Associate Software Developer

The_Hurricane

Hi All,

I've been short-listed for an interview for the above position within the sister company of the one I currently work for. My existing role at the moment exposes me to IT practices etc but my actual participation would be limited, however my degree etc is in IT/Software development.

I want to read up on as much as possible for this role to ensure that I make the best preparations possible, what do you recommend?

Below is the job specification:

Develop and enhance software from requirements and specification
Be responsible for component testing
Actively participate on project teams
Build collaborative customer relationships
Work as part of a globally distributed team across time zones

The ideal candidate will:

Have or be about to achieve a BSc or equivalent in Computer Science or a related discipline with at least a second class honours, upper division (2.1)
Have at least 6 months relevant work or placement experience
Have a genuine and practical interest in software design
Be a participative team member with excellent interpersonal and communication skills

Thanks in advance.

albionrovers

ITIL would be advantageous

jaydeeuk1

Software developer - is this web apps? Windows based?

Its a really generic title!

The_Hurricane

Just added a little more information to the original post.

paddyrg

Especially as an associate one! I wouldn't worry to much, each company might use a different development framework or methodology let alone language and standards, you won't get much from reading up on agile methodologies for instance if you're an MSF shop, only confuse yourself. They'll teach you their way, just need open to it.

If can find out which languages they're using, or even what IDE you use (eclipse, visual studio, etc), you can get a bit of a head start so you don't feel like a noob on day 1, but you will anyway, don't worry about it!

The_Hurricane

paddyrg wrote: »

Especially as an associate one! I wouldn't worry to much, each company might use a different development framework or methodology let alone language and standards, you won't get much from reading up on agile methodologies for instance if you're an MSF shop, only confuse yourself. They'll teach you their way, just need open to it.

If can find out which languages they're using, or even what IDE you use (eclipse, visual studio, etc), you can get a bit of a head start so you don't feel like a noob on day 1, but you will anyway, don't worry about it!

Thanks for that but it's getting past the interview stage that concerns me, what sort of things are likely to be asked?

shaz77_2

I wonder if working for the sister company is likely to prove a disadvantage?

The_Hurricane

I wondered that too Shaz. I'm taking voluntary redundancy with the sister company so I'm a little worried that may work against me.

davidwelch158

They'll almost certainly ask questions about any relevant experience you'd have. Do your degree include a project? You could refresh your memory on what you did, problems you overcame, what you learnt, etc. The same thing with any work experience.

albionrovers

"Work as part of a globally distributed team across time zones"

Is it perhaps the American financial model?
If so, don't be expecting to get a full night's kip ever again. Trust me.

RobTang

The_Hurricane wrote: »

Thanks for that but it's getting past the interview stage that concerns me, what sort of things are likely to be asked?

It would really depend what kind of shop they are, place to place varies a lot.

Generally when I do technical interviews I would ask about a third on the specific toolset (ie .net java html css javascript etc)

A third theoretical / computer science stuff, eg. Object orientated design, general design patterns (usually gang of four stuff), dependency injection, testing methodologies (but generally limited to unit testing.) and maybe your opinion on something newish (eg say elastic computing)

The other third on problem solving and your internal process for handling situations, in a face to face interview I would do simple like programming exercise.

As a side note for me being genuinely interested in the subject is as important as knowing the right answers.

DISCLAIMER : This is how I personally conduct interviews, none of this may happen in an interview, your mileage may vary.