Top tips from The Digital Bakery
Resume:
- Firstly, ensure your layout and grammar is clear, articulate, and concise. It is also an indication of your ability to write documentation that is required for the likes of software engineering.
- Make sure the resume is not too long, you are not writing a Harry Potter novel. The recipient likely has many applications to vet. Remember, people with long winded resumes have clearly not taken the time necessary create a succinct short one.
- Its imperative to provide a clear objective of the role you are seeking and what you are wanting to achieve.
- Your resume needs to read as if its “not in your shoes” You need to provide context that gives the recipient a sound conceptual understanding of your role and projects. Let someone who does not know what you do day to day to read it. If they find information insightful and have a good understanding of you experience to date and objectives moving forwards, you are on the right track.
- For unrelated experience, do not omit it as it shows a previous work history. However, reduce the level of detail to help truncate the length of your resume. In this instance do not provide a wealth of information unless you it has synergies to the role you are applying for, such as industry experience.
- Avoid the “spray and pray approach” where you send out as many generic applications hoping for a response. Like dating, you need to put some effort in and tailor your application for each induvial role/application.
Portfolio:
- Whether it be a code-based repository or a design portfolio, these are your passport to interview. They are essential to progressing therefore, ensure they include examples of code or projects that you would love to showcase.
- Do not simply show the finished product, show logic and process. Like a school math's equation, the “marker” wants to understand your workings behind the end solution.
- If you lack commercial experience, create projects using the technologies, tools, methodologies you are an advocate of and show them off. It could be a summer gig festival app or your own personal wellbeing app - whatever you like. If its design, pick your favorite company and complete a redesign of an application, product, or website.
- Ensure the basics are there; links work, its responsive (ideally) and there’s information on your sole responsibilities and contributions to the projects provided.
Interview preparation:
Preparation is essential and will keep you as calm and collected as possible during an interview.
- Ask about the interview process, identify who will be on the panel and how the interview will be structured.
- Is there any specifics the panel would like to know more about that’s perhaps not covered in your resume, or specific experience the interviewer would like to hone in on?
- Review your previous experience, situations and projects -It could be industry synergies, complex problems you’ve had to solve, how you approach a large project or difficult task.
- Map out the panel members on Linkedin so you understand their background. You may find you have people and /or interests in common.
- Map out potential employers’ competitors to get an understanding of their position within the market.
- Read news, blogs, perhaps share market prices.
Interview:
- Dress according to the organisation culture. It’s not always necessary to turn up as though you’re about to audit them
- Break the ice with a comment on the company’s recent activity or a recent post / blog by the panel interviewing you.
- Adopt the STAR technique to give an articulate and well-structured answer to questions regarding your previous experience.
Situation: Give a brief high-level overview of the scenario you faced
Task: What were the objectives and your sole responsibilities
Action: Discuss what you delivered / implemented. Note: The key here is your ability to justify what steps, processes, and analysis you undertook to derive that specific action/solution over other possibilities.
Result: What you achieved? The difference from the current state (when the project/task commenced) vs the future state (Post implementation/delivery)
- Check in with the panel from time to time to keep engagement – Questions such as, Have I provided you with enough detail? Are there any further questions about regarding “a specific example / answer to their question.
- Ensure you have questions for them, interviews are a two-way street! Secondly, it shows your genuinely interested in the role and the organisation.
Post interview:
- Send a quick note thanking the panel and thanking them for their time and additional insight provided. Ensure your more than happy for the potential employer to contact you should they have any queries or questions post the interview.
- Conduct a self-interview evaluation on your performance. Were there any questions that you struggled to interview? Were you clear and concise? Did you obtain the information you wanted to assess the role in more detail.