I just got back from a four day weekend in Portland. Since I have a good friend in the program to stay with, I get to make the trip out there into a mini-vacation and I love it. Her people tend to be my kind of people and it’s so great and so relaxing. Someday we may even figure out if her roommate and I are related too. 🙂
I’m really only even casually looking at these because I do have a job that I like with a team that I love. I’m in it for the networking mostly. I am, however, genuinely interested in learning more about companies in attendance – what they are about, what sort of development they do, and what long term opportunities they offer. Naturally, I’m also working on my own interview skills throughout all of this. No one ever wants to stumble into the situation of needing a job and being terrible at interviewing! CS interviews are hard enough without the additional hurdles of the social part of the process.
A classmate and former group member noted that I was really “on point” with a specific company and I told him, “the trick is to not give a shit,” meaning don’t be afraid of failing. When/if you are looking to make a big career change like most of my classmates are, it’s hard to remember that it’s ok to fail. Not everyone is going to love you and that’s perfectly normal! It’s not that you don’t care because you don’t want a job offer from them, but an interview is as much for you to interview them as it is for them to interview you. You don’t want to end up somewhere that you are going to be miserable. So, with that being said, I have a few quick tips for any interview you find yourself in:
- Be yourself – but be sure to keep it PG 🙂
- Be prepared:
- Resume copies
- Research the company or companies
- Bring questions for them
- Find a way to connect your past experience to what they do
As an added bonus, once I was being interviewed by [a company] and they gave out some interview prep questions and I made myself a crib sheet based on their questions. I’ve never nailed phone interview questions quite like I felt I did that time, but I still lacked confidence and it showed. They interviewed me again several months later and offered me a job but I had to decline on account of the pay. However, this crib sheet knowledge has stuck with me since then. If you have the opportunity, make one!