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Hello folks,

My roomie will be having his first job interview in...say...ever, and has no idea what to expect. He works in software QA. What should he be on the lookout for? Here's a few that popped into my noggin.

1. The good ole tell me about yourself
2. Why do you want to work for our company
3. What do you want to be doing in 5 years
4. What makes you the best candidate for the job


That's all I gots for now. Any other oddball questions/interview tips?

1. The good ole tell me about yourself
Less is more here. Make it short and sweet

2. Why do you want to work for our company
Opportunity, my future and because it is the best company in its field.

3. What do you want to be doing in 5 years
I hope to still be here. (even though that's a lie)

4. What makes you the best candidate for the job
"Because I *am* the best candidate, and I will prove it."

Dont forget the other routine questions such as:

"tell us about a challenging situation and how you resolved it"

"what are your strengths and weaknesses?"

also try googling "interview questions for IT jobs"
Good luck

Hey there, I have conducted many software industry interviews and i can tell you a few of the key things i look for.

Passion - if you dont love what you'll do, you likley wont do a great job.

honesty - be yourself. And by all means dont try to bs an answer. Sometimes i keep pushing with really hard questions just to see when or if someone will say something like 'i dont know but i could learn and find out' or something. i know if they bs me they arent a good fit.

smarts. if you are looking for a software job, be ready to code and have your skillz sharp. fibonnaci iterative and recursive and ready to explain the diff perf wise for starters.

Creativity is another biggie...

it all depends on the job and company. I rarely ask straightforward questions like 'tell me your biggest weakness' just to hear the candidate say ' i care too much'. its a waste of precious interview time. The main thing is be honest, open and yourself, get plenty of rest, sharpen your skills and just go for it!

Also if its one of those crazy 5 interviews in a row kind of things, throw a bottle of water and cliff par in your bag to recharge between sessions.

good luck!

I will assume that he is technically competant.

Your roomie must be able to convey an ability to communicate. He must able express the capability to translate verbal and written requests into software code that will achieve the desired result.

Non-software / non-technical managers often don't know what their vision is or can be, thus your roomie should be able to help people achieve their vision through proper code.


key phrases:
'willing to work until the job is done'
'I excercise my talents and learn from the experts around me'

Good luck to your roommate.....remember:

TAKE NO PRISONERS!

I have gone through six interviews in the last three years. I gave umpteen interviews when I was an IT manager during 2003-2004. My impressions:

Scenario questions are really popular nowadays. "Tell me about a challenging situation and how you resolved it." "Give me an example of how you satisfied an unhappy customer." "Tell me about a time when you wanted to beat the piss out of your co-workers."

Technical questions will be either be incredibly detailed or completely absent. Some places will grill you about the most obscure aspects of whatever software/hardware you use. Others won't even ask if you can turn a computer on. There's almost no in-between.

Emphasize your soft skills. You would be amazed at how many Rain Men are working in IT. Employers don't always ask about people skills, but they'll drool if you tell them about your ability to write proposals, communicate with executives, and write e-mails with proper punctuation.

One more thing: Never, ever, ever, ever badmouth your previous employer. No matter how small your paycheck was, no matter how bad management screwed up, no matter how many times you wanted to set the building on fire, don't say anything bad about them. If the interviewer asks you "Why are you leaving your current employer?" the correct answer is, "I feel I need to work at a larger and more successful company." Not, "My boss was a cock."