Ok, so I've just got my first interview without even looking for it

Career Advice
1

…aaaaand I’m freaking out.

It was a beautiful, but common, day. I was playing my tin whistle and planning to improve the horrible design of my chat application that I made yesterday with socket.io (it really sucks, I swear, I was doing it for the nodez).

Then, it happened.

I received a message on my LinkedIn account.

And it was a recruiter looking for a front-end web developer. For a startup.

After almost dying, I answered the message and she called me. They are looking for someone who knows HTML, CSS, Bootstrap, JavaScript and also has design skills. I have that. It’s basically designing and writing responsive websites. It’s ok. I accepted the interview. It’s friday.

Now, my life has just got a hell of a turn. I’m at the moment in my hometown, and the interview is at the city where I go to the University. It’s in another state. But I’m going there (my classes are going to start the next week anyway). I’m leaving today.

Thing is. What the hell do I do.

Even though I’m comfortable with all the required skills, I don’t think I can make it.

I have no experience. My portfolio is incomplete. I’m a 19 years-old girl that isn’t even in a CC-related course (I STUDY ARCHAEOLOGY). The last things I made were the chat I mentioned and… a Telegram bot with node.js that throw random curses at you. Yes. Curses.

I didn’t finish FCC’s front-end certificate. I stopped at the intermediate algorithms to study more in-deep JavaScript. I have no actual certificate. Nothing real good to show.

Their average salary is 925$, which is actually pretty good for my country (Brazil). There are a lot of companies that pay so much less than that. And it makes me less hopeful.

I have started to accept that it’s highly improbable that I will get this job. But I really want to try. It’s my first interview EVER. I’m pretty scared, to say so. But I want to make and get the best of it.

Now, the point of this thread is I really need advice. I’ll be reading a lot this forum in my nine-hour trip, but since I have only one day to prepare to something I still didn’t prepare for, I chose to ask for help for my specific case.

Should I take the day off to make a really good responsive website?

Should I improve my chat app?

Should I improve any other app I have made?

Really, what would be the best move to make?

Also, ANY interview tips will be highly appreciated.

The only thing I know is, if I have the chance, I’m planning to ask the interviewer a nice question I read in a medium (probably FCC’s) post some days ago, that is something like “If you decided not to hire me, what would be the reason?”. I really want to get a job this year. This might not be the one, but I’ll get one, and this question sounds really good for improving myself.

By the way, if you can look at some of my stuff and rate it would be nice.

My portfolio: http://lais.surge.sh (it’s incomplete, I’m going to add links to the projects in the portfolio section as soon as I have the chance. I think it has a cool design that represents me a lot, but it lacks features I was planning to add later).

My codepen: https://codepen.io/laisfigueiredo/

Other projects:
Twitch streaming for FCC - http://mytwitchstreamers.surge.sh

Thanks, and sorry for the long unnecessary amount text.

3 Likes
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Relax. Just go for the experience.

Remember, it’s a recruiter that contacted you. Probably looking for bodies to throw at the startup, hoping one would work out.

2 Likes
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LinkedIn recruiters are notorious for throwing mass amounts of messages just hoping they get someone who works out. You’ll do fine, just be honest about who you are, don’t try to present yourself as better than what you are or as not enough qualified. Hopefully, it will go well.

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@owel
@IsaacAbrahamson

Yeah, one friend told me the exact same thing about Likedin recruiters.

I have no expectations, so I’m not really afraid of failure (I was just going to look for a job after the FCC certificate). It’s something else I can’t describe. I’m just very anxious because I want the company to know that I can do it, because I know I can.

But, it’s right, I have nothing to lose. I’m in a very privileged position where I don’t need this job. I’m trying to put this in my head, so I can relax and do my best :grinning:

5

Sounds like low risk, huge reward. Relax and be yourself. I’m sure you’ll do great.

I just went through an interview myself so I know how your nerves must be feeling. I suggest that rather than practicing your technical skills, just practice talking out loud about stuff. Find a list of front-end interview questions. Start by just saying your answers out loud. Be as clear and complete as you can. Try to keep your answers brief by timing yourself. Talking with friends can help. Explain programming concepts to them. If they’re programmers, they can offer feedback, but if not then consider it a test of your ability to simplify concepts. There are no hard rules here, just get used to speaking under some pressure. Do the same with programming by creating a very simple project in under an hour. Chances are good that they don’t care about your education, so the questions won’t be computer science heavy but rather focused on your practical skills.

Good luck!

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Since you’re still in school, drop the hint that you’re open for Internship. I think it’s a win-win. The startup gets an extra body, you gain work experience and maybe even a small stipend, and who knows… permanent employment later on. – nothing to lose on this interview.

1 Like