What to expect & How To Be Prepared

What to expect & How To Be Prepared

Hello.My Name is

Michael.

Hello.My Name is

Michael.

What To Expect.What To Expect.

We Expect people to Be honest, respectful, and always find joy in what you do - have a positive/can-do attitude. 

We Expect people to Be honest, respectful, and always find joy in what you do - have a positive/can-do attitude.  -Kim Smith

Have all your Materials present - resume, business card, portfolio, etc. Also,

Know the job you're applying for, and how your skill set

will fit in.-Janna Shepherd

Have all your Materials present - resume, business card, portfolio, etc. Also,

Know the job you're applying for, and how your skill set

will fit in.

When it comes to us artsy folks, visuals are a must. For me as a graphic designer, I honestly don't think it matters if it's a paper portfolio, a PDF or an online portfolio. You just need to have one. Every employer will ask for it, and as long as you have presented it in a nice, professional way, then you're off to a good start.

When it comes to us artsy folks, visuals are a must. For me as a graphic designer, I honestly don't think it matters if it's a paper portfolio, a PDF or an online portfolio. You just need to have one. Every employer will ask for it, and as long as you have presented it in a nice, professional way, then you're off to a good start.

-Cary Apel

How To Be PreparedHow To Be Prepared

When in an interview, give firm handshakes and look people in the eye when you are talking to them.  Always give honest answers and be willing to make an effort (if you don't know a program, learn it...maybe create more examples of your work, etc.).   Ask questions about their company - you are interviewing them as well.

When in an interview, give firm handshakes and look people in the eye when you are talking to them.  Always give honest answers and be willing to make an effort (if you don't know a program, learn it...maybe create more examples of your work, etc.).   Ask questions about their company - you are interviewing them as well.

-Kim Smith

Networking! Become friends and network with people in

the business you're wanting to go into. Knowing the

right people makes all the difference. 

Networking! Become friends and network with people in

the business you're wanting to go into. Knowing the

right people makes all the difference. -Janna Shepherd

Knowing people is your biggest help. Being on time, putting yourself out there, and finishing school strong are all things I would say as well. But when someone knows you, your father, or your sister's ex-boyfriend's second cousin, it makes for an automatic in. It makes it personal. The future employer immediately has a testimony of who you are from someone they trust, or they will associate you with that friendship or mutual acquaintance they have.

Knowing people is your biggest help. Being on time, putting yourself out there, and finishing school strong are all things I would say as well. But when someone knows you, your father, or your sister's ex-boyfriend's second cousin, it makes for an automatic in. It makes it personal. The future employer immediately has a testimony of who you are from someone they trust, or they will associate you with that friendship or mutual acquaintance they have.

With that being said, be careful of your reference as well. If it's someone you don't really trust or respect, there's a good chance the person your interview knows that as well. So, I wouldn't recommend them dropping your name even if it is a close friend just trying to help out.

With that being said, be careful of your reference as well. If it's someone you don't really trust or respect, there's a good chance the person your interview knows that as well. So, I wouldn't recommend them dropping your name even if it is a close friend just trying to help out.-Cary Apel

Now, lets see what other companies Are Wanting.

Now, lets see what other companies AreWanting.

The biggest thing to expect when entering the working world is that, in this industry, there not just a job waiting for you. You have to want it and you have to go get it. No one is going to hand you anything. So be ready to work hard, work harder and be passionate about what you're doing.

When we DO fill positions, its often from a pool of people we've already met. We very rarely post a job posting to our site and see who emails, we know we have a role to fill so we dig back through all the great folks we've talked to either in passing or at informational interviews and we go from there. So go out and meet everyone you can, as you never know when your name may fall across someone's lap.

Also, have a website worth visiting to. You're not getting through the door without a great website these days. None of this "my new one will be up soon" BS. Ain't nobody got no time for that.

Jamey EricksonOwner / Creative Director

• In face-to-face interviews, I'll normally ask a series of programming questions that they are free to answer using whatever language they like. I'm more interested in their thought process behind solving the problem than I am in the right answer.

• Challenges - both positive and negative - they encountered during school projects, internships, co-ops, or previous jobs, and how they handled both.

• In face-to-face interviews, I'll normally ask a series of programming questions that they are free to answer using whatever language they like. I'm more interested in their thought process behind solving the problem than I am in the right answer.

• Challenges - both positive and negative - they encountered during school projects, internships, co-ops, or previous jobs, and how they handled both.

Tom McFarlinDeveloper/Technical Editor of WPDaily.co

1. There's a lot of competition out there

2. Create a great portfolio

3. Always be honest and courteous, even in the face of obnoxious clients or coworkers

4. Never sell yourself short, and never work for free

5. There's a friendly and helpful community out there for you to tap into, but you've got to be friendly and helpful in return. Share all your knowledge; give away all your secrets.

6. Learn how to find answers on search engines!

7. You'll meet a lot of really crappy code out there, some of which you'll have to work with. Learn how to work with crappy code, and push standards and good practices wherever you can.

8. You'll have to learn a bit about business, especially if you're freelancing. There will be people out there who'll try to rip you off, and you need to be prepared.

9. There'll be people who know more about any subject you think you're great at, regardless of how good you are. Be prepared to be humble, at least some of the time.

10. You'll never stop learning.

At Opera we are generally looking for both excellent coders, and those who have a passionate belief in open standards and best practices (e.g. accessibility). Plus we love those with an open mind who embrace diversity.

Tips:1. get your code hat on; you'll probably be given a tough coding test

2. Be yourself, unless you are a serial killer

Chris MillsDeveloper Relations Manager, Opera

Expect to work twice as hard as the person who was hired before you. Expect to be patient and learn what you can from others.

Find every opportunity to observe, listen and learn. It doesn't matter how talented you think you might be. You're likely coming into the the working world with relatively zero experience. Find every opportunity to learn and contribute to the discussion when you're asked. The worst thing you can do is enter a job and act like you have already learned it all.

Don't look for ways to take the easy way out. You don't learn a thing and that lack of experience will handicap your career eventually.

You need to display and demonstrate a willingness and desire to learn, work hard and contribute. Come prepared to the interview:

* Invest the time to consider what questions you might be asked and put together thoughtful responses accordingly. You need to study for this event like you would an exam. Too often potential employees come to interviews unprepared and it's easy to spot and disappointing. 

* Consider what questions you can ask your employer about how they work, what their expectations are going to be of you and what you need to do in order to succeed. That's a good start.

* Do some research about your future employer and learn what you can about their business before hand. This information will be useful at some point during the interview.

* Dress for the job you want to have, not the party you went to the night before.

Greg StoreyPresident, Happy Cog

Be eager to learn. Learning doesn't stop when you're done school. I left school thinking that most of it was useless and yet, the older I get, the more I think I should've paid more attention in school. Work in different environments. Take a job in a small company, take a job in a big company. Different perspectives will broaden your experience. 

Have passion. With every company I've worked for in the last decade, I've noticed the same thing. The people that get hired and the people that do well are the ones that are excited about the work they're doing. It's something that they do as a hobby. I build sites during the day and then I go home and work on my own projects. I enjoy it that much.

Jonathan SnookDeveloper/Designer, Writer of SMACSS

Expect to be underpaid and overworked -- that's been the experience of most devs I know, including myself.  Many new devs get the maintenance / "crap" work, but it's at that time that developers learn the most;  how to fix odd problems, how to avoid problems in the future, how to cope with experienced developers, and more.  Don't get discouraged by the negative -- just take it and it eventually gets better. :)

My feeling on getting jobs in web development is that if you only code 9-5, I don't want you.  Employers want to see candidates' GitHub accounts, blogs, etc.;  seeing that the candidate loves webdev, not just see it as a job, makes a candidate infinitely more hirable.  My blog, for example, has taken me from a small web shop in Madison to Mozilla -- they wouldn't know me had I not started my blog!  I also recommend candidates be comfortable coding on a whiteboard -- they'll encounter that at larger web firms.

David WalshMozilla Web Developer