Following up after an interview

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Thanks for the tips.

I applied for three VB.NET development positions last night. I got two calls today. I called back to one and I have an interview tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous because my confidence in being a programmer is a bit low now. The other call was from a company that is 80+ miles away. I have friends and family that can cut that trip down a bit though.

At that 80 mile distance, the company should cover a relocation for you if they bring you on board.

 

[JACKDRUID]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Thanks for the tips.

I applied for three VB.NET development positions last night. I got two calls today. I called back to one and I have an interview tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous because my confidence in being a programmer is a bit low now. The other call was from a company that is 80+ miles away. I have friends and family that can cut that trip down a bit though.

have you done any development? do you have any work you can show them?

all the interviews I've been to, any relevant sign of actual work directly equals to landing a job. bring screenshots, codings, envision/implementation documents.

 

[VinylxScratches]

I have done some but it was all at the company I interned at and they made me sign a thing that I can't take anything. I had the interview today, they just asked me some basic controls in ASP.NET and some basic Windows and Networking stuff. I think I did a decent job.

I also sent my resume to a internship programming position. It wasn't very detailed but they called me today. Would it be a good idea to get another internship? I mean, I graduated and have had two. I feel like I have a foundation but no one's giving me a chance. Would it look bad if I did another internship being almost 24 years old? It sounds a bit pathetic.

 

[Markbnj]

Any position that extends your experience in a professional setting is going to move you forward. You might want to move forward faster, but you're in a tough market with a lot of experienced people looking. You'll have to either wait for luck to roll your way, or do something to enhance your chances. There are lots of ways to accomplish that, and lots of opinions about what works. My personal approach is to try and stay out in front on at least one new technology, and blog about it relatively frequently. From my perspective your willingness to consider internships as opposed to sitting around waiting for the perfect gig speaks well of you. Success in life is all about shots on goal

 

[chronodekar]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Would it look bad if I did another internship being almost 24 years old? It sounds a bit pathetic.

This reminds me of my mother. And I know what she would say !!

I've not done an internship before, so I may be off-base here, but are internships binding ? Like, while you are doing one, and you find a job, can you quit being an intern ? If so, then take that internship!

Like Mark said, it's important to keep doing things. Just think about it, it will look really weird if your resume shows that you were sitting at home for 6 months doing nothing.

As for the blogging idea, I'm still experimenting with it, so I don't know ... yet. (While we're on the topic, I do find Mark's blog an interesting read, when I understand the subject. )

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Common Courtesy

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Thanks for the tips.

I applied for three VB.NET development positions last night. I got two calls today. I called back to one and I have an interview tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous because my confidence in being a programmer is a bit low now. The other call was from a company that is 80+ miles away. I have friends and family that can cut that trip down a bit though.

At that 80 mile distance, the company should cover a relocation for you if they bring you on board.

Unfortunately they aren't doing that too much today...it's finding the cheapest willing to work and letting them relocate. Another thing working against today's programmer esp is the number of adult kids out there that simply never intend to leave home possibly into their 30's even.

I have posted about this a lot, I have quite a few recruiter/hiring leads as friends and many times when budgets are tight you will hear 'we need to find someone that still lives at home with no responsibilities"...

 

[VinylxScratches]

I had an interview with a company last week. The recruiter said it was just a get to know you interview. Well when I get in there, the guy who would be who I'd be working with talked for a bit but then he gave me a bunch of problems. I choked really bad. The problems were with Perl and SQL statements. For the life of me, I cannot really comprehend stuff on paper on the spot. I am very progressive when I try to learn things on the computer and the fact that he was in there made me get into a panic mode and I could not think straight. The simplest stuff was hard for me. As I did more problems I got better but I'm pretty sure I bombed it. His point with it was to see how I'd react. The place seemed like a really cool place to work for too.

The internship had almost no info so when I talked to the guy he said it was a summer internship for people who are graduating in Dec 09.

 

[Markbnj]

That's certainly the toughest kind of interview. I don't personally ask people to whiteboard or work out programming problems on the spot, but a lot of people do. For my last interview I was sent a powerpoint presentation with about 15 problems, allowed to study it overnight, and then discussed my findings in a phone call with the person who prepared it. I much prefer that approach, and I thanked him for the courtesy. I got the job, and he has proven to be just as thoughtful and courteous in the work environment.

 

[alkemyst]

if you can't code it properly in a scratchpaper type interview go to pseudocode.

I don't think syntax has a lot of weight as much as knowing what to pull out of the toolbox.

However; if you are being given a test by a business manager that the programming lead wrote...all bets may be off. I was in a phone call interview and had this happen...I was replied to sort of rudely "that's way off, TOTALLY wrong...are you really a programmer". I was taken back a bit and asked were they a programmer. I told them to go run it by anyone on their team.

I got that job.

 

[chronodekar]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
if you can't code it properly in a scratchpaper type interview go to pseudocode.

I don't think syntax has a lot of weight as much as knowing what to pull out of the toolbox.

However; if you are being given a test by a business manager that the programming lead wrote...all bets may be off. I was in a phone call interview and had this happen...I was replied to sort of rudely "that's way off, TOTALLY wrong...are you really a programmer". I was taken back a bit and asked were they a programmer. I told them to go run it by anyone on their team.

I got that job.

very true. if a programmer is on the interview team, then all you really need is pseudo-code. (barring a specific requirement)

During my interview, we got talking, and I managed to divert the conversation. By the end of it, I was telling (my future manager) what I thought of their technical questionnaire round, and how I would grade it.

Needless to say, I got the job. (I still work there, wonderful manager! )

 

[VinylxScratches]

I didn't get the job. The recruiter said that I was a very likable person but they found someone with a little more experience. I don't know if that's really true? My gut feeling was that wasn't capable and they are just giving me the Park District Soccer answer. I wish I could just ask if that's really true but I don't want to come off as an ass.

Today I applied at another place that I found on my college's email list. I got a call right away to do an interview. Let's hope this one works out better

 

[presidentender]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Today I applied at another place that I found on my college's email list. I got a call right away to do an interview. Let's hope this one works out better

Gotta say, I'm impressed that you don't seem to be getting discouraged. Good luck.

 

[chronodekar]

Originally posted by: presidentender

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Today I applied at another place that I found on my college's email list. I got a call right away to do an interview. Let's hope this one works out better

Gotta say, I'm impressed that you don't seem to be getting discouraged. Good luck.

Exactly. It's that kind of attitude that separates the achievers from the rest! :thumbsup:

 

[VinylxScratches]

Well to be honest, my morale is a bit low. I just have to be a little optimistic and put myself out there.

I have a question... I've never come across this before. On the application they want 4 references excluding supervisors I worked under.

My two best college friends said they won't mind if I use them so I need two more... I had a temp job at a big company and worked with a lot of people. If I email them, do you think that would be ok? The application wants their home address though so I don't know.

 

[Markbnj]

I absolutely would not put the home address of a reference on anyone's application. Attach a cover letter that says references are available on request. They don't need your references until you get toward the end of the process, and frankly the lawyers have made them next to useless anyway. When they do ask for references, contact anyone you think will help, but make sure to contact them before you give out their info, and that info would never, ever include home addresses. That's just bullshit, and I think probably I wouldn't apply to that company unless I was running out of food.

 

[squatchman]

Mark has the jist of it. They wouldn't be able to act on a home address in a reasonable time frame for hiring purposes. Pick a couple of your college professors and call it a day. If they absolutely must have addresses then give them their office locations.

The only(ever) time I gave out a residential address for a reference was when I had to fill out security clearance paperwork. They want an unreasonable amount of information for that process anyway.

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: squatchman
Mark has the jist of it. They wouldn't be able to act on a home address in a reasonable time frame for hiring purposes. Pick a couple of your college professors and call it a day. If they absolutely must have addresses then give them their office locations.

The only(ever) time I gave out a residential address for a reference was when I had to fill out security clearance paperwork. They want an unreasonable amount of information for that process anyway.

Unreasonable is an understatement

 

[VinylxScratches]

Thanks a lot.

It's a County job so I don't know. I left it blank.

Today I got an email from another interview. I did not get the job again. So.... I've had 3 solid interviews aside from ones with recruiters that came out with nothing. This is all within the last 5 months or so, with the interviews happening pretty much all in the last 2 months. Am I not doing things right? I know I'm at a disadvantage with my degree and the economy. I got a business degree in Operation Management and Information Systems, not Computer Science. My internships were with light web development. I don't know what else I'm going to do with my life. I was thinking about going into desktop support but I don't have any certs since that's all that matters in that area unless I know somebody in that field which I don't. I still have an interview tomorrow for a .NET position but I'm already feeling like nothing will come out of it.

 

[Crusty]

With those degrees I would be looking more at the IT side instead of developments job. Do you have any interest/experience in networking? It might be worthwhile to start a CCNA course.

 

[VinylxScratches]

That's what was my initial thinking. The only problem is I had two internships doing development. It's impossible to get this across to people hiring. They see my degree and don't know what it is, and then they see what I did at my internships. It's all development. I don't have the money to do a CCNA course and I don't want to borrow from my parents anymore since my Mom is sick and my Dad works 3 times a week now. I wish I could.

 

[Crusty]

Are you showing them examples of the development work you did or is it just noted on your resume? I've conducted several interviews and I wouldn't even consider a candidate if they didn't bring/show me examples of their work.

 

[VinylxScratches]

They never ask for anything like that. They ask some technical questions. How to do something is Visual Studio and stuff like that. Ask me about the projects I've done etc...

 

[Crusty]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
They never ask for anything like that. They ask some technical questions. How to do something is Visual Studio and stuff like that. Ask me about the projects I've done etc...

Try bringing some code samples with you as well, hand it to them when you give your resume at the interview. You don't need anything elaborate, just something to show you have actually written some sensible code.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: VinylxScratches
Thanks a lot.

It's a County job so I don't know. I left it blank.

Today I got an email from another interview. I did not get the job again. So.... I've had 3 solid interviews aside from ones with recruiters that came out with nothing. This is all within the last 5 months or so, with the interviews happening pretty much all in the last 2 months. Am I not doing things right? I know I'm at a disadvantage with my degree and the economy. I got a business degree in Operation Management and Information Systems, not Computer Science. My internships were with light web development. I don't know what else I'm going to do with my life. I was thinking about going into desktop support but I don't have any certs since that's all that matters in that area unless I know somebody in that field which I don't. I still have an interview tomorrow for a .NET position but I'm already feeling like nothing will come out of it.

Can you leverage the intern locations until you get your feet under you?

 

[VinylxScratches]

What do you mean exactly?

I had the interview today. There was the director and 2 other employees. All taking notes. I think I did well with the interview. The technical questions test is where I don't think I answered enough. Plus they said a lot of people applied for the job so I already have a feeling I'm not going to get it.

I have all 3 business cards. Do I send a thank you email to all 3? I did this before and I didn't get the job at another place so I'm reluctant to put effort into making 3 personal emails. I don't think it's gonna make or break me getting a job if there are more experienced people applying and interviewed....