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5 Simple Tips to Prepare for HackerX Event
As the world’s largest invite-only networking and recruitment event for developers, attending HackerX is an excellent opportunity for both developers as well as prospective employers. However its opportunities aren’t just going to fall into your lap.
Part of the unique appeal of HackerX its concept of speed dating for interviewing. Developers have quick 5-minute interviews with potential employers, and move from one booth to the next.
The rapid pace of the interviews can be challenging for both developers and employers. To make sure you’re able to cope with it you need to be prepared, and these tips by Alexander Mikhanev of WorkExaminer who is a veteran of the event should help with that.
Tips to Help Developers
Although Alexander Mikhanev’s HackerX experience is mainly from an employer’s perspective, he had several helpful tips for developers:
Work on your interview skills
Practicing your interview skills is the best way to get the most out of HackerX. It is important that you try to adjust to the fast-paced interviews as quickly as possible and learn how to focus on the most critical talking points.
It should be noted that the numerous interviews that you’ll go through when you participate in HackerX are an excellent opportunity to hone your skills further.
Feel out the different types of organizations
Most developers focus on certain types of organizations and have very little experience with others. The HackerX event is the perfect opportunity to find out more about certain industries that you may have had little knowledge of in the past.
Not only can you learn more about a wider spectrum of companies, but you can also get a feel for how their interview process differs.
Tips to Help Employers
For employers, the goal of attending HackerX is very different. Unlike developers that are looking for job opportunities, employers will want to unearth talent and recruit them.
To make that a lot easier Alexander Mikhanev had a few key tips drawn from his own experience:
Know what you’re looking for
Seeing as you’re going to be interviewing a ton of people at HackerX, it can get quite tiring. That is especially the case if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for, and keep thinking whether each and every interviewee would be a good fit.
Instead of putting yourself through that, you should sit down and identify what you’re actually looking for beforehand. List down the criteria that you want to find in an employee, and work from there.
List down key questions
If you aren’t careful you could sit down and talk to a potential employee for the full 5 minutes and only realize later on that you didn’t find out enough about them. As a result you may either miss out on a good prospect, or have to chase after them for more information.
To avoid that scenario, you must list down the key questions that you want to ask. Keep that list in front of you throughout all your interviews, and make sure each one is answered within the 5-minute window.
Make sure the conversation is two-ways
Many employers make the mistake of either talking too much, or letting the interviewees talk too much. Both are bad, seeing as it is equally important that you let them learn about your company while finding out whether or not they have skills that you need.
The best way to achieve that is to make sure that you engage in a two-way conversation. Preparing questions in advance can help with that, but it is also vital that you’re well-practiced at steering the interview and keeping it balanced.
All of these tips should help make it much easier to fulfill your goal – regardless of whether you’re attending HackerX as a developer or an employer. The fact that you are more aware of what to expect should help too, and will make it easier for you to cope with the rapid-fire interviews.
Keep in mind that at the end of the day the person sitting opposite you and interviewing (or being interviewed by) you is probably finding it just as difficult as you are. By following these tips you can make it easier on yourself – and easier on them too.
Author Bio:
Mahendra Bajiya is a blogger and content creator. He specializes in digital marketing and enjoys experimenting with various ways to optimize his strategy. Right now he works as its Digital Marketing Strategist, and can be found at LinkedIn
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