Hi you all, last week I had the opportunity of been interviewed for a front end job and i blew it but i did learn a thing on another and i'd like to share this with you.
My mistakes
Not preparing for a code test.
- So, that's basic i know but i was hoping for a hey man what you do on your free time interview and then came the test which was pretty simple but due to the nervousness and lack of training i wasn't able to finish it in time.
Lack of confidence
- Even so, i'm currently a junior developer, i study everyday and have a base but at the interview i let this fear take over and skip answering a lot of questions only because i didn't think i knew the exactly answer.
Weak language knowledge
- Yeah that's also basic but its a fact this interview showed me that i never should stop learning the vanilla and keep updating myself with language concepts especially functional ones.
Not asking questions
- This is not new for me at least, you have to ask a lot of questions, in this particular case i was nervous and let it pass.
What i've learned from it
It's all about controlling emotions
- Hey i know it might be your dream job but keep it together bro.
Train train train
- We have to really train our a**es off coding interview challenges, will help not only on interviews but on problem resolution as well.
Never skip the basic
- For work i had to learn react alongside JS i felt at this interview the tech debt i had to cut and study the basic was really big. build the strongest foundation you can.
The interviewer is not your enemy
- He'll know you're under a lot of pressure and that's not your regular performance so we have to try and chill a bit.
Some of Ricardo's(my interviewer) tips
Books
Basic books he told me to read.
Head first JavaScript (Awesome book and its illustrated)
Clean code (Reading this one, heavy but worth it)
You Don't Know JS (Available free here)
Train
Focus on only one Lib/Framework
- As beginners it's really hard to try and learn everything so focusing on one lib like react for example should be the path to go with the career begin.
Final thoughts
Of course, it's frustrating to fail an interview but the feedback helps us to move to next more and more prepared, i'm thankful for having the opportunity to experience this and will work on the tips received to get better to the next, i really hoping by sharing this i can help someone get better results. I also would like to thank Ricardo Luz to give me this feedback and letting me share this with you, don't forget to check out his Linkedin it has awesome content. Leave a comment if you have some tips to share with me too and that's it.
Happy coding
Top comments (17)
Don't "control" (= inhibit) your emotions. Don't try to learn or know everything.
Do study the basics - everything in comp. sci. are layers on top of layers. So if you know the layers below, it's easy to teach you the next one.
Do learn to communicate better about your current experience and the needs of the business.
What value can you add today, how can you do that specifically, whose work in the team will elevate yours? Ask them. "Writing code" is not a value, it's a pastime. Writing code can create value, but then the important question is what you're building with your code.
When you know what needs to be built (e.g. a SaaS API product to be built), you know where your skills can be applied today, and in turn that also tells you the value of your work (i.e. how much you can charge).
The reason you failed the interview is not because you are missing anything, but because the business couldn't see where, and how, you could contribute more value than they'd pay you today.
Even someone that doesn't know anything about code can be a worthwhile hire if there is work to be done that they can learn as they go. Documenting code, writing reports, code testing, evaluating/comparing business tech needs/options, ... Maybe they even aggregate the most important, immediately applicable, learnings and share them w/ the team - increasing the total value of the team while learning on the job. Get results.
Never assume the business understands its own business completely. They generally don't. It's all very complex (lots of layers) with everyone trying to defend their own interests, which is why these "pitch yourself, convince us" interviews are even a thing. Be patient, respectful, understand your position in the chain of productivity, and explain it to them in a thoughtful way in the interview.
Wow thank you for this orientation appreciate
I'm glad it helps.
Something I forgot to add: Don't lose your passion for learning.
That drive to learn how things work, build new things or old things in new ways, write articles about what you learned, ... Those are all you and they're great attributes to have and cultivate.
Grow those for yourself if it's who you are, but never forget a business is a business - they're looking for ROI, not for passion.
So protect yours.
When a business finds passion, it tends to squeeze it for everything it has, burning people out without ever paying them more for the extra wealth they created for the business' owner.
Learn things, understand them, manage yourself. And remember to have fun.
It may also be that you need different places/people for each of those things.
It also happened to me like two month ago, But my key mistake was with my lack of confidence. However, it's great having good feedback from the interviewer, it helps a lot.
Thanks for sharing with us your story.
But hey! Atleast you got a well written blog post out of this! 📯
I know you will crack the interview the next time!
Thank you so much for the feedback :). Will do
About the "Not asking questions"
It's better to have them thought beforehand and written.
This would help: github.com/viraptor/reverse-interview
Thanks for the suggestion I'll read it.
Excelente sigue adelante
muchas gracias :)
I know this feeling well. Keep going!
Thank you, will do
Hi, Nice article. Could not find the book 'Use your head JavaScript" could you give a link please?
Hey man so sorry I meant head first JavaScript, translations issues thanks for bringing that up. And here's your link: amazon.com/Head-First-JavaScript-P...
Many 🚂 in this article.
Amazing post! Thank you to share it with us
Great post! Very valuable information to share, so thank you.