To get called for an interview after submitting your resume can be a daunting experience but if you’re lucky enough to make it to the interview phase, it’s very important for you to understand what you need to do in order to ace IT Job interview successfully.

The tech industry is big and it’s growing with almost 882,000 job posting being posted in emerging tech. You might have heard that you need to up your game by networking with the right people as well as acquiring the right skills needed which is all valid about the tech industry and which can ensure you successfully ace your next IT Job interview.

But the certifications you have as well as your network can only get you so far which is why you need to master the skills needed in order to succeed in the interview room since you’re right in there to prove your worth as well as trying to convince the interview why they should hire you above others..

It’s been reported that more than 92% of adults in the US stress over one or more aspects of a job interview and for real this is a big deal because you just don’t know what you’re going n there to face or how many people will be interviewing you especially of you have some type of phobia.

If you’re getting overwhelmed by the anxiousness, then you need to take some really vital steps which can in turn help you succeed in your next IT job interview. But one important thing you must know for sure is to “Prepare” because that way, you can tackle whatever you’re going to face successfully.

The right information is ultra-important

Lack of information is terrible and getting the wrong information is even worse which is why you need to know before hand the job you’re interviewing for as well as the company which you’re interviewing with. With that said, a little bit of a research is what is needed for you to ace your next IT Job interview.

It would be really embarrassing for you to walk into the interview room and start asking “Please what job am I interviewing for” or something relating to that sense of question. Also, a good knowledge of the company is truly important which is what will allow you know how you can place yourself in explaining where you’ll fit in to the organization.

While you don’t necessarily have to do some full-blown research on the organization or the job you’re interviewing for, interviewers usually ask questions like “How did you hear about us”, “what do you know about our company”, “tell us what attracted you to the position” as a way of rating your knowledge about the company as well as the job you’re interviewing for.

And it will be a really bad idea to mess those simply questions up as a little bit of a research done through Google search engine is enough for you to keep you afresh about the company as well as the job you’re interviewing for.

In some cases, it might be even be a good idea to know who you’ll be interviewing with as well as their role in the company. In some cases, you’re usually brought on to the hiring manager or the human resource manager who then set you up with an IT professional who understands the field you’re interviewing for very much.

According to the senior manager Mark McFarland of Relativity, he stated that “Knowing that information will allow you to prepare how you might answer role-specific questions and sell yourself to the interviewers. It will also help you brainstorm targeted questions you can ask them at the end of your conversation if time allows.”

You need to keep a good impression

To ace an IT Job interview, you need to work on your first impression which they say goes a long way and that is why you want to make sure the interviewer likes you enough to consider you for the job and in order to achieve that, you need to master the art of lasting impression. With your great resume which had brought you to the hot interview seat in the first place, you want to ensure that you’re the best person for the job. To achieve this, you need to master the following:

Practice well enough:

Before coming for the interview which would have been scheduled with you long enough, you need to prepare well enough for possible questions. You need to be able to relax your mind and not freak out in order for you to successfully answer questions without stuttering unnecessarily as if you’ve crammed what you were going to say. This way, you can try with a member of the family or a friend to simulate the real interview scenarios.

Be on time:

One bad thing you don’t want to experience is getting late for interview. There is Google Maps which can always be of good help for you to locate the place by using the Street view mode to check on the environment, the nearest buildings and so forth. Also, you need to leave your home as early as possible in order to avoid unexpected situation such as traffic problem or having to run which could mess up your dressing.

Look your best:

Speaking of messing your dress, interviewing for an IT job doesn’t necessarily require you wearing a suit and tie meanwhile it will be important for you to first understand the culture of the company and also one rule of thumb is that you want to look as cool as possible which have to do with your accessories, your hair and your dresses.

Observe:

While waiting for the interviewer to come in, you can always take this time out to study the office as well as the behaviors of your potential future co-workers. Get a first-hand idea of how co-workers interact with one another all which can further guide you through the interview process of your IT job.

Ace the IT Job interview

When eventually you’re called upon which is the time you’ve been waiting for, you need to understand it as a conversation rather than thinking of it as an interrogation which might affect the way you respond to questions being asked.

One thing you also need to understand is that the interviewer will try to get everything they can about you in order to judge if you’re the right person for the job as hiring mistake in the IT can be costly.

There might be situations whereby they might ask you questions you do not understand or you just didn’t hear them well enough, do not assume instead, ask them to come again. Some IT job interviews might also require a skills test such as writing a short program and so forth.

According to DEV.co CEO, Nate Nead, “When we interview folks, we typically send them a specific problem that tests their native coding ability. In doing so, we want them to work without the pressure of having us in front of them. In other words, we want them in a situation that would simulate reality. Then, we have them present their findings and work as part of the interview process. We have found this to be one of the most rapid filters for separating the wheat from the chaff for software development staffing.”

Ask the right questions

The IT job interview process is usually a turn after turn process with the interviewer asking the questions before but when you get to your own turn to ask questions, it’s important to ask the right questions. Asking questions at the end of interview can signal your interest in the company as well as the job also if you don’t get hired eventually but want to try again in the future, the information gathered can guide your next process to success.

You can simply ask questions such as:

• Why is the position open? Is it a new role or has someone recently vacated the position?
• How far along is the recruitment process? When are you looking to hire someone?
• Why did the interviewer join the company? What keeps them there?
• Can they describe the company’s culture?
• What does a day in the life of this role look like?
• What traits would make someone successful in this role?

What about remote tech job interviews?

Since nearly most of tech jobs had gone remote due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s really important to understand that despite scheduling for a remote IT job interview, it’s also important to take the caution of not screwing it up by treating it as though it’s not a formal interview.

This way, you need to ensure your surroundings are well prepared for the interview as well as yourself. You don’t want situations whereby your kids or your pet are running about on the camera which signals the type of person you are to the interviewer.

You should ensure your environment is clean as well as tied up. Thanks to software like Zoom, you can also change your background a virtual one which will hide everything at the back and if you have a green screen, that will make the task even better.

Career coach Stephanie Thoma encourages her clients to ask themselves about their environment, “Is it clean and tidy? Should you default to a green screen? The real question is: does your actual space or background detract the focus from you in any way?” 

“If the answer is yes, then it’s time to either clean up your space, or default to a background that is either a solid hue or office setting. (Let’s leave the Tiger Kind backdrops for virtual hangouts with friends),” Thoma says.

Be well dressed

You might be wearing your pajamas and socks underneath but the part which will be seen by the interviewer needs to be well dressed and those includes your hair, your facial hair, your shirt, suit etc. Ensure you look really formal as though you’re having a real physical meeting.

“Candidates should always dress for the job or company culture, virtual interview or not,”  says Dax Wandling, executive recruiter at TalentSparkAnother. “Another mistake is to be in too casual of an environment. Sitting on a couch or a bed doesn’t put off a professional vibe. Rather, sit at a countertop or a table on a straight-back chair or stool.”

Be Distraction-free

To ace your IT Job interview you need to pay close attentions to whatever the interviewer is saying. You can as well bring along with you a book and a pen to jot down important points which is being passed across to you to show how serious you are about the IT Job interview.

Ensure your smartphone is in silence in order to prevent it from distracting you when calls or message notifications come sin. Your cats, kids etc shouldn’t be near where you are or better still, chose a location or a room that has a door which you can close so nobody accidentally bumps in during your interview section.

Test your equipment

You don’t want scenarios whereby you’ll run out of internet data or your smartphone or computer turning off during an interview section. You need to cross-check everything and ensure they can last those period. You microphone or your headphone needs to be working well in order for you to hear what is being said and be heard when you’re talking.

Don’t forget to say “thank you”

The last part is when the interview section is over, be professional enough to send a simple “Thank you” note to your interviewer which can further improve your candidacy. If you’re hired on the spot, that is a good news for you and you definitely need to say this as well as sending it via an email message.

Sending a thank-you note also gives you the opportunity to ask any lingering questions.

For Alex Kovalenko, senior IT recruiter at Kovasys IT Recruiters, thank-you notes are very important these days. “Most companies end up interviewing 5-7 people per position they would offer. Only 1 or 2 people would follow up with a thank you note -so you would definitely stand out,” Kovalenko added. To really hit the ball out of the park, Kovalenko recommends sending a thank-you note right away or at least within 24 hours of your interview which is one of the factors that help you ace your next IT Job interview.