New junior developers are often a bit buffaloed by the interview process associated with hiring software developers. Things like whiteboard challenges and code tests are not the kinds of things most of our grads have ever seen before in whatever jobs they had prior to NSS. And, new grads can get so focused on their need to sell themselves that they forget that interviews are two-way conversations where both parties - employer and interviewee - are trying to decide if working together makes sense. 

 

We try to help our grads understand that they should ask questions during the interview process. First, asking intelligent questions signals to the interviewer that while this individual may be relatively junior they are nonetheless a professional with insights into the job and some ideas of their own regarding what type of organization they would like to work for. Secondly, asking intelligent questions gives the job candidate information they can use to decide whether they should continue to pursue this position and whether they want to work in this team. 

 

Our lead instructor, Steve Brownlee, has a recent post on his blog that outlines some of the important questions that he recommends our students ask during the interview process. Read The 7 Questions Junior Developers Should Ask In Any Interview.