Junior Interviews Will Never Change

Lots of factors influence the way an interview will go. If HR has doubts about whether a candidate is suitable for the position in question or whether they possess enough experience, a screening is scheduled. This is a short phone call. It will allow the candidate to explain how much experience they have. If the company representative is satisfied with the result, they invite the candidate in for a technical interview. Otherwise, the candidate will instead receive feedback and recommendations.

I participated in a discussion between interviewers. We were trying to come to a decision regarding a candidate. The result of the screening showed that the person was "at the beginning of his journey". Has 2+ years of experience and claims to be middle level. "Early in the journey" and a middle-level position are acceptable. What caught our attention was that in his 2+ years, he failed to gain a footing in a middle-tier position.

The opinions were split in two. To call him in for an interview or to refuse.

Group #1

The first group argued that a person should be brimming with enthusiasm at the beginning of their career. It's important to create your own projects or participate in other people’s projects for professionals to develop practical, hands-on skills. A couple of years is enough to understand DB indexes. What they’re for, where they’re used and what types exist. Analyze queries correctly. Learn the history of the language. Why it appeared and what ideas are at its core. Know the scope of its applications. Understand the frameworks that are written in the language. Whether a virtual machine is used, how does it work? What about multithreading? It is important to know the answers to such questions.

Group #2

The second group argued that strong motivation will more than outweigh a bundle of accumulated knowledge. In the early stages of development, you come across technologies and tools. Git, databases, language, frameworks. Professional education teaches the basics: protocols, DNS, networks. But perhaps the person studied for a different profession. Meaning he is self-taught. He starts with tutorials. In his native language, not English. Then he will discover StackOverflow. From there he will find links to the paper trail. Then a book about the programming language. Then a book about the framework. Write his first blog. Hooray! Now time to find a company that will help him grow further. The 2020s saw a boom in demand for programmers after all.

You go in for a job interview and get an interviewer from the first group. The result is obvious.

My growth

I experienced this situation myself. I have a degree in engineering physics. A couple of books and a crummy blog. Not in 15 minutes, but in 15 hours. Lots of interviews and dozens of test assignments. Not getting the questions the interviewer is asking. Terrible situations. Literally a bunch of incomprehensible nonsense. Had to answer quickly and honestly that I had no idea what they were asking about. Wrote down all the questions. Worked through each one and was able to communicate on it. But at the next interview, it was random nonsense again. Lather, rinse, repeat. I had an entire filled-out notebook at the end of it.

Finally, I got my first offer. They asked one question from each of the previous ones. Note: the circumstances at the time gave me 12 hours to answer.

Remember it

I will tell you the difference between a senior and a junior. A junior doesn't know what he doesn't know. That's the problem. There's too much to do. It's hard to navigate the necessary areas and build connections between them.

Interviewers compare you with themselves

Let's break down how a company decides whether or not to hire a candidate. To make sure the decision is unbiased, there are two interviewers at the interview. After the call, each one writes a report. The candidate’s technical and behavioral knowledge is described in detail. A simple scoring helps keep the assessment of the former unbiased. The latter assessment is more complex, it affects the final decision in a more dubious way. Because every interviewer projects their insecurities. Years of working as a junior, refusals during interviews, failed test assignments. Stressful conditions really burn into your mind. Your family and friends failing to relate to you. That’s why two interviewers are there to give opposite verdicts.

Provide an Opportunity

The solution to such a problem is obvious. Test assignment and probation. The test assignment will reveal gaps in knowledge. It will show how the candidate solves unfamiliar problems. The probationary period will help to see the development of the candidate. What questions they ask, how the person works as part of a team, what sort of help they need.

What I did

When making a decision, I try to dive into the candidate's life path and assess the availability of free time. Some are willing to do a test to learn. Others care about working in a specific atmosphere, being given a challenging project and time. While yet others are motivated by problems.

Don’t Give Up

If you get rejected after an interview, ask for feedback. Develop hard skills! Advice on soft skills is meaningless. Don't count rejections. Count questions. Why work in an uncomfortable spot. In the end, you will find the right people for you.