Interviewing Tips - Video Calls

COVID has changed a lot, making remote work much more common among businesses today. Due to this change, many interviews are also being held remotely via video call. Here are a few things to keep in mind when interviewing this way:

1. Install or update the video platform you will be interviewing over. The last thing you want to do is wait until the last minute to open the platform and it takes 5 minutes to update, making you late.

2. Declutter your background and make sure there is nothing distracting behind you. An ideal background is a plain wall with nothing behind you. If that isn’t possible, find an area that is neat, clean, and professional-looking.

3. Check the time zone. Always make sure you know the correct time for the interview. With many remote jobs taking place all over the country, this is vital to make sure you aren’t too early or too late for the interview.

4. Have a cheat sheet out of sight. Sometimes interviews make our minds go blank, so having a cheat sheet with notes, questions or anything else can be helpful and even make you feel more confident going into the interview.

5. Eliminate any outside noises. The hard part about video interviews is that they take place in your home, rather than a neutral office space. If you have kids, dogs, or any other noises, make sure to eliminate as many of those noises as you can. Microphones will pick up those noises, it’s best to have your voice as the only thing heard.

Have you had a video call interview? Have any tips for us?

Check out these other resources for more tips and advice.

How to Ace an Online Job Interview

Tips for a Successful Video Job Interview

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Photo by Beci Harmony on Unsplash

Post-Pandemic Work Spaces

It’s a thought that has crossed everyone’s minds - what is the world going to look like post-pandemic? Specifically, what are office spaces going to look like post-pandemic? Is everyone just going to stay working remotely? We all have questions with very few answers. But, there is one thing we have to our advantage - our imagination. I personally can’t imagine a world where we 100% go back to where we were before in-office. The ability to work at home is so valuable to so many people.

Many businesses have realized how beneficial working from home is. For some, their teams are more productive while being able to save time on their commute and be more present at home. It is a very flexible and beneficial set up. So many prefer being able to work at home because of all the benefits.

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

But, there will always be that missing piece of seeing your team in person. That missing link of face-to-face communication. Zoom only gets us so far. It just depends on which businesses are ok losing that part of their culture. Some people are totally fine being at home all day, only communicating via video chat and email. Others though, need to be in person with their team. That part of their culture is too valuable to let go of. Another big part of that face-to-face communication is it helps with morale. Being cooped up, alone, all day can do a number on the human psyche. I really liked this article by F. Diane Barth that discusses in more detail why working from home can make people feel down, but also offers helpful solutions.

To me, the ideal situation post-pandemic would be working from home part-time, along with some days in-office. This gives that balance of taking advantage of the flexibility of being at home, along with the interaction of being in-office. What will offices be like then? Check out this article with depictions of possible office spaces, as drawn by architects, about what they think offices will be like post-pandemic. It’s a good way to look to the future with some excitement and see what changes might be made in-office, and for the better.

I also have attached a few more interesting resources about what others think the post-pandemic office will be like. What do you think everything will be like when we get out of this pandemic? Do you think we will stay working from home? Or is it more likely we will go back to the office? Let us know!

The post-pandemic office dilemma: Who returns and who works from home?

5 ways the post-pandemic office will look very different

Has the Pandemic Transformed the Office Forever?

Cover photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

BLACK LIVES MATTER

At Code, we’ve always strived to invest, support, and give back to the local community through our space, actions, and time. Recent events have helped us to realize that we have fallen short and there is an opportunity for us to step forward and do more. We must be better for ourselves, for the future of Colorado, and for the many Black people who have suffered and died as a result of racism - George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and so many others. Code, in the future, will be a part of the solution and the fight against the systemically racist structures and policies we have unknowingly been complicit in. We stand firmly in support of the Black community and we condemn racism and discrimination in all forms. We believe that Black Lives Matter. We are actively listening, learning, and dedicated to being a part of a better future. For us, that starts with a $5,000 commitment to Black Lives Matter, but it doesn’t end there. In fact, this is just the beginning. This is a small step forward on a path we will walk for the long term. Moving forward we will be intentional in how we support the Black community in our hiring practices, donations, purchases, community meet-ups, client partnerships, and our vendor relationships. We will keep learning, keep listening, and keep seeking steps to be better. Speaking out matters, protests matter, racial equity matters, #BlackLivesMatter.

Photo credit to: https://unsplash.com/@munshots

How to help during COVID-19

I hope everyone is staying healthy and doing as well as possible in this strange new world. We’ll make it through this and come out the other side much closer (ironically) as a community. Please feel free to email me at kevin@code-talent.com if you need help of any kind. I’d love to hear about omissions from this list that I can add and I’m sure there are many. I’m excited to see many of you in-person at a meetup at Code, whenever that may be! Here are some ways you can help our fellow Coloradoans.

1.) Donate Blood: COVID 19 doesn’t cause a need for blood. The issue is that social distancing regulations has cancelled most blood drives and made it more difficult to get donors. Another issue is that people who donated early on during the Corona Virus shut down in late March aren’t able to give blood again until late May (2 months between blood donations). A steady flow of blood is needed so there could be a shortage over the next few weeks.

I was in last week, and it’s completely safe to donate blood. Protective equipment including gloves is worn by the staff to ensure safety. Currently they have donors lined up in the short term, but would love to get donors lined up for appointments in towards the end of April or early May.

I went to Vitalant (formerly Bonfils) Westminster office, and they have locations throughout the front range:

https://www.vitalant.org/Donate/Donate-Blood-Overview.aspx

Here is another website to find blood donation locations:

https://americasblood.org/?mod=article_inline

If you have survived Corona Virus, you can donate your blood plasma which has anti-bodies and allow patients to get those anti-bodies to fight off infection. Informational Article: https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-survivors-keep-up-the-fight-donate-blood-plasma-to-others-11585733401?mod=article_inline

2.) Equipment 

Personal Protective Equipment is a term we’ve all heard in the last couple months. If you happen to have extra masks, gloves or other PPE this great website will help find a healthcare facility for front-line worker who can use them - GetUsPPE.org

Masks are important to wear in public, and they will be for a long time. They don’t necessarily protect the person wearing them, but you do a great social good by wearing them because it greatly reduces the chance you get others infected if you happen to have an infection and don’t realize it. Face 2 Face Masks is an organization selling masks that are 2.5x more effective than cloth masks. When you buy 25 masks ($50) they will donate 25 masks to homeless shelters, where it is extremely dangerous and easy for diseases to spread among a vulnerable population. Their website is https://face2facemasks.org/

3.) Help restaurants and small businesses

The closure of businesses is brutal for basically every small business, as there’s no corner of the economy that hasn’t been hit by the effects of COVID-19. The website Help Main Street! has put together a map of every restaurant and retail store that is selling gift cards so you can financially support them now to help them survive, and redeem your gift card once things open back up. The website for this map (It looks like hundreds of companies on here just in Denver) is https://helpmainstreet.com/

There are also charitable funds that give 100% of donations towards workers and small businesses hit by this crisis. The breakdown of how the funds are given away are on the website.

Restaurant Focused - https://secure.restaurantworkerscf.org/np/clients/restaurantworkerscf/donation.jsp?campaign=2&forwardedFromSecureDomain=1&test=true&mod=article_inline

Domestic Workers (in-home care, nannies, house cleaners, etc) - https://secure.actblue.com/donate/coronavirus-care-fund?refcode=covidfundlightbox&mod=article_inline

4.) Food

Everyone needs food to survive, and not everyone has access to it. Especially with unemployment rising incredibly quickly, food banks need donations and food to help keep our families fed. Feeding America is an organization that can hook you up with a local food bank where you can donate money, food or time - https://www.feedingamerica.org/?mod=article_inline

5.) Volunteer Time - The Division of Homeland Security & Emergency Management for the State of Colorado has created a website to coordinate volunteer efforts to help in a variety of ways. Learn more and sign up at https://coloradoresponds.communityos.org/volunteer-registration

6.) Companies hiring

Layoffs and furloughs have swept the country, and most companies without layoffs certainly aren’t hiring. As a tech staffing firm, our list of positions we are working on looks a whole lot different than two months ago (but we do still have 40+ roles if you’re a software engineer!)

However, some companies have experienced an uptick in business and are hiring in Colorado. If you’re one of those companies, or you are looking for a great list to browse, check out the Colorado #COVID19 Talent Network: https://cocovid19startuptalent.splashthat.com/.

Also, check out these options below:

a.) Amazon - They have several warehouses and distribution centers in Colorado. They are currently hiring Warehouse jobs at their warehouses in Thornton, Denver and Aurora - https://search.amazondelivers.jobs/

b.) Dominos PIzza

c.) Dollar General

d.) Ace Distribution Center

e.) CVS Health

f.) Walgreens

g.) Pizza Hut

h.) USAFA

i.) Windigo Logistics

j.) T&H Services

k.) King Soopers - Hiring tons of people at stores throughout the front range - jobs.kroger.com

l.) Safeway - Open Positions at https://recruiting.adp.com/srccar/public/RTI.home?c=1208301&d=Safeway_External

7.) Stay home and stay healthy

Homebodies Rejoice! One of the best things we can all do to help during this time is to stop the spread of the virus by not catching or transmitting it ourselves. Stay home when possible, and wear masks and maintain a safe distance from others in public.

Tech Hiring - Be Quick, Decisive...and Patient

Currently the power is with the candidates, not the companies, when it comes to hiring in the Denver and Boulder area tech scene. There are more job openings for web developers, designers and most technology related positions than there are people to fill those positions. Gone are the days of opening a position and getting dozens of qualified applications who are interested in the position and fine waiting weeks to hear back. The entire hiring process needs to be tightened up in order to hire the people needed for the company to successfully grow.

Since the market is heavily weighed towards few candidates for many open positions, hiring managers need to be responsive to new candidates. Even reviewing candidates on a weekly basis may not be often enough. Once a candidate has interviews lined up at 3+ companies they may want to focus on those rather than accept your interview request, so make sure you are quick to respond to qualified candidates and make the first wave of companies she talks with.

The interview process itself also should be efficient to maximize hiring success. This doesn’t mean sacrificing on the quality of vetting, but the time in between interview steps should be minimized. The whole interview process should be able to happen in under two weeks, and it should be streamlined into as few steps as possible. The typical interview process for tech companies seems to be a phone interview, one in-person interview, and perhaps a coding challenge if desired. Rather than have a series of multiple phone interviews and multiple in-person interviews, candidates prefer to have one very in depth technical, in-person interview even if it takes most of a morning or afternoon. The other companies each candidate is speaking with will likely be in the 1-2 week timeline for the interview process, so the closer you can line that up the better.

Finally, be patient once an offer is made. Good candidates will likely receive multiple job offers, so I wouldn’t advise forcing them to accept a job interview before they wrap up all of their interviews. It’s seen as a red flag if a candidate feels pressured to respond to a job offer before they are ready. Make them the best offer you can based on their value to the company, and let them see other positions through. It is fine to ask for a timeline of when they will be finished with other interviews, but forcing an immediate decision will more likely than not end up in a rejected offer.

How soon is too soon to leave your job?

I saw an interesting tweet over the weekend in response to a founder and hiring manager of a tech analytics company saying that if a candidate has a history of 12-18 month stints they aren't a fit for his company. Sarah responded with this tweet, which as of today has 282 retweets and a lot of comments-

I've had 5 jobs in 5 years since becoming a dev. In the process, I've tripled the salary I got starting out and escaped a place I wasn't learning, a place I was being treated like shit, and the city of Boston. Yeah I'm just going to say no to this take https://twitter.com/Shpigford/status/994583740943929346 … -@meyerini

It's an interesting topic without a clear right or wrong answer. I'm not trying to be the moral authority on switching jobs, and this is my personal opinions that likely not even everyone at Code agrees with, which is completely fine. There's nothing inherently wrong with job hopping (let's call job hopping not having a job of 18+ months in the last five years).

To give a real quick background, Code Talent is a 10 person staffing company in Denver that works primarily with Colorado based companies. The companies we work with (Clients) pay the bills, but we spend much more time and resources working with software engineers, designers, managers, ops folks, etc. including hosting 10+ tech meetups at our office each month. So we see both sides of the fence on this topic. We do work with contractors, but Direct Hire placements is roughly 2/3 of our business. Job hopping really only applies to Direct Hire employees since contractors are designed in part to switch projects routinely.

There are good plenty of reasons to leave a job in a short amount of time. A month or two ago I talked to someone in a really bad situation who was worried about leaving a job after less than a year due to concern about looking like a job hopper. Don't be concerned about that! If you are in a bad situation get out of there as soon as you reasonably can. Life is too short and work is too big a part of it to deal with being put down, not being appreciated, not learning new skills or working on interesting stuff, etc. 

On Twitter someone made an interesting comparison to divorce - Divorce rates aren't necessarily up just because people today give up more easily or don't work it on as much as people 50 years ago, but it's easier to leave a bad situation now, which is a good thing. Jobs are the same way - the internet and general networking has changed the ease of switching jobs, so it's much more feasible to leave a bad situation now than in the past. The economy is different these days - my Uncle Jerry worked for 45 years at the same company and that was his entire career. Even Uncle Jerry would be switching jobs if he was my age. Working for a very long time (10+ years) at one company can even be seen in a bad light. Some will question how much have you really grown if you've been working on the same stuff for more than a decade?

The other important reason to change jobs is it is the best way to be paid your market value. Especially for junior engineers, the market value of your services can go up by 50% over 3 years. Almost no matter how good a company is about giving raises they won't be paying you what you can get on the open market. The reality is that most of the time changing jobs is the only way to be paid what the market bears.

The flip side of all of this is what companies see. If you have a history of changing jobs every 12 months, it's fair for a company to expect you will not stay with them any longer than your track record has shown. In turn, that makes a job hopper less valuable to them. It takes time to get up to speed on their technology and to build rapport with colleagues so ideally (if they are hiring an employee rather than contractor) they want hires to work there for ~3 years. The best way to predict if this will happen is by seeing what the trend is based on career history.

Of course a large part of getting people to stick around is on the company. If they don't have a culture of making employees feel valued and letting them work on interesting projects that provide room for growth and learning then a company shouldn't expect you to stay there for 2+ years. It also is very possible to have 5 of the 'bad' situations in a row. Good companies shouldn't rule someone out based simply on career history, but it's reasonable area to dig into and see why nothing has worked out for 2+ years.

The bottom line is (again, just my opinion) to leave a bad situation once you realize it can't be turned into a workable position. If it's a good position, it is probably good to stay there at least two years even if it means you are a bit underpaid the second, third or fourth year at the company. If your career history isn't what a company you are talking to is ideally looking for, be prepared with a good explanation as to why. It is a red flag, but hopefully not a show stopper as bad things do happen to good people, even up to 5 times in a row. The best way to avoid this happening at all is to do your due diligence and homework on a company before accepting a job there. Denver is a connected enough community that you probably know someone who knows someone at the organization you are interviewing with. Getting a general feel for what current or past employees think is a great way to maximize the chances of going to a place you want to work at for at least several years.

I'm sure that not everyone agrees with all of this, and I'd love to hear other perspectives. My email is kevin@code-talent.com. Thanks for reading, and I hope it was interesting and/or useful enough to be worth your time!