Talk with Craig

For an onsite interview, they want to know what they have and what you are looking for so that they can make a decision on hiring you for a long term.

Behavior Question

Below are several behavior questions you might be asked. You don’t have to tell every details. For each questions, list 2 or 3 bulletin would be good.

Why you leave?

I like my previous job. But unfortunately, they are going for different directions. The company is doing a shift on out sourcing most of their project. And as a result, they are shrinking their software development team. That is why I am leaving.

What are you looking for in the next couple of years?

For what I am looking for, firstly, I want to continuously developing my Java skills. That is what I am good at and also love to do. I am planning to be a J2EE Architect in the future.

Secondly, I want to do software development in a large scale environment such that there would be different kinds of projects going around. For typical technical company, there is usually only one product. When time is flying, your ability will be limited to just that specific kind of project. However, in XXX I can be involved in numerous applications for different groups. That is exciting for me.

Thirdly, when I am developing software I’d like to hear feedback from the users. It would be great to talk to the users directly, know what they want and deliver exactly the features they want. User’s satisfaction with my product would make me happy. In financial industry, usually the user will be the colleagues in other departments. You can talk to them directly and find out whether they like your contribution or not.

Technical Question

The technical questions can be expected by researching the job description and your resume. For an onsite interview you need to show what you have on the table and let the interviewer decide how much you matching this role. If you are 85% matching, you probably will get the offer. If you only match 50%, you are going to lose.

You are not able to answer correct all the questions. You have to know that. Based on this, you need to know how to handle this situation. When you don’t know the answer, say you don’t know, then tell them a story in your last job when you need to learn new stuffs to handle the position. It’s Okay to not know something but you need to let them know you are willing to learn new stuff and based on history you learn it fast and well.

Do you have any questions?

For this question, it is time for you to get to know better about the group and the situation of the project. Interview is like a date. You are not a man who want a one night stand. You are going to work with the team for long term. So you need to know the situation before you enter in. And of course, you should know that you are able to handle this role. When the interviewer asks this question, it’s time for you get more information about the team. That information can be used for consideration when you decide which offer to take.

What kind of project you guys are doing? What technologies are you guys using?

This question is to know if you are interested in the project and also if you need to learn new stuff when taking this role.

Where are you in the process of project? Will that be released soon? How often do you guys release?

These questions are to know how much pressure you are going to take when you take the role. Most people expect an easy to hard mode rather than hard mode all the time.

How much are you expecting for this role?

When you are asked this question, it means they are considering to give you an offer. You should not hide the current salary you make. Because they will know that eventually. When negotiating, DO NOT give them a number. Tell them the current salary. Tell them for the next job you are looking for various things, not only money. Tell them you are interviewing with some other companies, DO NOT tell them the name.