A Stoic Approach to Tech Interviews
I wanted to change roles recently so I began the interview process. Everything was exciting at first, I was applying to big and small companies with the hope of getting a few interviews. Then came the rejections. Nobody likes to read rejection emails. It makes us feel that we are not good enough. That's not the case though. There isn't much within your control once you hit the apply button for a job. All you can do is sit and wait. Accepting this means that if a recruiter says they can't hire me because I am not a good fit, that's not my problem anymore. This brings us to the topic of this post. A Stoic approach to software interviews (though I am sure this applies to all interviews).
So what does Stoicism have to do with interviewing? In my opinion, everything.
For those that are unfamiliar with this philosophy, Stoicism's main tagline is to focus on what is within your control and disregard everything that is not in your control. This doesn't mean getting complacent or using it as an excuse when something goes wrong. It means that we should try to do our best (within ethical bounds) to achieve our goals.
Epictetus, a well-known Stoic, said it well in the Enchiridion:
Some things are in our control and others not. Things in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things not in our control are body, property, reputation, command, and, in one word, whatever are not our own actions. ~ Epictetus
With software interviews, there are a lot of factors that are outside of your control. You don't control the mood of the recruiter when they look at your resume. You don't control the mental state of the person who is interviewing you. You don't control the type of questions that you will be asked during this interview. Neither do you control the number of people that are applied to the same position as you. There are so few things within our control, so when you get rejected or don't hear back, do not feel disheartened. Accept that factors out of your control could have led to this.
Now does this mean you should do absolutely nothing and hope for the best every time you apply? No. You don't control the choices of other people but you can control how you present yourself to other people.
There are many areas within your control but for succinctness, I'll focus on:
- Your Resume
- Communication
Your Resume
Your resume is the very first item that a recruiter will see. On average, a recruiter might spend twenty to thirty seconds scanning a resume. You want to optimize it for that short period. Keep it short. Bold phrases you think are important for the recruiter to see. Get rid of unnecessary information, like summaries and hobbies.
Put yourself if the recruiter's shoes, they have a few seconds to make a potential six-figure decision. Look at your resume and ask yourself, "when I look at this resume, am I willing to select it and pay the person 100 grand a year?" That puts things into perspective.
Communication
Once your resume has been polished up, you should account for the next variable in your control. Your communication skills. Communication has a greater weight in your selection than your technical skills in my opinion. Are you able to communicate effectively during the interview? Work on it if you think you're not effective yet.
One way I did this is by participating in the hiring process. Doing technical or behavioral interviews for candidates your company is hiring is a good way to improve. There is nothing more valuable than understanding how the interviewer formulates their questions, and what they are looking for from the candidates.
In what is known as the most popular self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie, mentions one of the best ways to get people to like you is to get them talking about themselves, so ask questions about their time at the company, what they like about working there, or their interests outside of work. People would rather work with someone they like who is technically competent versus someone they dislike but is technically excellent.
Even after working very hard, you still might not get that interview or offer you were hoping for. And that's fine. Remember, not in your control. Keep trying, the next step is all that matters.