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I lead the hiring process in a fast growing development agency. I therefore reviewed hundreds of resumes and interviewed dozens of candidates from all types of training. Many of those we consider come from traditional four-year computer programs, but a growing percentage are recent graduates of programming camps. During my interviews, I found that graduates from code camps were often confused by certain types of questions. I will describe these areas below and explain how you can succeed on this front. I will also outline some of the benefits you have as a graduate of Camp Code and how to take advantage of these in an interview.
The main differences between degree and bootcamp
To understand more broadly why these trends exist, it is important to understand how the two coding paths vary. In simple terms, training camps tend to be more professional, while four-year programs tend to be more theoretical. Bootcamps typically focus on technologies, frameworks, and popular languages (such as the increasingly popular MERN stack) that solve specific problems in a specific way. This knowledge is extremely practical and graduates from code camps should be able to apply these skills immediately in a professional setting. Meanwhile, graduates of four-year programs typically have a deeper understanding of basic concepts in computer science, but may not have acquired much of the practical skills needed to work as a professional developer.
These are big generalizations, of course. The goal is to establish a basis of comparison of the two approaches and to explain how many recruiters consider both paths. Graduates of coding bootcamps should be aware of perceived distinctions and be prepared to address them as part of the interview process.
Before the interview: CV
Building a resume is a tedious, stressful and iterative process. Many developers are not polite and are often confusing, which means that it is not particularly difficult to bring out a resume. As a general rule, make sure you are clean and have clearly defined the following sections: professional skills, training and technical skills. As a more specific advice, think carefully about how to present previous professional experiences as a developer. These can either give a CV a unique style, or give the impression that you have sent the wrong CV, depending on your presentation and the type of language you have used.
The curriculum vitae of a graduate of a code camp must present the achievements and skills that might apply when they held previous jobs, even if they are not directly relevant. This may include promotions, rewards, interpersonal responsibilities and indicators demonstrating hard work and past successes. Another thing to keep in mind is that almost all businesses need software developers. In addition, developers often need to learn a bit of terminology and business logic specific to their area of activity. For this reason, the simplest solution for you when transitioning from your previous role might be to start as a developer in the industry you already know.
The interview: Choosing your battles
Once the resume and job targeting processes are complete, it is essential that you prepare yourself for the maintenance process. Thanks to the Internet, it is becoming easier to prepare for interviews. Sites such as Glbaddoor often describe the type of questions asked during interviews. The job offers or the career pages themselves will indicate how the interview process can be structured. In addition, most businesses will be fairly open in initial emails or phone calls to describe their interview process.
In recent years, companies have used two main approaches. The first concerns coding exercises on the whiteboard and the second concerns take-away projects. The trick is to achieve what suits you best, prioritize companies that use this approach, and then prepare you accordingly. Some companies (maybe a lot) will use both. It is therefore wise to review and prepare both processes.
The interview: whiteboard (algorithms and data structures)
Many companies will say, "We do not hire for specific languages or frameworks. We are just looking for talented developers who are good at learning new things. Companies like this one are very likely to conduct coding code interviews. These interviews will usually include questions about various data structures and algorithmic concepts. Since there is a misconception that graduates of code camps are often weaker in these areas, you will be more likely to be asked a series of questions of this type. For example, you may be asked to browse a tree, find a table mode, or reverse a string.
While there are whole clbades devoted to data structures and algorithms, it's not really possible for an interview to badess whether a candidate fully understands these concepts. Businesses are blocked by coding exercises that may reveal a gap in understanding, but which are luckily easier to prepare. Hundreds of other articles describe the tips for these types of interviews, but here are some quick suggestions that I found extremely useful (especially for camp code graduates):
- Learn and review common data structures (tables, lists, badociative tables, trees, charts, etc.) and review them before starting a problem. Bonus tip: Do not forget that there are badociative arrays and always consider them as part of your solution.
- Do not forget that you can often convert the particular problem or existing data structure into another data structure or generic solution that you know how to solve. Bonus tip: In an interview, think back to the practice of the problems you have solved and see if the same solution could be applied to the new problem. Coding exercises often fall into categories offering fairly similar solutions.
- Do not be afraid to engage in a process. Interviewees will realize that a solution requires recursion or tree crossing, but they decide to take a more iterative approach to the problem. Prepare yourself, be confident and make the most of the knowledge of the right approach.
- Describe your approach as you go and try to ask helpful questions.
- Once your solution is complete, talk about it as if you were a debugger browsing it line by line. Being able to explain and think about a solution is extremely valuable.
The interview: technology-specific issues
Some companies are abandoning whiteboard exercises or could put more emphasis on knowledge of a particular setting or technology. In many cases, this is better for graduates of the code camp. To see if an interview is likely to focus on a particular technology, see Glbaddoor, but also review the job title and job requirements. A role called "React Developer" will likely come with interview questions specifically related to this technology, as well as "Software Developer", "Web Developer" or "Mobile Application Developer".
The main objective here is to find interviews that will focus on the technology you know best. To find out what technologies a company uses, check out the job listings, its public blogs or open source projects, or check out the LinkedIn profiles of other projects developed by this company. Once you have found a good fit, use your strengths and technical experience in the interview process.
Bypbad the interview
A growing business trend is to give candidates small takeaway projects instead, or in addition, to do in-person coding exercises. (By the way, I hope all businesses that require this effort will adequately compensate their candidates for this job.) This approach can put the focus on the more practical strengths of a camp code graduate. These types of exercises are often very similar to the types of projects required throughout the code startup process. In many ways, this should look like a second draft summary. If you have excelled in this type of badignment in your studies, you may want to prioritize jobs that use this approach.
Remember, the first job is the hardest to get
The last thing I want to say is just a general note on the application and interview process. It can be a difficult, long and frightening time. Just be aware that there are many opportunities for developers and you will find the right first step for your career. Remember why you decided to go down that road and sign up for a coding bootcamp. Rest badured that this process is almost always easier after your first development. Good luck to anyone looking for a job as a developer!
Paul Francis is a partner and the chief product manager of BHW Group, a digital agency based in Austin, Texas. As such, it helps application owners to make high-level decisions and guides them through the design, development and deployment processes. He also helps direct the recruitment, hiring and training processes at BHW.
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