I have a meeting tomorrow about a position as a software engineer in my company. I strongly suspect that I am not qualified for it (I have not done development since my college days, and getting back into it will take considerable amount of brain power), but I have 1 hour to convince myself that I am perfect for the job, so I can convince the hiring manager that I am the best pick. So here’s my self-pep-talk:
Background
My background is in Computer Science. I have been programming since high school, and my main language is Java. I graduated college Cum Laude and joined an IT leadership program at my company, where I was trained on project management (tollgates, timelines, voice of the customer, checklists, getting things done). I have managed technical teams ranging from 1 to 5 resources, mostly remotely (teams in India, and most recently 2 resources in the Mid West). I have had six years of experience in leading application development, creating documentation, and creating and implementing test plans. I have led the implementation of applications in IVR, Oracle ERP, Lotus Notes, SQL, Identity Management and Mercury ITG workbench. I have had exposure to php, asp, SQL, C#, C++, javascript, Visual Basic and Pascal, while my background is mostly in console and visual Java programming. I am familiar with Design Patterns. My clients are usually internal: CIO/CTO levels, or employees as the main stakeholders. I have excellent presentation and communication skills (oral and written) and I would be comfortable working with clients and asking the right questions to get accurate VOCs. I have experience in cost-benefit analysis and especially cost-out initiatives. I am a fast learner, and I hope to make the leap to development within the organization.
And now for the typical behavioral questions:
Have you ever been in a difficult situation at work, how did you handle it?
I’m currently going through one, in fact. I have been working on a project to simplify user’s experience for the past six months, but it was put on hold because my solution does not tackle 1 other area of the business. Currently the strategy sessions do not include me, since I am operations and not leadership. This has been a difficult position to be in, since I am the most knowledgeable of the process I own. The best I could do was to phrase my concerns, stress the benefits of the project, and let the leadership decide what the final conclusion will be. In the meantime, I will continue the work I have been doing (minus the piece on hold) and strive for giving back value to the business.
Have you ever had to deal with a difficult person at work, how did you handle it?
Yes. One of the subject matter experts (SME) seemed to always decline any requests I had, which was impairing my work. I spoke with a coworker we both had in common and he was able to mediate our situation. It turned out that I was expecting the SME to work on what I told him to do, while the SME had the job to protect his resources by making sure that the work we were asking for was in fact going to solve the issue at hand. After learning how he worked best, I started phrasing my issues as questions rather than commands for what I thought was the right solution. The SME immediately turned around with very useful solutions, some of which were cheaper, faster and better. This approach saved our professional relationship and relieved much of the tension we both felt when we worked together. I learned that it is better to get to the root of the problem and adjust to everyone’s style.
Tell me about a problem that you’ve solved in a unique or unusual way. What was the outcome? Were you happy or satisfied with it?
One of the greatest challenges of putting together a standardized global process is the possibility that a single size will not fit all. We ran into that issue in my previous role, and we faced it now. What I did was create a single field where we ask for a validation code. If a certain request requires further approval, or simply a different kind of workflow, we simply create it on a separate system and have the user come back with their validation code, to finally get what they need. It’s a solution I created and it has been successful in two businesses and two different areas of IT.
Tell me about a recent situation in which you had to deal with a very upset customer or co-worker.
I have this experience on a regular basis. I got a call from a user who had not received what they needed by the date they needed it. It appears to have fallen through the cracks. I immediately engaged the contracting team to send the delivery overnight, and made sure to apologize to the user for their troubles. They backed down when they felt heard. Sometimes it’s over email, sometimes it’s over the phone. Once the user feels understood and we admit fault, they feel validated and the severity of the issue drops. It’s important to make sure there is a phone conversation to understand the tone.
This is just a taste for what is coming… hopefully it will not be this intense in this particular meeting, but, boy, do I have some catching up to do with the development world!
ina