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Ask HN: Self taught programmer, first job interview

I'm in my late twenties and until now I've only worked for my parents retail distribution business. I handle all the IT and I built our custom inventory management system. I've also built a couple of iOS apps for fun. I have an interview with the BBC as a junior software engineer but I'm worried that I lack commercial experience (exposure to agile) and computer science theory (algorithms, design patterns etc). What do you think I should read up on or learn about besides these two things? What do you look for in a junior developer? Thanks

tomhoward 8y ago
The best thing you can do is demonstrate your enthusiasm and ability to self-educate and grow. "Studying for the test" is more likely to backfire, as you'll try to bluff your way through on things you don't know and get found out. The best way to answer questions where you don't know the answer is to say "I don't know but here's how I'd go about figuring that out". It might be that they just want someone who has the paper credentials - that's always a risk with big established organisations. If that's the case, try not to worry if you miss out this time. The best thing to do is keep self-educating and working on interesting projects, and keep applying for positions, particularly with teams that care more about determination than paper qualifications. The most important thing to remember is that the best way to be in demand (by potential employers, clients, friends, partners alike) is to have a lot of options (aka "social proof"). If you think and act like this is the one and only big opportunity you're more likely to get nervous, and that makes everything harder. But if you patiently and methodically work towards having more successful projects under your belt, and keep seeking gradually more challenging opportunities, good things will happen for you with increasing frequency. Good luck!
- throwaway7733 8y ago
  Thank you! Lots of food for thought in this post. I have started applying at other places too. I'll follow your advice and keep trying to build up my skillset.
brudgers 8y ago
Congratulations, getting interviewed is a big deal. I think it's worth the perspective that you have no idea what the person hiring you is looking for...but the most likely case is that they looked at your CV and thought, this might be the person I am looking for. It's also worth the perspective that the person who wrote the job description did not think the job required a CS degree and the people deciding on candidates didn't think it was critical in this particular case either. That's why you've got the interview. In terms of agile, a little academic knowledge from googling is just basic interview preparation. Unlike "algorithms and data structures," agile is reasonably bounded and what an interviewer expects someone with zero experience know is not going to vary less...I mean some interviewers consider A* and red-black trees too easy and others too hard because algorithms are math. Good luck and congratulations again.

tomhoward 8y ago

The best thing you can do is demonstrate your enthusiasm and ability to self-educate and grow. "Studying for the test" is more likely to backfire, as you'll try to bluff your way through on things you don't know and get found out. The best way to answer questions where you don't know the answer is to say "I don't know but here's how I'd go about figuring that out". It might be that they just want someone who has the paper credentials - that's always a risk with big established organisations. If that's the case, try not to worry if you miss out this time. The best thing to do is keep self-educating and working on interesting projects, and keep applying for positions, particularly with teams that care more about determination than paper qualifications. The most important thing to remember is that the best way to be in demand (by potential employers, clients, friends, partners alike) is to have a lot of options (aka "social proof"). If you think and act like this is the one and only big opportunity you're more likely to get nervous, and that makes everything harder. But if you patiently and methodically work towards having more successful projects under your belt, and keep seeking gradually more challenging opportunities, good things will happen for you with increasing frequency. Good luck!

throwaway7733 8y ago
Thank you! Lots of food for thought in this post. I have started applying at other places too. I'll follow your advice and keep trying to build up my skillset.

brudgers 8y ago

Congratulations, getting interviewed is a big deal. I think it's worth the perspective that you have no idea what the person hiring you is looking for...but the most likely case is that they looked at your CV and thought, this might be the person I am looking for. It's also worth the perspective that the person who wrote the job description did not think the job required a CS degree and the people deciding on candidates didn't think it was critical in this particular case either. That's why you've got the interview. In terms of agile, a little academic knowledge from googling is just basic interview preparation. Unlike "algorithms and data structures," agile is reasonably bounded and what an interviewer expects someone with zero experience know is not going to vary less...I mean some interviewers consider A* and red-black trees too easy and others too hard because algorithms are math. Good luck and congratulations again.