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Interview Stage

The Interview Stage takes everything you have been doing to the next level and requires you to become even more intentional about your time and overall job search strategy.

Contents

Overview

Once you have traction, your attention will understandably shift from “I need to get an interview.” to “Holy smokes, I need to do well in this interview!” That said, balance and consistency is very important. During this stage, you will not only be working to maintain traction, but you will also be forced to balance applications and interview prep. This balance can be challenging, especially at first, so communicate with your coach early and often if you are not sure where your focus should be.

Interview Stage

Interviewing Goals

The goal of the Interview Stage is to continue generating traction through new applications while simultaneously progressing through various interviews within companies’ hiring processes. Ultimately, your goal is to make it through a company’s entire interview process and receive an offer (or several!). That said, it is also important that you continue applying so that you do not lose momentum.

What to Focus On

During this stage, you should be focusing on both applying and interviewing. However, now that you have interviews scheduled, you need to be more strategic with your time and allocate it to the areas that will likely yield the most positive results.

Applying

Given a shift in time allocation towards more interview preparation, you may have less time to put towards the application process. This means that in order to hit your weekly quota, you may need to shift away from spending as much time on high-quality applications and more time on interview preparation. We still encourage you to submit high-quality applications, but be selective in just how much time you spend here.

Interviewing

Practice, practice, practice! Ideally, you’ve already been practicing during the Application Stage, but now you get to be more strategic because you know which role and company you’re interviewing for. When scheduling interviews, give yourself enough time (at least a few days) to prepare and practice. Research the company and gather intel upfront about the nature of the interview and what you can expect. Mock interviews can be intentionally catered to the company, role, and point in the interview process to help you nail each round!

Because interviews always take priority when it comes to allocating your time and resources, it’s important to communicate early and often with your Coach so that they can aid you in balancing time demands and weekly point quota requirements.

Typical Interview Process

While each company’s interview process is unique, in general, you can expect something close or similar to the following when it comes to interviewing rounds:

  • Phone screen/Interview
  • Coding Challenge
  • Technical Interview
  • Onsite Interview
  • Offer

There may be more interview rounds. There may be less. The first interview might actually be a coding challenge rather than a phone screen, but the important takeaway is that some form of each stage is likely to occur, so your success in the Interview Stage is dependent on your ability to prepare for any combination of the above interview types.

You’ll notice the columns in your Huntr board mimic the above interview rounds. This is intentional and meant to support you when it comes to keeping track of details surrounding where you’re at in each process for each company.

Daily Expectations

  • Log time / Apps in Huntr - including Interview Debriefs
  • Commit to GitHub - minimum 2 commits
  • Research company for upcoming interviews
  • Study for upcoming interviews
    • Company tech stack
    • Tech trivia
    • Etc.
  • Complete 3 DS&A problems
  • Networking/Outreach: 2 connections + 1 Clearbit
  • Check, read, and respond to emails and Slack
  • Check Google Calendar

Weekly Expectations

  • Submit applications, send Clearbits, connect with people via LinkedIn
    • Use 3-5 different job sources
    • Log everything in Huntr by 11:59 pm PST, Saturday
    • Your coach may adjust quotas relative to traction
  • Complete weekly HackerRank challenge
  • Participate in pairboarding (group event or one-on-one with a peer)
  • Push at least 10 GitHub commits - check GitHub garden
  • Attend weekly company information sessions
  • Meet with Coach to provide a weekly update
  • Post on LinkedIn (article, update, status, etc.)
  • Mock interview with a coach for the upcoming interview
  • Attend bootcamp events (workshops, speakers, panels, etc)
  • Send “thank you” note to interviewer within 24 hours of interview completion

Monthly Expectations

  • Review materials (projects, resume, etc.) with a coach
  • Mock Behavioral Interview two times per month
  • Attend two non-bootcamp events per month
  • Check projects links to ensure functionality

Downloadable Expectation Checklist

What Happens Next

After the Interview Stage is the Pending Offer + Negotiation Stage. At this point, you could have one or several offers on the table, so this is when you’ll start to dig into the specifics of the offers and ensure the total package aligns with what you want and need from your next role. Never negotiated before? Don’t worry. We’ll help you every step of the way.

Pro Tips

Tips for moving on to the Pending Offer + Negotiation Stage:

  • Keep Huntr up-to-date with specific details and notes at each stage of the interview process - This will help you stay organized.
  • Research the company - Practice tweaking responses to behavioral interviewing questions to be specific to the company and role you’re interviewing for.
  • Ask questions about the interview process - Ask the recruiter/hiring manager/interview coordinator for additional details on the nature of the interview, especially if it’s technical. How can you best prepare? Do you need a specific environment setup?
  • Do not “put all of your eggs in one basket” still holds true at this stage, even if you’re close to an offer. A lot can change at any point in the interview process; we don’t want you to miss out on other great roles by putting everything into a single role or company.
  • Be Patient - Companies move at different speeds during their hiring process. Rather than trying to rush it, see how you can continue to learn, grow, and fill in skills gaps.
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