Reflections on my Job Search (The Jungle, Chapter 8)

Last time, I discussed how I negotiated and accepted a job offer.

As I sit and stroke my chin during the final chapter of this saga, I can recall some significant things about my job search experience.

Writing code on the fly is hard

Designing on the fly isn’t bad, but when it comes to writing code (even for relatively “simple” problems), I suck. I should have practiced writing code by hand to get the hang of it. An interview is a really small window in which to display my skills, so even a few seconds of absent-mindedness can be a deal breaker.

“Kind of” understanding things can be a big problem

In one of my interviews, when discussing the differences between Python and Ruby, I mentioned that Ruby has better support for creating and passing around blocks of code. What I wasn’t sure of is if these blocks were closures or not. I suspected that the term “closure” implies capturing the surrounding state, so if a block didn’t reference any variables from outside of itself, was it still a closure? This type of confusion is natural and frequent for me. I’m unsure of something, I look it up, I learn it, I move on. My interviewer, however, was unimpressed by my lack of understanding.

Scrum and Agile experience has become a key skill

I was surprised how many companies asked about Scrum. They liked that I had experience with it, and they liked even more that my feelings about it were positive. I never expected that employers would be looking for experience with a specific methodology.

Frustration Must Be Killed

There is a lot of opportunity for frustration in an interview. Hard questions and difficult personalities can both present problems. If a question doesn’t go so well, it was difficult for me not to carry that negativity into the next question. Likewise from a bad interview into the next. But I found it important to have a short memory, and to keep pushing. I didn’t know what was going on in my interviewers’ head, so all I could do was give it a shot and hope for the best.

Now, Dance

When I am on a job interview, I am auditioning for a job. I perform on demand, and I do it with a smile. Although most of my interviews played more like casual conversations, I always try to remember this.

Engage

I always try to remember that my interviewers are people too. They could be having a bad day, or just aren’t interested in interviewing me. I make an attempt to engage them in conversation like I would anyone else. I try to make it interesting for them.

A Final Word

It was an intense and exhausting journey, but I am extremely pleased with the results.

For all souls considering a confrontation with the perilous realities of the job market — I wish you well, comrades.