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My first full time job interview >.<

CaptainComedy

CaptainComedy

CaptainComedy

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hey guys, I just finished my degree (BSC Multimedia) with a 2:1 honours, I now have my first interview next week with a company called http://www.fotolibra.com where I'll be their graduate PHP programmer, apparently Im getting extra training on a lot of things so Im really happy

my question is - what can I expect during this interview? I had a telephone interview with a recruiter and he passed me on to which I now have this interview but will they test me on my coding skills on the first interview? anyone with experience here?
 
Undoubtedly... if they're looking for a programmer, then the chances are that there will be some form of test - whether that be a written test or otherwise - to check that you do know what you've claimed on your CV. It's not unheard of for people to exaggerate on their CVs ;)
 
Its highly likely they will have some sort of technical test for you to do, yes.
 
Yeah, my wife went for a office admin job and they had her doing skill tests, so if they do it for that sort of job, undoubtedly you'll have to.
Very best of luck
 
thanks, its a php developer job it is, but I've told them I do javascript, ajax, flash actionscript 3 etc etc, will they test me just on the php and required scripts or on everything I know? :S

thanks
 
Any development position these days will include a practical test or both a practical and written

You will not find a programming job these days that doesnt require one. Simply because the amount of people who do a module at uni where they do 2 minutes of C++ then claim on their CV that they "have a strong knowledge of C++". Same applies to any language

You will also be asked lots of logic questions to see your way of thinking. One from one of my previous interviews was:

"you have 100 floors, and two objects to drop. If its too high up, it will smash, if its too low it wont, but how do you find the maximum height you can drop them from without breaking"

An easy peasy question, but then they'll ask "and how would you do that in as few drops as possible" and keep asking you to reduce it or improve it. All things like that

Hope that helps
 
The "technical test" can vary from a few spoken questions to a full written exam. I tend to turn my nose up at written exams, tbh. I prefer employers who are able to judge me by conversing with me, rather than giving me a grade.
 
Steedie said:
Any development position these days will include a practical test or both a practical and written

You will not find a programming job these days that doesnt require one. Simply because the amount of people who do a module at uni where they do 2 minutes of C++ then claim on their CV that they "have a strong knowledge of C++". Same applies to any language

You will also be asked lots of logic questions to see your way of thinking. One from one of my previous interviews was:

"you have 100 floors, and two objects to drop. If its too high up, it will smash, if its too low it wont, but how do you find the maximum height you can drop them from without breaking"

An easy peasy question, but then they'll ask "and how would you do that in as few drops as possible" and keep asking you to reduce it or improve it. All things like that

Hope that helps
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BS. More programming jobs don't require you to sit an exam over ones that do. They do tend to ask a handful of questions face to face though.

To OP: Further to what I previously said; Most employers in the software development industry are more concerned with a developers ability to understand what a client wants, and can translate that into code/application than their knowledge of a languages syntax and framework. Infact, language is almost insignificant in the eyes of a decent developer.
 
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Dj_Jestar said:
BS. More programming jobs don't require you to sit an exam over ones that do.
Click to expand...

Yeah right. Utter nonsense

For any graduate position or first time programming position you will have to sit a test. It makes perfect sense, hiring someone whos never worked as a programmer could be very costly. Software is one of the few places that you really cant afford to take the risks these days. A company that doesnt make you sit there, obviously doesnt care about standards and I'd imagine the quality of their software is diabolical

Once you've got that first job under your belt, I agree with you, it's far easier then and the tests probably wont need to be done
 
*shrug* I've never sat a test for a development role in any of the countless interviews I've done. All of them wanted to know what *I* am like as a person, and most have then progressed to asking me to describe an application model that would suit a scenario or similar. Absolutely none have been an exam, and none have been (and I say this without wanting to offend) petty questions like your example.
 
Out of the 6 interviews I did last year, all of them had exams. Whether it was writing a tool for their software, or just writing samples of code on paper to show how you would approach a problem. This was the same for all the people I know are now in development jobs or still applying

This was usually in a second interview however, in the first interview it was purely an informal chat to get to know me and my background etc
 
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