Programmers Networking Group

Interviewing and recruiting procedures are similar at most tech companies. The more prepared you are for what you will encounter, the more successful you will be.

Hiring procedures at technical companies are often substantially different from those followed by more traditional firms.

The first step in getting a job is making contact with companies you're interested in working for.

Networking (the social kind) is the best way to find interesting companies to work for. Tell all your friends about what kind of job you're looking for. Once a month we could gather to Talk code (e.g., take turns writing the smallest script which would do something arcane) Do some data mining (what's happening in the programming industry?) Reinforce the idea that we are all looking for better assignments (keep the antennae up). Here's something I found in The Age of Paradox by Charles Handy: Some portfolio workers form their own clubs or networks. Networks are useful, but if they reside mainly in your address files, they lack the spontaneity of a club. It is not quite the same as a bar and a reading room. Every network needs a club at its hub to add the human face to the electronic impulse. Clubs for the unemployed offer the right facilities but can, too often, be places of shared misery rather than shared learning. Only if their members start to think portfolio does the club take on a new life, looking not for jobs but for customers.

It's tempting to call up a contact and say, "Hi, I'd like to speak with you about getting a job." Presumably, your contact already knows that this is the ultimate reason that you're calling, so cutting to the chase may seem reasonable. This approach, though, is tactless and likely to be unsuccessful. Your contact my find it arrogant or presumptive that you would assume his company needs you before you've even heard about the company or its current needs. For best results, you need to be more circumspect.

Start by setting up a time to speak to your contact, begin by asking about the company and finding out what it does. If it sounds like a good place to work, ask about openings.

If an opening sounds ideal for you, explain why you believe that you would be a good match.

Finally, thank the person for his time and ask if you can send a resume or if there's another person you can speak with about the openings.

Try contacting companies directly. Its a long shot, but it takes so little time and effort that you have nothing to lose.

The next step is the screening interview, usually conducted by phone and lasts 30 minutes.

The interviewer wants to make sure that you're interested in doing the job he is hiring for, that you have the skills needed for the position, and that you're willing to accept any logistical requirements of the position.

Then, after asking you a few knowledge-based questions, the interviewer will probably invite you to an interview at the company's office.

the above excerpted from
Programming Interviews Exposed
by John Mongan and Noah Suojanen

the below is from various sources

Interviewing provides the information the interviewer needs to make the hiring decision. This is best done by relating answers directly to the job and the company being discussed.

Negotiating

Thank you

Follow up

Acceptance

Starting

Adjusting

Review

Exit

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