June 3, 2021

Questions you can expect in an NZ tech interview

10 min read

There’s a lot of job seeking and interview advice we provide that could be applicable to most roles within the tech sector. In fact, much of our advice could be applied to job seeking in general. But there’s no avoiding the fact that for a highly technical role, your interview will lean more into some of the ins and outs of those requirements. After all, if you don’t have the hard skills required, the employer simply can’t get their projects delivered. It’s important for them to access your skill levels using a number of questions. While every business is different, we’ve provided some typical questions you may be asked below.

Our hope is that reading these will give you some food for thought as you prepare for your next interview.

Why a tech role interview is different

Before we jump into some example questions, let’s clearly define what we mean by ‘tech role’ in this context. We’re specifically talking about developer, architecture, and lead roles that require an intimate knowledge of a set discipline (or combination thereof) to be successful. However, in some situations, an employer might want a Project Manager or Business Analyst with good technical knowledge in order to satisfy the needs of a project. This will always be clearly stated in a job description (and by our consultants if you’re engaging with Absolute IT!), so it’s unlikely you’d be blindsided. If you don’t know exactly the level of technical knowledge a role will demand, don’t be afraid to follow up with the recruiter or hiring manager to find out prior to an interview.

While soft skills are important for tech roles, the hard skills are essential. The job interview is just one checkpoint that an employer will use to establish your expertise and fit for what they need.

Beyond this, another marked difference of a technical IT interview to others is the likelihood of some more task based questions – you may even complete some of this process without a hiring manager in the room. How these interviews are structured varies so much between employers, so for now we’ll just cover the questions as if they’re being asked in person.

Now let’s talk about some common questions you might get asked in a technical interview.

What coding languages are you versed in?

This is central to many tech roles, given that a particular language will be used for development within a project or product team. Yes, your CV should include all of this information, but the job interview will be used to really hone in on your level of expertise in a specific area.

For example, you might be asked about your understanding and practical application of React Native in the development of mobile apps. The interview may ask things like what sort of role did you play in developing X product using React Native and what advantages of React Native bring to your work on the project that other mobile languages don’t have.

To get a better feel for your knowledge on the topic, they may ask about your experience with challenges involved in working within a particular language, seeking some examples.

There’s a good chance the hiring manager will understand or have another senior team member in the interview who understands the language deeply in order to cross check the quality of your responses (after the interview of course!).

Knowing that this type of question may come up can be helpful when building out your CV. Remember to clearly outline the disciplines you’re very experienced in and differentiate these from the others that you’ve got a passing understanding of (but less application experience personally). Honesty is always the best approach!

Tell me about a time where you’ve applied a skill in (coding language, tech discipline) to help a project succeed.

This is similar to the above question, but the interviewer will specifically be looking for a particular scenario in which you applied your expertise to directly influence the success of a project. How you answer this depends entirely on your experience. Have a think about moments where you personally wrote some code or suggested an approach that was taken up and used to generate a result.

These situational questions are likely to come up – while they can be a little intimidating at first, with preparation, these can actually turn into some of the best moments of an interview where you’re truly showcasing your abilities.

How do you stay up to date with the latest IT developments?

It feels like every week the world of tech changes. Employers want to know if you’ve got your finger on the pulse as to general industry news, but also important information about platforms that will directly impact your work. A good example of this would be news about vulnerabilities in part of your stack that are discovered and thus need to be patched by the team. Employers will be comforted by the fact you make an effort to stay current on your knowledge of relevant IT matters.

This question is also a good opportunity to work out where you get your information from – are you a follower of news and community sources that the Employer and their team feel confident in? Tech, unlike many industries, is so reliant on the collective knowledge of global online communities (especially when it comes to mastering certain languages) that a demonstration of your engagement within these might help build a more complete picture of the value you bring.

How do you approach a project requiring an unfamiliar language, platform or other technical element?

This one is really important. It’s totally fine not to understand or even know about aspects of tech – it’s a massive subject area, and we’re yet to find an individual with a deep knowledge in all aspects yet (and we meet more tech professionals than almost anyone each week!).

But an employer is more concerned with how you adapt or take initiative to upskill and research on something that’s new. Remember, a business isn’t just hiring you for the experience you bring up until today; they’re investing in someone who will develop and increase their expertise, thus adding more value as you work together in the future.

Here you will want to draw upon any previous experience you have with learning something new in tech:

What sources did you go to in order to learn more?
What challenges did you encounter with the knowledge gap?
What risks do you see in a project introducing a language or platform that doesn’t have sufficient expertise driving it?

This is an opportunity to demonstrate some real maturity and transparency to the hiring manager; they’ll be encouraged by someone with problem solving and critical thinking skills who knows how to learn and adapt vs. someone who tries to pass off expertise in everything.

What’s your preferred working style and how do you find being in an Agile team?

There’s no denying that Agile is pretty much the preferred team style in tech these days. It just makes sense for many product or project teams where there’s changes and complexity everyday to navigate. This style of running a team obviously demands a high level of communication skills in order to work.

However, this question is also your opportunity to find out whether your style and the employer’s are compatible. You may prefer significant stretches of work uninterrupted and solo. That doesn’t need to be directly in opposition to an Agile approach, but it’s worth exploring in the job interview to make sure you’d enjoy working in that environment. If you do have experience flourishing in an Agile team, now’s the time to reinforce the benefits of this. An employer who has embedded this methodology will be happy to hear that a candidate is in favour of this over someone who is clearly opposed to it.

What are your interests within technology outside of your job? Do you have any projects on the go?

While this is sometimes interpreted by candidates as more of a personality/interest question, it’s also a way for an employer to surface more interests and skills you have that could provide benefit to their business.

We know that many of you aren’t just tech professionals for a paying job, but have a passion for technology that manifests in hobby websites, business ideas, apps, games, blogs and education.

If you are involved in anything tech-related outside of your paying work, it’s a great way to chat more about skills you’ve developed and applied to pet projects you’re happy talking about. The interviewer may even ask you about where they can find these projects (like in the case of a blog or website).

Tell us about an area of IT that you’re particularly interested in learning more about.

A thirst for learning and knowledge is a tremendously attractive quality in a candidate. If you read this question and had to think about it carefully, you’ll probably want to do some preparation here, including writing down a list to take in with you.

If you’re someone who has good front-end development abilities but want to become ‘full-stack’, then this is when you can talk about a desire to upskill in the area of back end development.

Being interested in learning doesn’t just apply to languages and platforms though. We see plenty of developers end up in architecture, lead, security or strategy roles as they’re able to apply technical skills and evolve to fill high-level positions. You may be at that stage now, or perhaps looking at such a move in your future. If so, feel free to share this with the hiring manager. In our industry, many businesses make a special effort to support employees with their career development such as mentoring, training and even supporting the completion of qualifications.

How would you describe your job and the work you do to someone not familiar with IT at all?

When you get asked this, chances are the employer is testing your ability to communicate as a layperson to stakeholders within the business who don’t know their JavaScript from their HTML.

If you live and breathe your technical discipline, without too much need to communicate with non-tech folk, this can actually be quite a challenge. We’d suggest preparing for such a question by writing out a description of what you do and checking it with someone who is totally unfamiliar to IT – a family member or friend perhaps. They can give feedback on this and help you refine your skills in communicating technical concepts to anyone.

The ability to connect your work with the wider business is a skill that develops over time. It’s also as much about listening to others as it is about good communication. Don’t get too hung up on this question, especially if you’re interviewing for a highly specialised role. But if want to end up in a lead or managerial role eventually, there’s no better time than now to start thinking about this question.

Technical Scenario – In (situation), how would you approach this and what are some of the things to watch out for?

Maybe one of the trickiest, but not uncommon questions in a technical interview is when the hiring manager throws up a hypothetical situation to test your ability to apply expertise immediately to solving a problem. Now, given the context of the job interview, they won’t (or shouldn’t) be expecting a complete, perfect solution. Rather, they’ll be interested in some of the considerations you make (out loud), the questions you ask, and an idea of skills you’d draw upon.

To prepare for this, do some thinking on:

What are challenges that most or all tech projects face?
What are the common oversights within technical projects you’ve encountered?
Where are your skills and experience most valuable on a task or project?
Outside of the technical solution, are there typical communication or soft skills that need to be drawn upon during a tough situation? What are these?

Keen to dig into more about technical interviews with our team?

Talk with our team to learn more about what’s involved in a tech-based job interview and how you can be well prepared for the questions that may come your way.

A job interview starts when you enter the building

7 min read

Recently we’ve provided a number of insights about job interviews, including navigating panel interviews and how to feel confident going into an interview. In this article, we want to talk about the peripheral elements of a job interview that when combined, can make a big difference. First and last impressions count, and you never know who you’ll run into before and after the actual interview. Here’s some easy ways you can nail the job interview from start to finish.

Preparing for interview day

Preparation is key to a successful interview. An employer will be able to tell fairly quickly if the interviewee has done the prep or if they are winging it. And ultimately, preparation is about giving yourself justice when the meeting starts.

Being prepared can be broken down into a number of elements:

Homework on the job role and its requirements.
Writing out and planning answers to likely situational questions.
Preparing some questions to ask.
Establishing your transport plan to the interview (allowing enough time in case a bus is late or parking is tight).
Learning a bit about the company you’re visiting.
Confirming who’ll be attending the interview (chat to the recruiter or hiring manager about this).
Having a clear idea as to your goals and ambitions – short, medium and long term.

Once you’ve squared away some of the interview homework and logistics, there’s one more thing you should think about:

Dressing for success

It’s a cliché, sure. And in 2021 the workforce is far more casually dressed when compared to 20 years ago. But there’s still merit in dressing in a way that communicates you’re taking the opportunity seriously. Avoid overly casual shoes or untidy clothing. A good rule is to dress simple but neatly.

The role you’re applying for has some bearing on what you should dress like as well. For example, a junior developer should aim for tidy, neat clothing but not lose too much sleep if they don’t own a luxury corporate wardrobe. For a role that’s either more senior or requires a lot of meetings, customer and stakeholder relationships, there may be an expectation on someone who isn’t just capable at the job, but represents the company well through their personal presentation.

As we mentioned, 2021 is a somewhat confusing time for corporate fashion. You can get some hints by checking out the company’s website people page, social media or even asking a recruiter.

If in doubt, there’s far less risk to your chances of presenting well by overdressing than there is by underdressing.

Entering the building

You’ve made your way to the location of the interview. As you walk through the doors, you are now officially starting the job interview. A building foyer or lobby is full of activity and there’s a good chance someone from the company you’re interviewing for may be around. In some instances you may even be catching the elevator with someone in your job interview. While this isn’t often the case, it does happen; your mindset and manner should take this into account. Simply remain polite, feel free to make light conversations and avoid any personal phone calls or antisocial body language.

Greeting reception

This is the moment where many people truly feel the nerves of a job interview; the doors of the lift open into a reception area where the signage of the company greets you along with someone at reception or potentially an electronic sign in system.

Whoever you first meet in reception, consider them one of the people interviewing you. Receptionists can meet hundreds of people a day and in some organisations are asked for their impressions of candidates.

While it may be natural to quickly state who you’re seeing, don’t forget to greet the person and ask them how they are going. This is a good rule in general – not just in a job interview!

Then, simply state the manager you’re there to see (your preparation earlier will ensure you have the name to hand if needed!) and for what time. Otherwise the electronic sign in system will notify the hiring manager by email.

Waiting for the interview

It’s a good idea to turn up 5 minutes before the start of an interview to make sure you are waiting for the hiring manager and not the other way around. As you sit in reception, go through some of your notes about the role, your experience, goals etc – the key things you want to get across in the conversation.

Then take a look around at the activity within the reception area – you’ll likely see and hear things that give you a sense for the energy of this company. You might even get into a conversation with someone who works there. While this might seem minor, being able to pick up on the company culture in some brief observation can help you approach the interview in a more attuned way. At the very least, you’ll get some small talk to break the ice by noticing a great view, a piece of artwork or values written on the wall.

That 5 minutes is far better spent preparing that catching up on social media – trust us!

Meeting the hiring manager

As you meet the hiring manager, it’s important to not let nerves get in the way of a natural friendly greeting. Make sure you shake hands, smile and look them in the eye. Don’t get too wrapped up in saying too much here – you’ve got the entire interview to talk about yourself. Instead you might want to drop in a friendly ice breaker like we mentioned above. Or why not ask them a question instead? How is their week going? We learn the most by asking and listening so this is an opportune time to pick up on any extra information about the company you’re meeting.

The hiring manager will bring you into a meeting room at which point you’ll meet any other people attending. Again, greet each person individually and repeat their name back (“Hi, Tim”) to try and make this stick.

If you’ve brought some notes with you, don’t be afraid to lay this out in front of you for easy access. Just ensure these notes are more prompts for you vs. verbatim answers otherwise the interview could become a bit unnatural!

The interview

Now it’s time for the conversation. The good news is that by the time this starts, all the preparation and anticipation is done – you can simply talk about the role and your experience. We have some excellent insights around job interviews in our articles section and resources, so be sure to check these out!

After the interview

As things come to a close, it’s time to confirm next steps. You’ll usually get a timeframe in terms of the next stage and finding out if you’ve been shortlisted. If not, feel free to ask this.

Make a point of saying goodbye to each person in the interview, as well as the person on reception as you leave.

Congratulations, you’ve made it through the interview! Remember, as long as you’re still in the building, you need to remain professional. One of the more common mistakes we encounter is when candidates get on the phone to friends or family while still exiting – you never know who is around listening. Make sure to hold off any conversations like this until you’re out of earshot of anyone who might be around.

If you’re working through a recruiter like Absolute IT, we’ll touch base and find out how it all went. We’ll also be able to facilitate the next stages and of course line up other opportunities.

As you reflect on the interview and indeed the job opportunity, some questions may come to mind that you’d like to ask. This is of course fine, and we’d suggest combining a courtesy email thanking the hiring manager for their time along with 1-2 pressing questions about the role.

Whether you’re successful or not, reflection on the process is important. The more interviews you do, the better and more relaxed you’ll usually become. Like anything, practice makes perfect.

Want to know more about the job interview process?

Talk with our team about how you can nail job interviews, plus get access to some of the best IT opportunities in New Zealand.