn and concepts to familiarise yourself with. Whether your ambition is to be a complete engineer, or to transition to a new area.

This is an opensource collab on GitHub and is continuously expanding. Enjoy.

Using STAR To Answer Interview Questions

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 02:12:05 GMT

As you progress in your career, from technical to leadership you’ll find that the weighting of interviews move from purely technical questions to behavioural ones.

Interviews can be a daunting prospect, especially if you’ve not done one in a long time. The good news is, interviews are something you can practice, prepare for and get really good at.

As you progress in your career, from technical to leadership you’ll find that the weighting of interviews move from purely technical questions to behavioural ones. Behavioural Interview questions are the standard format of a structured interview, and are looking for you to tell the interviewer about something that occurred in the past and how you handled it. An example might be ‘tell me about a time you had difficulties with a co-worker’.

The trouble with behavioural interview questions is that the answer isn’t necessarily tangible, and even though you might know what you want to say, or what you think the interviewer is looking for, expressing it well can be difficult for a few reasons.

Firstly, the interviewer isn’t just looking for the outcome , they are looking for how you went about finding the solution.

Secondly, because you’re potentially nervous or perhaps not used to talking about things like this it can be difficult to know if you’re answering the question well, and when to stop talking. This is especially relevant if the interviewer isn’t giving you much feedback during the interview.

The Gold Standard of providing answers to behavioural interview questions is called the STAR method. Situation, Task, Action, Result. What it achieves is it tells all the important parts of the example whilst providing a structure to your answer and an endpoint, so you know when you’ve answered the question well enough.

Here are some tips to help you structure STAR answers to behavioural questions:

Prepare for the Interview:

Before the interview, think about the skills and experiences that are relevant to the job you are applying for. A behavioural interview question will always ask for an example of something that happened in the past – and will almost certainly be relevant to the job or interview. There are only a certain amount of topics they can cover, so you can prepare very effectively.

Describe the Situation:

When answering a behavioural interview question, start by describing the situation or challenge you faced. Make sure to provide enough context for the interviewer to understand the situation.

Explain the Task:

Next, describe the task or objective you were trying to accomplish in that situation. Be specific and describe the goal in a clear and concise manner.

Outline the Action you took:

Describe the specific actions you took to achieve the task or overcome the challenge. Focus on what you did and what steps you took, rather than what the team or others did.

Highlight the Result:

Finally, emphasise the result or outcome of your actions. Make sure to quantify the results, if possible. For example, “As a result of my efforts, sales increased by 20% in one quarter.” This will show the interviewer the impact you had.

The purpose of the STAR format is to deliver an example in an impressive and succinct way which demonstrates to the interviewer that you can think and communicate in a structured manner. You should be prepared for the interviewer to go into more detail with you about your answer.

Finally, in my experience successful interviews are conversational. You want to keep your answer succinct, and impactful. Avoid going into a monologue, you should use your interviewers body language and non-verbal queues to know when to wrap it up.

How To Pass A Cultural Interview

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 02:05:01 GMT

When it comes to writing code, you might be the best engineer in town, but these days that is not enough on its own to get you in the door at a prospective company.

The cultural interview, from its origins of a being a bit of a rubber-stamping exercise, has now transformed into a stage which is seen as critical and non-negotiable. It is given equal weighting as a technical stage, and unless you can do both well it could have a substantial impact on your career.

The good news is cultural interviews, like technical ones, are something that you prepare for and get good at. Here are some tips to give you the edge.

Do your research:

Before the interview, research the company’s mission, values, and culture. Look for information on the company’s website, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn, and be prepared to discuss how you align with the company’s culture during the interview. Look at who your interviewers are, where they have worked and if you know anyone or have anything in common.

Have some Interesting Questions Prepared:

People love answering intelligent, original questions. A good interview question can be an opportunity to impress the interviewer with both your intelligence, and insight into the business. This is your chance to shine.

Prepare some things you want to talk about before-hand, don’t expect to come up with something on the spot. And of course, if there is something which will influence your decision to take the role, now is the time to discuss it.

You absolutely must ask a question at the end of an interview if given the opportunity. I have seen interviews successfully passed based on excellent questions, and I have seen interviews fail as a result of not having one to ask.

Prepare for the likely subjects that will come up:

Although initially it may seem a very broad topic, a structured cultural interview will only a cover a few defined areas. The questions may vary, but will cover the same subject. If you’ve thought about what you’re going to talk about in each space, you won’t have to improvise too much.

Questions exploring why you’ve decided to move on .

You should have a crystal-clear idea about why you’re moving, and you should be prepared to talk about it concisely. Also, things in your current role may have left you frustrated, but this is not the time to get everything off your chest . Be political and be succinct.

Questions exploring what you're looking for

This is where any research you’ve done will come in helpful, this is a good opportunity to talk about something at a deeper level about the company’s mission, the people you’ve met or the technology you’ll be working with. The key part here is to be genuine with your answer and be prepared to talk about with conviction.

Questions exploring what you’re like to work with

This is the domain of the interview favourite ‘what is your biggest weakness?’, or ‘tell me about a time you didn’t agree with a co-worker’

As you may have come to realise, what the interviewer is looking for is that you’re self-aware, and that your ego allows you to be open minded.

It is important you come across as someone who is flexible and pragmatic. Newer companies especially will want to see that you’re comfortable working with some ambiguity.

Be aware of your communication:

Both verbal and non-verbal. Make sure you have open body language, sit-up straight, make eye contact, be engaged and employ active listening techniques.

Also be aware of how much you’re talking. You should avoid going into a monologue. You can use the other person’s body language and expressions to give you an idea of when to wrap an answer up. Remember; the best interviews are conversations.

If you want to avoid over-talking and to ensure you give examples in a succinct and impactful way, look at using the STAR method which we’ve discussed before on this blog.

Show your enthusiasm:

If you are genuinely interested, you should let the interviewers know when the right time presents itself in the interview. If the interviewer feels that you’re perhaps not keen on the position it may negatively affect the outcome of the interview. This is not the time to play hard to get. Businesses are looking to hire people who are keen on the role, and excited to take up the opportunity.

Five Tips To Write A Software Engineering CV

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 01:43:06 GMT

The very first step in the hiring process, it is critical to get this document right. Although often overlooked it can be the difference between getting a job or not.

If you’ve found yourself staring at that word document in the depths of your hard-drive, last open in 2018, here are 5-tips to putting a CV together that is going to serve you well in your job search.

The Importance of Having a Good CV

Whilst the topic of CVs can be a bit of a bore, they are still critically important when looking for a role.

The reason is that although they are the very first step in the hiring process, they are often read in complete isolation, when there is no other information on the engineer available. The initial hiring decision of – ‘do I contact this person?’ – can be based purely on that document.

Of course, you may not even get feedback, especially if you’re applying directly to companies on Seek. You may not have a chance to explain things, and because of these reasons it is critical that you feel the document you send forward is the best representation of you.

1. Be Specific and Detailed When Describing Your Recent Roles

Most recruiters can scan a CV and in a few seconds know whether it is likely to be a good match for a role. They do that by looking for specific things:

Is This Persons Experience Relevant to the Things I am Looking For?

The mistake a lot of engineers make in their CV is that they stop short at just mentioning specific technologies they have worked with.

To a lot of the best engineering teams however, specific languages are seen as less important, compared to how you approach an engineering problem , design a solution, and follow engineering best practice. Mentioning architectures such as microservices, event driven and demonstrating that you have a good understanding of solution design based on SOLID design principles is great, as is any experience working with message queueing.

What hiring managers are looking for especially though, is that you have good knowledge and use of Design Patterns such as CQRS – but this especially is often something that engineers omit from mentioning. There are tonnes of other examples, but the key point is to talk in sufficient detail about how you go about doing things, why you do them, and about your projects, don't just list technologies.

What is this persons average tenure?

If you’ve had a number of short roles recruiters and hiring managers may assume that you’ve not been successful in them. So if you’ve been on contracts, you should state that. Also, don’t just mention the years, you should specify the months as well. There is a big difference between 2021-2022 and Jan 2021 and Dec 2022. You might even mention the tenure specifically – if you’ve worked somewhere for 3-years, state it. Don’t assume someone will work it out correctly - a tenure appearing shorter than it is, happens quite often.

2. Forget the 2-Page Rule

Very rarely have I seen a CV rejected for being too long. It is very common for CVs to be rejected by a recruiter or hiring manager for not being detailed enough, however.

Your priority should be to get the required detail that I have mentioned above, into your last five years of work, or the last three roles, whichever is longest. After that summarise the previous roles if you like. Don’t feel that you need to squeeze your experience into the document to the point you’re not including the relevant things you have done.

3. Reverse Chronological Order, etc

Make sure the information is in the order of relevance, and what is important to the reader. Without a doubt the most important thing that a hiring manager is looking for is your last role, and the five years or so before that. Many people are scrolling past your summary and anything else you’ve written as-quick-as- a-mouse-wheel-can-spin to get to it as soon as they open the document.

4. Do Not Over Engineer It

Companies and recruitment agencies often have processes where they will need to attach a coversheet or omit some information due to internal processes or policies.

You should not make things difficult by including excessive tables, images and logos which make your document impossible and time consuming to edit. Your CV should be easy to read, and easy to navigate, less-is-more.

5. Do Some QA

Make sure you’ve used the same font and size throughout. You'll have trouble convincing a hiring manager you’re a $200k p/a engineer if you can’t run spell check in Word.

Sometimes an agency will run spell check for you, and sometimes - if it is really bad, the agency won't send you to the client if it’s evident you’ve no attention to detail.

Spelling mistakes and carelessness in such an important document will have caused many a good engineer to miss out on an opportunity.

How To Pass a Whiteboard Interview

Fri, 23 Jun 2023 01:34:42 GMT

Companies find it assesses desirable traits in an engineer which may not be apparent from a more traditional technical interview

Whiteboard interviews are becoming an increasingly popular part of the process when companies look to hire software engineers.

The reason for their growth in popularity is because companies find it assesses desirable traits in an engineer which may not be apparent from a more traditional technical interviewing format.

There are three key areas:

Firstly , an engineer’s capability within architecture and solution design. A technical interview asks how you do something; where a whiteboard interview explores why.

Secondly a candidate’s thought process and how they approach a problem.

Finally, the candidates communication skills, and most importantly how they interact with other people and take on feedback to work through a problem pragmatically.

Once you know what Whiteboard interviews look to assess, we can better prepare for them, and ultimately progress through that stage of the assessment.

Practice and Prepare:

The key to performing well in a Whiteboard interview is to practice.

Most Whiteboard interviews look at solution design and architecture as the main component, so your answers should relate back to SOLID design principles, good system architecture, suitable design patterns and so forth. They are looking to see you understand modern concepts and best practice.

Some Whiteboard interviews will ask you to solve a coding challenge. You can prepare for this by practicing coding problems on a whiteboard or a piece of paper at home, and make sure you practice explaining your thought process out loud. This will help you become more comfortable with the format of the interview and allow you to work on your communication skills.

Listen carefully to the interviewer:

During a whiteboard interview, it is crucial to listen carefully to the interviewer's questions and feedback. Make sure you understand the problem statement and any constraints or requirements. Repeating it back to them is a great way to check what you're being asked to do.

If the interviewer provides feedback or asks questions, make sure you address them and incorporate them into your solution. If any part of the instructions are unclear, ask questions until you understand. It is better to ask questions then to start solving the wrong problem.

Communicate effectively:

Communication is a crucial skill in a whiteboard interview. Make sure you explain your thought process clearly and concisely, and use proper terminology when describing your solution. If you are asked to write code, make sure you write it neatly and legibly, and comment on any sections that may be unclear.

Break down the problem:

When faced with a problem in a whiteboard interview, it can be helpful to break it down into smaller parts. This will help you identify the key components of the problem and come up with a more efficient solution. Make sure you explain your thought process as you go, and ask for feedback from the interviewer if necessary.

All systems go?:

If you're doing it online, make sure you have all the links you need and that they work. Also that your computer, camera and microphone all work at least a day before the interview, not 30-seconds before you join the call.

If you're attending an office in person, leave plenty of time so you're not rushing or flustered when you arrive.