Quantify, Result-oriented
Introduce yourself
graduated from Brandeis, used two years finish CS major and received 3.70 GPA; work as intern, seeking for a full-time position; can start to work as soon as possible
Why this company?
(what can I contribute to company + how can I benefit from company)
What's your ideal job?
work on an interesting projects, can challenge, can develop professional skills from the work
What do you know about our company?
Information Management System, provide software service-based solution to other investment companies
The most challenging project (quick-learner)
Situation: I just started to work in this company. I was assigned to implement a new feature.
Task: The difficult part is that I was not familiar with the product, the business logic and the technical stack.
Action: I first talked to Business Analyst to clarify the questions about product and the feature. Then I googled and read lots of technical blog that teach how to use the technical stack. While developing the feature on the company product, I also did a side project as practice to avoid introducing bugs into company product.
Result: I successfully finish implementing new feature in two weeks and I received positive feedback from my supervisor.
Give me an example of a time you faced a conflict while working on a team. How did you handle that?
(think conflicts through before confronting a coworker; listening skills and communication skills)
situation: work on the same task with another intern. different ways to implement it. both think our own way is better
Action: Before, we find another more experienced colleague, I asked him to tell me why he would think in his way. It turned out since he hasn't worked on this product before, he did not consider an important feature that is going to interact with the task we are going to implement.
result: After I told him that important feature, he agreed to implement this task in my way. This lets me know, sometimes, people have different opinion because we know different things. Good communication and listening skills can effectively solve these conflicts
Tell me about a time you failed. How did you deal with the situation?
Situation: Missed the deadline. Added a new feature on a product that I am familiar with. Because of the confidence, I started right away. Finished before the deadline. Gave it to the stakeholder, but this was not he wanted. We had different understanding. Work on the project after work and during weekend and finally caught the deadline.
Result: From this, I know that as a software engineer, always clarify the request and communicate first before start to work. It can avoid misconception and save time.
Tell me about a time you were under a lot of pressure. What was going on, and how did you get through it?
Situation: Hot fix/production bug.
Task: create a schedule and divide the task into several subtasks. Keep myself on the track and also frequently update my supervisor the progress.
Result: Fixed the hot bug in two days and release it to the production without affecting more than 3 customers. Pressure actually helps me stay motivated and productive. clear schedule can help me reduce stress and also give my colleagues and supervisor an idea where I am.