As a web developer, you’re more prone to spending time with your computer, rather than giving presentations about yourself to complete strangers. Still, job interviews are an inevitable part of anyone’s professional life, and you’re bound to experience them. The best way to ensure your job interview goes well is to thoroughly prepare for it. But, how can you prepare for your first web development job interview?
If you need help with the preparation process, we’ve got you covered. Together, we’ll break it down and see what step you need to take to make sure you nail your first job.
Let’s get started.
Learn About the Company
When you’re preparing for the interview, you first need to learn a thing or two about the company you’re about to interview for. It’s important that you know things such as:
- company mission
- company’s most successful projects
- their social media activity
- the CEO of the company and other important members
There are two reasons why you should be well-informed about the company before you start the interview:
- to show true interest in becoming their employee
- to learn about your potential workplace and be sure you want to be a part of it
So, ask around and see what you can learn about the company. Read about them online or ask someone who works there for information.
Improve Your Online Presence
Nowadays, whenever we want to learn about a person, we simply type their name in Google and we’re presented with a ton of information. This is exactly what company representatives will do to learn about you.
Since most of the time this information isn’t as flattering as we’d like it to be, you should check what Google has to say about you.
Then, remove anything inappropriate:
- check your social media for embarrassing images and videos
- improve your LinkedIn profile
- update your professional information
- change your profile pictures to something more formal
Do the necessary adjustments and create a professional online persona out of yourself.
Prepare Your CV & Portfolio
Next, you need to think about your own reputation and professional achievements. Even though this is your first official job as a web developer, you’ve certainly done some similar work before.
Maybe you’ve worked as a freelancer or you’ve done an internship somewhere.
Whatever experience you have, you need to show it in your:
- resume
- portfolio
Make sure you proofread and double-check the accuracy of everything you’ve written in these documents. You can check what are the best paper writing services if you need a hand with writing.
Since you’ve been invited to a job interview already, that means you’ve sent the above documentation to the company. Still, take a moment to revise it and see if you’ve written everything you feel you should have.
Also, be prepared to answer questions about the projects you mentioned, or even do a demonstration.
Polish Your Coding Knowledge
Most companies will want to know about your coding knowledge and how comfortable you are with handling these kinds of tasks.
To make sure you’re up for this challenge, you need to count on the following:
- they might give you a trial coding task to complete
- they’ll ask questions about your thinking process along the way
- they’ll want you to show impeccable coding skills
Make sure you practice at home and refresh your memory on coding to ensure maximum performance in the interview. This will score you some serious points with eh company representatives.
Learn About Your Interviewer
Next, to make the interview more pleasant for you, you can learn some interesting facts about the person interviewing you.
Once you find out who’ll be running the interview, you should:
- ask around about the person from people within the company that you know
- Google them and read their LinkedIn profile
- memorize things you have in common or things that might be a conversation starter
- use them during your interview to find common grounds
This will make you feel more relaxed and better prepared for the interview. You’ll be able to answer the questions with more confidence and impress the person you’re talking to.
Be Ready for Live Presentations of Your Technical Skills
Finally, you have to be super well-prepared for showing your technical knowledge and your confidence while working on projects.
The interviewers will ask you about:
- website’s you’ve developed
- what you find to be the best practices in solving certain tasks
- dealing with routine tasks
- your opinion on solving individual problems
They’ll want to hear you thinking and follow your thought process to learn more about your hard skills and technical knowledge.
Prepare by working at home and speaking out loud as you do it.
Final Thoughts
Preparing for an interview is important. You can’t just show up and hope for the best. You need to think about the questions they might ask, learn about them, and find a way to shine.
The tips above will help you prepare for your first web development job interview. Once you complete all the steps, all you have left is to show up at the interview with enthusiasm and confidence That’s the winning combination.