Stand Out At Your Tech Job Interview By Doing These 5 Things

It's more than showing off your technical skills. Here's how to really impress.

Bagged an interview for a tech job? Congratulations! Tech is super in-demand right now, and we bet you're both nervous and excited about what's to come

You might know already, that most technical jobs have a "technical skills" stage, or, perhaps you're at the first stage and want to bag the second. How do you put your best foot forward and impress?

Regardless of which stage you're at, we've got five tips on how to really stand out in your tech job interview.

1. Really know your CV

This might be super obvious, but it's an important step many skip. Especially if you've applied to tons of positions in the field.

As you've probably tailored your CV to the job (and if you haven't been, you absolutely should!), you need to make sure the version of your CV you submitted is the one you memorise the most.

So if you want to reduce your chances of going blank when asked about your skills and experience, here are a few things you'll need to do:

1. Really take care when reading the job description. Does your resume match those skills? If not, do you have transferable skills you can highlight?

2. Have proof of key results, success stories and even problems memorised from the past that relate back to your CV. Employers like to know how you've handled certain situations

3. Have you lied on your CV? You'd better learn the skill you say you can do, or be openly honest about the skill being something you're working on. We also don't recommend lying on your CV in the first place!
   

   • We have a guide on the 5 things to include in your tech CV if you're stuck on ideas.

     
     

2. Show you're always learning

Tech is ever-evolving. Unfortunately, you don't just stop after you think you've mastered a skill. So really, you should always be learning something new.

If you're in an industry where software, algorithms and processes always change, what have you been doing to stay up to date? Show what resources you use, perhaps even show some coding work that puts the latest trends to practice. 

Or, if you've automated a process that makes your life (and potentially the employer's) easier, shout about it — it might just be what gets you the job!

3. Show how you stay organised

There are so many disciplines in tech that often involve working with other teams like marketing, branding and design. How do you keep yourself organised? This links back to our processes comment before, but if you show your employer how you keep on top of things, you reassure them that you can meet their deadlines with ease.

4. Look up common tech interview questions

The questions you'll be asked won't always be about your technical skills, per se (depending on the stage of the interview, too). As you'll probably be entering your first role out of uni, the employer will recognise that you're fresh on the scene.

So, what kind of questions can they ask? They may ask things to assess your soft skills like teamwork, your preferred working style, and how your degree has prepared you for the role.

5. Actually connect with the interviewer

Whether you're interviewing for a tech role or otherwise, connecting with the interviewer over something like a common interest can seriously win them over. A lot of places hire based on personality too. So, if you're naturally a people person, now's your time to show them.

Obviously, don't get too informal and always find ways to link back to the job interview. Simple things like thanking them for inviting you in and showing excitement about discussing the role and your skills will go a long way.

We hope this has got you prepped for your tech interview coming up! Sign up to Student Beans to gain access to our free student discounts, such as fashion student offers, student tech deals and much more.