Land the perfect job
Believe it or not, some people go their entire lives without getting a job they like, when they most certainly can. And although I confess, I am blessed, I’m going to be bashful and give myself a little credit. The fact of the matter is, you deserve the job of your dreams. With a little hard work, determination, and a positive attitude - you too can land the job of your dreams. So without further ado, this one goes out to all the web developers sitting in their basement.
Learn your cheese
Having seen probably over a hundred web development resumés and interviewed about a third of them, a common pattern I tend notice is that - people lie. Granted, I’m all for sprucing up the language and making yourself look cool with better sounding sentences… yea, that’s fine. Whatever. I usually only glance briefly at complicated sentences anyway.
The part that I can’t get over is that people will write down languages they - come to find out - barely know… and it’s really disturbing, and a waste of time for both parties.
For example, I’ve heard of Java. Yea, I’ve even embeded some cheese applet back in 1990. I may have even opened up some text file and changed a few configuration items to get what I need out of my cute cheese maker. But by no means am I going to put Java on my resumé since I couldn’t tell you anything past what I’ve already told you… and I do know that there’s more to Java than that.
Another trend I have also been seeing is Ajax
making its way onto the list of skillsets. Ok, that’s fine too I guess. But come on guys, just because you’ve used Prototype’s “Ajax.Request” method - it don’t mean nuthin’. If it were me asking you the question on how to use Ajax, expect to pick up the dry-erase marker and explaining to me a little about the xmlHttpRequest object.
Do a Spell Check on resumés and Cover Letters
Not usually a big deal for me. But I know others will be giving you crap for your misspellings. Do yourself a favor and don’t forget this detail.
Dress to Impress
This should be a given. This is the real world, and people judge you on what you wear. When I attended an interview, I typically wore slacks, button up, and a tie. If you own a suit, wear that. If you’re a woman, then just pretend you’re showing up to deliver the State of the Union Address.
No slimy fish hand-shakes
Grab that sucker and shake it like a bottle of Orange juice.
Speak up! Talk to me Baby
Be excited, you want the job don’t ya? I’m tellin’ ya… nobody wants to work with a stiff. And I don’t want this to come across the wrong way, but I don’t care if you’re freakin’ Einstein - if I don’t like ya, chances are I’m gonna give you a thumbs down. You may be smart, but if you can’t work well within a team, that’s going to slow down productivity.
Be creative with your answers. I want to be impressed and thrilled that you love talking about this stuff. Even if there’s a flaw in the question being asked, please, yap away; I’m interested. For example, if the question normally only requires a yes
or no
answer such as Are you familiar with the term
Semantic Markup?
Don’t just say yes,
please, do tell more.
Have Humble Cockiness
In all honesty, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with being cocky. And I’m not getting this confused with being confident (even though you should entail this feature too). But if there was a mix between being humble and cocky at the same time - then do that. Of course, nobody likes a jack-ass who thinks his shit don’t stink, but rather know that you’re the [wo]man! You deserve to be at that interview and if they hire anyone other than you, then that company would be passing up on the next biggest thing (that’s you).
However in all due fairness, know that other people are better than you too, and that there’s always room to improve. So while interviewing, just relax and answer to the best of your knowledge and have a good time.
Relax will ya
If the interviewer asks you if you’d like some water or coffee - just take some. Often the less formal an interview becomes - I feel like weights have been lifted from my shoulders. Any chance an interviewer gives you to take a load off
, then just go for it. If I tell a joke, then please laugh… I’m funny dammit. Laughter is usually a good sign that the interview is going well.
Be Prepared
Here’s a small check-list for ya.
- Show up early
- Bring extra copies of your resumé
- Have your work ready to demonstrate
- Turn off your cell phone
- Whoops, the cell phone was left on and it’s ringing… Do Not Answer It!
- Do not stress about ‘the list’
Follow Up, but avoid a restraining order
Unless told otherwise, it’s generally ok to call the very next day. Let them know you’re still interested. Leave some good commentary on how you enjoyed your time at the office. Whatever you do, just get the company to remember you without becoming the annoying guy. A simple letter no longer than a paragraph would be a great way to follow up. And shoot, it’s 2006 - just send an email - we really don’t care anymore. This is a position for something to do with the internet right? Yea. Show ‘em you know how to use email.
Parting words for the perfect job
If you want the perfect job, you gotta apply somewhere that you’re almost certain would be the perfect place to work. Just remember that you deserve a great job - so just go for it… you might even surprise yourself.
And a little homework project
If you just read this entire article and got thinking to yourself, man, wouldn’t it be cool if I was working for
_______?
Well. What’s stopping you? I challenge you to go directly to that place you’re thinking about and let yourself be known. Request to speak with a recruiter or a Human Resources Director, and spread the word that you’re the man. Good Luck.
January 22nd, 2006 at 11:28 pm
I don’t get this:
What are you trying to say exactly?
January 22nd, 2006 at 11:42 pm
I’m trying to discretely say that I don’t exactly know what a woman should wear. By merely saying “professional” - that doesn’t usually entail ‘what to wear’. I toyed around with saying something like “A Catholic Wedding” - but the point is… dress nice.
Otherwise, wear what you would wear if you were giving the State of the Union Address… and that’s ‘exactly’ what I meant.
January 23rd, 2006 at 12:06 am
Well spoken. I liked the part about the humble cockiness. On my first job application it said: “Professional Experience?” I wrote: “No, but you didn’t have any either when you got your first job.” They ended up hiring me.
January 23rd, 2006 at 1:56 am
I don’t think the Java/Ajax comparison is very fair. There’s a hell of a difference between embedding an applet and having the skills to write your own one; but there isn’t really an enormous amount to understand about XMLHttpRequest.
I’d go so far as to say that it is more important to grasp the consequences and potential applications of Ajax, than it is to be able to write the listener function without referring to a book or website example.
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:01 am
I appreciate you’re state of the union reference. There are those women who think professional means the FANCY mini skirt and some lipstick. One thing to say about women’s clothing though… it’s expensive. Anything really impressive is going to cost $100 easily. I’m not afraid to admit I’ve had to wear thrift store stuff before (clean and ironed), but always wondered if the girl with the brand-new suit isn’t going to get the job instead of me. Give girls some slack on the wardrobe, as long as they’re clean, pressed and covered up where it counts. :)
January 23rd, 2006 at 7:55 am
I think “humble cockiness” is going to become a part of my vocabulary. You make me wish I didn’t love my job so much. Perhaps someday when Ames finishes her PhD, we’ll move out to Sunnyvale and you can interview me for some cool job at Y! I promise not to claim to know Java.
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:48 am
I guess I see your point, but I’d argue that there is such a thing as dressing too much. I’ve never worn more than your typical slacks/shirt (maybe a tie, if I was feeling really ambitious) and I’ve never been displeased with the jobs I have had. Sure, I have a complete suit, but I’ve never thought to wear it to a job interview.
January 23rd, 2006 at 9:57 am
Natalie,
Anything impressive is going to cost a lot for a guy as well. Those suits aren’t cheap, but if you don’t have the money for one, I agree the thrift store is a good way to go. You just have to be careful not to get that ’70s looking one.
January 23rd, 2006 at 10:18 am
@Matthew: Yes, I see your point on the Java/Ajax deal. What I meant is that one should expect to talk about what’s written on their resume. In other words, be prepared to hear lots of questions about what you claim you know.
@Natalie: Thanks for chipping in. I was waiting for a woman to give her two cents about the clothing. Clothing need not be expensive. We all just need to look nice. I was also hoping the clothing wouldn’t become a beat up topic…it’s definitely a bit farther on down the list as far as its importantance.
@Jason: I think “humble cokiness” was the best idea that came out of my head last night. And hey, if you ever come out to Y! - I’ll claim to know you!… I wouldn’t want to lose the referral ;)
@Justin: Agreed. As I mentioned to Natalie - I think clothing is far from being the most important issue. Everyone here knows to just dress nice. Ironed clothes from the Purple Heart Thrift Store is just fine (make sure they smell good too).
@Lance: Are you saying we can’t dress up like Napolean? lol.
January 23rd, 2006 at 1:44 pm
That’s one of the hardest things for me…the interview. I can get on a stage in front of hundreds of people, but put me in a closed room, and I clam up.
But, then again, my resume isn’t spectacular, either. ;)
January 24th, 2006 at 6:35 am
Great article Dustin all too often as you mentioned people forget the important stuff.
Regarding humble cockiness: I recall a time I was interviewing for an Accounting job (entry level), I had my Associates Degree and the CFO (Chief Financial Officer) interviewing me. There were two things I did in that interview that landed me the job.
1. I told her I wanted her job, because whats the point in working if you are not looking to improve your status and learning level.
2. At the time I was actually using accounting for my personal finances. (basically each category of expense was numbered, and income and whatnot.
Had I not taken the time to express my desire to work for the company, my confidence to do the job and succeed, and express the connection between what my ‘new’ job does with what I already do at home then I likely wouldn’t have taken the job.
Of course one last thing, it helps if you have already been offerred two other jobs (as it was in my case) and I told them I needed an answer in 2 days.
January 24th, 2006 at 8:41 am
So, out of curiosity is working at yahoo your dream job?
January 25th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Good tips. It’s quite helpful to hear from someone who actually hires people in our industry. Thanks!
January 29th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
Before an interview:
Try to learn about the company first as in *what they do, who they work with*, most companies even have websites.
Entrance
Say hello and wait for them to say *have a seat*.
Dont hang but sit straight.
June 10th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
I agree with most everything you say. I have just moved to FL from Denver CO. I am stepping outside of the box and changing careers. I have been in the auto business for 16 years and now am going to sell formula boats. I, myself have interviewed with many different companies. Rule number 1… Do not lie! (you may not remember what you said if you get called back for a 2nd interview). Hummble cockiness is perfect! Be proud, let your new employer know your interested in all aspects of the job! I got my third interview by letting them know I wanted the job now. No need to waste anymore of there valuable time interving anyone else. Have you ever played sports? Remember those butterflies you got, just before the game? Remember how they went away after you stepped out on the mat or took your first snap? Remember how well you played? It was when you were just “COCKY” that you did not perform your best. It’s OK to nervous. I think it is OK to let them know upfront your a little nervous. Anyway GREAT LUCK, with whatever it is life you all end up doing. Ryan