Guide for NCI Students: Effective CV, Cover Letter, and Interview Tips, Study notes of Business

Download Guide for NCI Students: Effective CV, Cover Letter, and Interview Tips and more Study notes Business in PDF only on Docsity! SECURING·A GRADUATE·ROLE YOUR·CV, COVER·LETTER·& INTERVIEW·GUIDE cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 2 “TO BE EMPLOYED IS TO BE AT RISK, TO BE EMPLOYABLE IS TO BE SECURE PETER HAWKINS cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 3 z Presentation is key Use black text (arial, tahoma, times new roman), no borders, pictures or fancy formatting. Maintain consistency throughout your CV. This includes the language used, font styles, bullet styles, formatting etc. DOB, photo, marital status None of this is required on your CV. List your Professional Experience and Education in reverse chronological order i.e. your most recent job/course studied at the top. This will allow whoever is reviewing your CV to gain a quick snap shot of what you have been doing most recently. Errors Spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and formatting inconsistencies indicate shoddiness and poor attention to detail. CV·BASICS cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 3 Your CV is exactly that–yours, so not every CV will have the same information and not in the same order or format. However, there are certain standard pieces of information that should appear in every CV. Personal Details There is no need to put the words Curriculum Vitae or CV at the top—it is obvious what it is. • Include name, address, professional email address, mobile with activated voice mail and your• personalised Linkedin url. Highlight when you are available to start work and mention it if you have a driving licence. • If you are a Non EEA national, include your visa status.• Profile A profile is an entirely optional but very useful opening to a CV explaining why you want this job• and the benefits an employer would gain from recruiting you. Positioned near the top of the first page this is the earliest opportunity for you to show an employer• you have the skills and aptitudes they have asked for in their job spec. Avoid generic statements—instead tailor the profile to the job you are applying to and focus on the • quantifiable achievements and relevant skills you have in relation to the job e.g. skills in languages, IT etc. If you are not going to tailor the profile to the job then leave it out of your CV altogether. The profile can be three to five sentences or bullet points highlighting who you are, what you are• looking for and should include your USPs. Education Put your most recent education first. • Highlight relevant modules and provide detail on relevant projects. If it is an IT project provide• information on technologies used. Showcase your results if they are strong and will help you get an interview e.g. 1st Class Honours, 2:1.• Highlight exemptions and professional qualifications.• If you are a full time undergraduate student, leave out your Junior Certificate results, but give• Leaving Certificate points if they are strong. Include an appendix on the back page with detailed results per module and for leaving certificate• subjects if needed e.g. for Accountancy roles. For computing and design students include a link to your web portfolio/github to showcase your• work and some brief technical information on your projects. e.g. technologies used. CV·LAYOUT 4 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 4 Work Experience Basics: State the dates of employment, name of company and job title. • Avoid I, me and my: write the CV in the objective third person.• Sell don’t tell: focus on achievements, value added and results rather than duties and• responsibilities—what did I change, what did I improve, how did I add value, how did I save money, make money—highlight achievements. Custom write your CV for each job: so your achivements are written specifically for the job• responsibilities. Action verbs: Action words create more impactful statements. Instead of using the “I” pronoun such• as “I did this…I did that…” use positive action words to lead bullet points e.g. “Initiated this… Created that...” which is more dynamic. Ask yourself so what and show added value: Your employment history should not be written as • just a series of dates and tasks you have undertaken. It should show what you have contributed and achieved. Asking ‘So what?’ about every line of your CV is a great way to critique content. What was the result and impact of this action? What specific benefit did I deliver by doing this? No matter what role you worked in, you need to show that you had a positive impact on your team, company or customers. Buzzwords: Avoid over used words like hard working, team player, detail oriented, self-motivated• using instead words such as initiated, created, managed, improved. Bullet points: Your CV will probably be skim read at first. Bullet points are easier to read than large• paragraphs—so learn to write in snippets. Use an ‘action–result’ format to make achievements stand out. Avoid unnecessary detail: When describing many jobs, the day-to-day detail is often unnecessary• and just takes up space. Concentrate on the highlights and where you made an impact. If you had a summer job working in a restaurant, the duties are predictable—what is of more interest is how many people you served per shift, whether you met the sales targets, suggested any initiatives that improved sales or service etc. Do the maths: Back up your achievements with numbers. When writing your work history, don’t just• say that you increased membership in a club or society; tell them you increased membership by for example 70% over a six month period. cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 5 ANNA ANNAVILLE I Annaville Drive, IFSC, Dublin 1 086 111 1111, anna.annaville@hotmail.com www.linkedin.com/ckennedynci Availability: May 2015 PERSONAL PROFILE:  Accountancy degree finalist with practical accounting experience and a 2:1 average. On track to achieve all CAP 1 exemptions. Keen to secure a graduate training role in practice. Achievements:  Strong work ethic and ability to multitask & manage deadlines demonstrated by working part time, actively participating in a number of extra-curricular activities whilst maintaining a 2:1 average.  Successfully completed a 3 month accountancy internship which has given me a strong understanding of what is involved in developing a career in practice.  Teamwork skills developed through college projects and part time work experience. Team achievements include raising 10,000 as part of the Peer Mentor Society.  Fitness enthusiast - highlights include running the Dublin marathon, achieving a black belt in TaeKwondo, playing for NCI soccer team and reaching the final in the College league 2014. EDUCATION: 09.12-05.15: NATIONAL COLLEGE OF IRELAND BA (Hons) Accountancy Modules: Subjects: Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Taxation, Financial Management, Economics, Management Information Systems. Exemptions: CAP 1- ACA - dependent on maintaining results. 3rd year result: 2:1 2nd year result: 2:1 1st year result 2:1 09.06-06.12: ANNAVILLE SECONDARY SCHOOL, Dublin Leaving Certificate- including a B2 in Honours Business WORK EXPERIENCE: 06.14-09.14: NAME IT ACCOUNTANTS, Dublin Accountancy Internship  Worked with a range of clients including sole traders, wholesalers, farmers and charities.  Executing audit assistant functions to check the accuracy of accounting systems and procedures.  Reviewing accounts receivable and payable ledgers and general ledger for accuracy.  Inspecting and reconciling bank deposits and payments. 01.10- 06.14: ANNAVILLE STORES, Dublin Sales Assistant  Working as part of an enthusiastic team within a fast paced fashion retail environment.  Driving sales, meeting targets, ensuring excellent customer service and the smooth running of the shop floor.  Actively greeting customers, offering advice to customers and assisting with product selection.  Utilising specialist product knowledge to maximise sales  Merchandising stock and maintaining strong visual standards within the store.  Promoting specific lines and upselling various products under the guidance of management. 8 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E You have 3—4 years in College to develop a list of achievements. Concise contact details presented within the CV header. Availability also highlighted. Dynamic, action oriented bullet points. Explain why you want this job and why they should interview you as opposed to the other 100 applicants. It must be tailored to the requirements of the job spec. cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 8 Key Achievements:  Consistently exceed targets, typically by over 20% and won sales person of the month on a number of occasions.  Only part time member of staff with responsibility for opening and closing the store. INTERESTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS: Boardroom Challenge NCI  Part of a strategic team of 10 responsible for raising 10,000 in one week for 10 charities.  Representing 5 charities which included Jack & Jill Foundation, Irish Heart Foundation, Down Syndrome Ireland, Laura Lynn and the Irish Cancer Society.  Specific responsibility for securing collection permits in the IFSC and  As part of the project we developed a dedicated website, you tube video, appeared in the National Media and won the NCI Society Event of the year and the National BICS Award for Society event of the year in a small to medium college. Peer Mentor in NCI:  Peer mentor for a group of incoming first year students.  Assisting with transitional issues to college life  Ensuring students are aware of the services and supports on offer.  Identifying ‘at risk students’ and referring them to the appropriate support service for guidance and advice Class Representative:  Voted Class Representative for 2014 in NCI: This involves: o Gathering the opinions of the class o Voicing the opinions of the class at meetings o Acting as a liaison between staff and students o Informing the class of staff reaction to their opinions o Acting as a source of information for students Fitness  Black belt in TaeKwondo  Keen runner and ran the Dublin Marathon in 2014  Represented National College of Ireland on the soccer team in 2013 & 2014. Reached the colleague league final in 2014. COMPUTER SKILLS:  Word, Excel, Sharepoint, Powerpoint, Social Media.  ECDL completed REFEREES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST It is not necessary to include named references on a CV unless specifically asked. Role achievements quantified. Clear to see the value added. As most graduate CVs are almost exactly the same, extra-curricular activities are very useful in evidencing achievements and commitment as well as offering the reader an insight into what you are like. cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 9 John Doe johndoe@gmail.com +353 (0) 87 111 1111 linkedin.com/in/johndoe Full Clean Drivers Licence Availability: Immediate Portfolio | github.com/johndoe/portfolio Profile: • 2:1 Software Development graduate with strong HTML, HTML5, CSS, CSS3, C#, ASP.Net, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript, AJAX skills keen to secure a graduate role as a web developer. • Practical experience as an intern web developer with Irish Start up –Annaville Systems and as a helpdesk assistant with National College of Ireland. • Strong in designing relational database and web development skills with experience using Dreamweaver, visual studio 2008/2010, Notepad++. • Keen interest in tech sites such as Gizmodo, pcmag.com and Engadget. Also interested in digital art sites like Worth1000 and Deviant Art as I enjoy photo manipulation. Visa • Stamp 2 visa: Eligible to work 20 hours a week during term time, 40 hours a week during holidays and under the third level graduate scheme eligible to work without restriction from October 2014-October 2015. Languages: • English (Fluent written & oral), Portugese (Native). Education: 09.11 – 04.15 National College of Ireland, Dublin | ncirl.ie BSc (Hons) Computing Modules: Computer Architecture, Operating Systems, Object Oriented Programming, Advanced Databases, Business Entrepreneurship, Software Engineering, Advanced Internet Technologies, XHTML & Web Design, First year project: Developed a prototype Android mobile application to xxxxxxxxxxx. This project exposed me to the full software development lifecycle and greatly increased my understanding of using Agile Development for enhanced UX. www.johndoe.com/xxproject Technologies used: Android, Java, JSON, XML, SQLite, NFC and remote cloud storage. Second year project: Developed a mobile android application that persuades parents to make healthy choices when preparing meals for their children using HTML, XHTML, CSS, JavaScript, JQuery, and JQuery Mobile working with Aptana studio and the Eclipse development suite. www.johndoe.com/otherproject 1st year result: 2:1 2nd year result: 2:1 Full projects available on www.johndoe.com 06.11: Annaville Secondary School, Dublin Leaving Certificate Technology Skills: • Languages: Studied Java programming language for 3 years and have successfully achieved a 95% result in Data Structures and Algorithms module from the second year of my course. • Java: Studied Java for 4 years and have successfully achieved a first class honours result in all of the modules throughout the degree. • JavaScript: Use JavaScript in projects for developing dynamic web pages. Enjoy using jQuery and also have experience using the AngularJS Framework from my internship. • JQuery/JQuery Mobile: Implemented the JQuery framework into my mobile application project in year 2 of my course. • HTML: 3 years studying Hyper Text Markup Language. Developed a music review web site as part of my first year web design module. Also coded in HTML when developing my mobile application for my second year project class. • XML: Studied XML and XSL. Developed a music web site using XSL as part of Web Development project 10 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E Github is a must for developers to display and promote your work to employers. Alternatives include dropbox or myspace. International students: Explain your visa situation upfront. Detail relevant projects highlighting the technologies used and provide online links. Give an overview of your technology skills and if at graduate level provide information on your level of proficiency and highlight strong grades. Highlight additional languages and proficiency. cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 10 The purpose of a cover letter is to introduce yourself to a company, demonstrate your interest in both the role and the company, highlight how you meet their criteria and to ask for an interview. Every time you send your CV in response to a job advertisement, it needs to be accompanied • by a cover letter. If sending the cover letter as an email—make sure to utilise the subject line fully: e.g. • Job Application—HR Assistant—2:1 HR degree finalist with practical HR work experience. Your cover letter should be written to a specific person; never address your cover letters to • “Dear Sir or Madam.” Take the time to get an appropriate contact name, correct spelling and accurate title. Write an original cover letter for each employer. A cover letter will yield the best results if it is targeted to “match” a specific job specification. • Mass produced cover letters do not receive as favourable a response as an individually tailored one. Show what you can do for the reader; keep the focus on your qualifications and skills and how • they match the job spec. The emphasis should be on what you can offer rather than placing emphasis on what you are hoping to gain. Be positive in tone, choice of words and expectations; convey your enthusiasm and ask for an• interview. Pay particular attention to grammar, typing and spelling and keep it to one page.• Use a professional rather than a conversational tone. • Put your customised linkedin url after your signature at the bottom of the cover letter.• The following two pages show examples of a sample cover letter and a sample speculative letter. COVER·LETTERS cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 13 Dear Ms Kennedy, Re: HR Graduate Opportunity I have pleasure in attaching my CV for consideration for the role of HR Graduate as advertised within NCI. I am very interested in this opportunity, am very aware of Annaville Corporation as an organisation and that you have won the gradireland graduate recruitment award for training and development for both 2013 and 2014. Specifically I believe I could offer the following to the position: • I have maintained a 2:1 average throughout my degree during which time I gained a strong grounding in HR management & development, recruitment, talent development and employment law. • I am committed to developing a career within HR and to augment my theoretical experience I secured practical work experience last summer within a recruitment role. During this time I sourced large volumes of candidates using both traditional and digital media, interviewed using competency methods and extended offers to successful candidates. I controlled the process tightly and had a 90% offer to acceptance ratio. • I am highly motivated, hard-working, enthusiastic and pro-active as demonstrated through my involvement in extra–curricular activities in NCI. • I have developed strong inter-personal, communication, teamwork and leadership skills through my part-time work experience in the retail sector. I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and if you have any questions please do contact me at anna.annaville@gmail.com or 086 111 1111. I hope my details are of interest and look forward to speaking with you in due course. Yours sincerely, Anna Annaville www.linkedin.com/annaannaville 14 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 14 Dear Ms Doe, Re: Graduate HR Opportunities I am writing to explore whether an opportunity might exist to join Annaville Corporation in an entry level HR role. A recent article in The Irish Independent highlighted that your company had planned to expand from your current base of 1,000 employees to 1,600. I am very aware of Annaville Corporation as an organisation and would welcome the opportunity to work with you during such an exciting growth phase. I am in the final year of a HR degree with National College of Ireland and have maintained a 2:1 average to date. The course has given me a strong grounding in HR and recruitment and modules have included Human Resource Strategies and Development, Employment Law and Talent Development. The degree has involved a great deal of independent research, requiring initiative, self-motivation, time management and strong administration skills. I also secured work experience last summer within a recruitment role during which time I sourced large volumes of candidates using both traditional and digital media, interviewed using competency methods and extended offers to successful candidates. I controlled the process tightly and had a 90% offer to acceptance ratio. I believe that the skills I have gained from my part time work experience, which include skills in dealing with clients, problem solving, using professional judgment, working effectively in a team and being able to work independently would assist me when working within HR. In addition, I bring a positive, can do attitude and enthusiasm. I am committed to developing a career within HR and feel confident that I would make an effective contribution to your team of researchers. I would welcome the opportunity to discuss any possible openings with you and look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely Anna Annaville www.linkedin.com/annaannaville cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 15 When called for interview React enthusiastically, thank the person for contacting you and be flexible about the interview time• and date. Confirm who you will be meeting and the format of the interview. • Ensure you know the exact location of the interview and where to check in once you arrive. • Get a phone number in case you have follow up questions or need other assistance. • If you need any accommodations for your interview, request it at this time. • If it is an unscheduled telephone interview it is perfectly acceptable to explain that you are not free• to take the call and ask to reschedule it for a time when you can make a positive impression. Research the employer Inevitably, you will be asked at some stage during the interview why you want to work for the• organisation. Never leave an employer feeling the company is just one of many you are applying to. To impress you need to do more research than the other interviewees and will need a number of key facts about the company, know why you want to work specifically for them, what issues are affecting them and their sector in general. Knowing they are a large employer with a great reputation is not enough! Explore their website, any news articles and annual reports. • Visit LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms. • Look to see if NCI alumni are working there—it may be appropriate to contact them for information.• If you know someone in the industry/company, take the time to ask them for information.• Check with the Career Development & Employability Office to see if they have additional information• about the employer. Research the role and anticipate likely questions Find out as much as you can about the opportunity. Review the job spec. Search linkedin for people• working in this or similar roles—use this to view typical career paths etc. Employers generally ask interview questions directly around the skills listed in the job posting. • — Review the job description and make a list of the skills and qualities required for the position. — Use the list of responsibilities and skills required to anticipate interview questions. Mock interview Book a mock interview with a careers or work placement advisor in NCI. There is also the option to• complete a taped video interview with feedback. PREPARATION FOR·INTERVIEW 18 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 18 Think about the key strengths that make you suitable for the role What are the top 3—5 reasons they should pick you? Think through common interview questions and how you can communicate these strengths in your answers. Determine your weaknesses as they relate to the position. Create a plan for how you will address• and minimise these weaknesses in the interview. If you are a technical student ensure your portfolio/github is up to date.• They need to know that you want this job not just a job. • What you are really doing in an interview is living up to your promise The CV gets you to an interview. The interview gets you the job. If they thought you weren’t good enough, they wouldn’t waste their time interviewing you. What an interviewer aims to do is find out whether the information on your CV or application is a true reflection of the past and your abilities and investigate how well you would fit the company. You need to know your CV inside out and ensure you can stand over every claim you have made on it. Ensure you know your dates, results and can give examples and provide evidence on every point. Prepare for the “tell me about yourself” question When asking this question interviewers have no interest in hearing about pets, brothers, sisters, social life etc. What they want to know is “Why should we hire you”? They are looking for an elevator pitch—for you to summarise in 1—2 minutes why your education, skills, experience and future career plans match what they are looking for. Ensure you mention your USPs in relation to the role. Commercial awareness Employers will often ask questions about current affairs and future trends affecting their industry and expect you to be able to comment. For technology students they may ask about the most recent development in the technology industry that impressed you. cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 19 1. Write The Question On The Whiteboard After you write the question on the board confirm with the recruiter that this is the question asked. 2. Requirements Gathering Ask qualifying questions so that you can correctly implement code based on the requirements. Document the answers to all questions on the whiteboard. 3. Analysis Draw pictures and have a discussion with the recruiter to think through the processes aloud. 4. Implementation Write the code. 5. Testing Walk through and test the code with the recruiter. Research this further and view a taped technical/whiteboard interview on the NCI Student Portal. Prepare for Competency Interview Questions Most employers are looking for applicants to demonstrate a specific set of skills and competencies which they believe are essential to the job role; for example team work, communication, problem solving and time management. Competency questions are based on the belief that past actions are a strong indicator of future performance. For each competency the interviewer is looking for a specific example in which your actions showcased the competency. You will be questioned in detail about each competency so will need to use a solid example where you can remember a lot of detail. You may use examples from work, college and extra-curricular activities. Be specific in your examples, don’t generalise. Have a number of specific examples ready. Although job specs should give you an insight into the competencies that will be investigated at interview it is worth preparing specific examples around the common competencies that appear in most job specs. i.e. communication, client service, teamwork, time management, leadership, flexibility, analytical skills, commercial awareness, relationship management, management, drive, problem solving. Use the employability audit overleaf to think of ideas. Once you hear “give me an example” or “tell me about a time” you know it is a competency question. 20 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E Whiteboard Interviews Interviewers use whiteboard coding problems to evaluate how you problem solve and the depth of your technical knowledge. Following the 5 steps below will help you structure the session. cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 20 cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 23 24 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E Background Tell me about yourself and how it relates to this role? Talk me through your CV? College/School Why did you choose to study at National College of Ireland? Tell me about NCI? Why did you pick your leaving certificate subjects? What result do you hope to get? Are you happy with your results to date? Why did you pick your course of study? What have you gained from your studies? If you could improve anything about your school or college, what would it be? How will the degree you have studied benefit your career? Which subjects did you like best/least? Why? What did you like/dislike about college/school? Career and Motivation Why have you applied for this position and this organisation? How do you see your career developing in three years time? How are you preparing yourself to achieve this goal? What other careers are you considering/have you considered? Where else are you applying? What influenced you to choose this career? What do you think it takes to be successful in this career? In what areas do you lack qualifications? What are you doing about this? What people or events have been the most important in influencing your decisions? How do you keep informed about important changes in your field? How long do you think it would take you before you could contribute to this role? What parts of this job/your current role do you find most/least attractive? What motivates you? What achievement has given you the greatest sense of achievement? What will you be looking for in a new role? How would you describe your ideal job? In examining you for this opportunity, in what areas do you feel you would be a particularly strong performer? Why? Current Role Why are you looking to leave your current role? What do you like most/least about your current role? What were your two most important achievements in your current job? What is a good example of a pressurised situation for you? How do you handle pressure/stress? What types of criticisms are directed at you most often? What would your colleagues/supervisor say about your abilities to complete tasks as assigned? TYPICAL·INTERVIEW QUESTIONS cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 24 Describe your 3 greatest strengths and explain how you used them to bring about improvements in your current or most recent position? In what kind of work environment are you most productive? In what areas could you improve your overall performance? Describe a time when you were frustrated with your employer. How did you handle it? Why have you changed jobs so often? How long have you been looking for a new role? Are you actively interviewing at the moment? For what type of opportunities? What could your current employer do to make you stay? Describe a time when you failed to meet a deadline What is your current salary? Research and Company Information Tell me what you know about our company. What research did you do? What do you know about what we do? Why did you decide to seek a position in this company? Who do you think are our major competitors? What do you think are the main issues for our business over the next few years? What are the current challenges facing this industry? What do you see as the main priorities for someone in this position? How long do you think it would take you to make a contribution to the team? What value will you add to this business? Strengths/Weaknesses/Self Awareness What qualities do you have that will make you a success in this career? What has been your greatest achievement? Biggest disappointment? Tell me about the biggest mistake you have made? Give your top five strengths/weaknesses? Why should we recruit you over everyone else we spoke to today? What would your manager/friends/lecturer say about you? How do you evaluate success? Give me an example of one of your accomplishments? How would you describe yourself? If you could start again what would you do differently? How would you describe yourself in terms of your ability to work as part of a team? What plans do you have for self-development in the next 12 months? What will I learn about you in 6 months that will disappoint me? cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 25 Construction How do you make sure that your code can handle different kinds of error situations? Explain what Test-Driven Development is? Can you name some principles of Extreme Programming? When do you use an abstract class and when do you use an interface? When do you use polymorphism and when do you use delegates? Algorithms How would you change the format of all the phone numbers in 10,000 static html web pages? How would you write a function to reverse a string? And can you do that without a temporary string? In an array with integers between 1 and 1,000,000 one value is in the array twice. How do you determine which one? Data Structures How would you implement the structure of the London Underground in a computer’s memory? What is the difference between a queue and a stack? What is the difference between storing data on the heap vs. on the stack? Testing Which tools are essential to you for testing the quality of your code? How can you implement unit testing when there are dependencies between a business layer and a data layer? Do you know what code coverage is? What types of code coverage are there? Maintenance What is important when updating a product that is in production and is being used? How do you create technical documentation for your products? How can you debug a system in a production environment, while it is being used? Questions to ask the Interviewer What would you like this person to achieve in the first 3 months for you to consider them a success? What would the person do in a typical day/week? e.g. Percentage of time on different areas of spec? What are the top 3 priorities for the person undertaking this position? What would I get involved with in the first three months? What makes a graduate successful in your program?   What paths have most of your recent graduates taken following completion of their training? What are you looking for in a candidate? How did the role become available (growth/someone leaving)? (Will I have a handover with the person I am replacing?) How is the department structured? What are the backgrounds of the people in the team? DO NOT ask questions about salary, benefits or annual leave at this stage in the interview process. 28 SE C U RI N G A G RA D U AT E RO LE Y O U R C V, C O V ER L ET TE R A N D IN TE RV IE W G U ID E cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 28 NOTES cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 4 Career Development & Employability Centre National College of Ireland, 1 Mayor Street, IFSC Dublin 1 www.facebook.com/ncicareersandopportunities twitter: @NCI_Careers cv -nci cvs_Layout 1 14/08/2014 15:39 Page 1