Engineering Archivi - job-news.space - All about the world of work and job!

Latest story

113 Shares119 Views

System Design Interview Survival Guide: Tips to Navigate Interviews

by Raphael Stevens 14 December 2023, 15:17

System Design Interviews are challenging for many developers because they aim to test not just technical knowledge but critical thinking and problem-solving skills, as well. The focus is not on your coding proficiency. Rather, your success in a System Design Interview depends on your ability to reason through and defend trade-offs in your design.

We asked our partner Educative to give software engineering jobseekers a look into what they should know about getting prepped for their next System Design interview. Here’s what Educative advised.

Preparing for the System Design interview

When preparing for a System Design Interview, you should focus on mastering three key areas:

Start with the basics of System Design, like data durability, replication, and partitioning. Then, study web architecture topics like N-Tier applications, HTTP, and caching. Finally, apply this knowledge to design real-world systems.

Educative offers comprehensive courses to help you build these skills, including our popular Grokking Modern System Design Interviews for Engineers & Managers, which was developed by former systems engineers from Facebook and Microsoft. With focused preparation, you can approach these interviews with confidence.

More stories

125 Shares99 Views
in Talent Acquisition
3 Ways to Stay Relevant as an Experienced Software Engineer
by Raphael Stevens 12 December 2023, 19:55
Hint: Learning System Design is key for software engineers
Software engineers who have been working in the industry for a while can still take steps to staying “fresh,” while leveraging their applied work experience. In this blog, we share three ways an experienced software engineer can stay relevant as a job candidate in a competitive job market. Our partner, Educative, shares the third and crucial key to maintaining that competitive edge.
1. Highlight the valuable skills you already have
Most employers would rather hire an expert in the field than spend time and money training someone much less experienced. Companies of all sizes, particularly large corporations like Amazon and Google, are always in need of software engineers who are Java experts. This is actually an area where young college grads are at a disadvantage. Often, these companies would rather hire a candidate with at least 5 years of core Java experience over more junior software engineers who haven’t had exposure to the language in a professional capacity.
Perhaps you’re positioning yourself as an expert in Java. Make sure you brush up on the basics to show your full breadth of knowledge. Next, make your Java experience stand out on your resume, LinkedIn, or Hired profile in the skills and work experience sections.
In the skills sections, list your skills in order of proficiency with Java at the beginning if applicable. List all the languages and tools you’ve used, your workflows, and your achievements in each position in the work experience sections. Companies often use hiring software to detect certain keywords. So, a candidate who mentions the languages they’re looking for more frequently may have better luck advancing to the next stage.
2. Consider leadership roles
If you’ve worked as an individual contributor for a while, you may want to consider taking on a leadership role as a team lead or engineering manager. Generally, a team lead reports to an engineering manager and guides the other engineers on the team. An engineering manager has often shown experience leading others, has multiple engineers reporting to them, and can provide technical guidance as needed.
Related: Engineering Manager or IC? Which Tech Career is Best for Me? (Video)
Have an affinity toward leading and managing others? Update your resume and career profiles accordingly and start looking at open roles. If you’ve had several roles at the same company, think about separating and fleshing out each role as a distinct item in your work experience. Hiring managers like to see a candidate’s progression from being a Software Engineer to a Lead Software Engineer or an Engineering Manager, as well as the accompanying responsibilities.
3. Learn System Design
Continually learning new languages and skills makes you a more valuable candidate. Experienced software engineers in particular can stay ahead of the curve by developing a working knowledge of System Design. In this section, Educative explains how a solid working knowledge of System Design can help you stand out in interviews and beyond.
Understanding large-scale system architecture is a necessity. System Design is the discipline underpinning our entire modern software landscape. It’s critical for making any application scalable, fault-tolerant, and more efficient.
Every app or service we use daily — from YouTube and Instagram to Amazon and Spotify — is a scalable system. These apps must be designed to handle large amounts of traffic and data and to scale with spikes. That’s because the number of people simultaneously accessing these systems is massive.
What is System Design?
Coding is about creating individual bricks; System Design is about deciding how those bricks will form a complete structure. It’s the art and science of defining the architecture, components, and data flow for large-scale applications. It sets the groundwork for how a system will operate, ensuring efficiency, scalability, and reliability.
Essentially, System Design is the blueprint guiding developers in building software that meets specific requirements and constraints.
Some key considerations in System Design include:
Architecture: The overall structure of the system and how its components interact with each other
Components: The individual building blocks of the system. This includes servers, databases, and application servers
Interfaces: How the system interacts with its users and other systems
Non-Functional Requirements: This includes things like performance, scalability, reliability, and security
Role of System Design in modern software
System Design is indispensable to the modern software landscape — from initial planning to implementation and maintenance. It provides a blueprint that software engineers, TPMs, and engineering and product leaders can refer to throughout a product’s life cycle. Its principles guide decisions about database structure, user interface, networking protocols, and more.
For experienced software engineers, this offers a leadership opportunity — with an understanding of System Design, you’re not just following instructions, but are instead actively participating in shaping the vision and functionality of a project.
As software systems become increasingly complex, involving multiple technologies and serving global audiences, the role of System Design has never been more critical. It informs choices that can make or break a software’s performance, user experience, and overall success. For seasoned engineers aiming to stay competitive — it’s a career imperative.Let’s review this summary of System Design fundamentals:
Horizontal and Vertical Scaling: Horizontal scaling involves adding more machines, while vertical scaling involves adding more RAM, faster processors, or additional storage to a single machine. Both are essential for handling an increased load.
Microservices: Microservices break down applications into small, independent services that communicate via APIs. This enhances modularity and scalability.
Proxy Servers: These act as intermediaries, forwarding client requests to servers. They can improve performance and security.
CAP Theorem: This theorem states that a distributed system can’t simultaneously provide all three of the following: consistency, availability, and partition tolerance. You have to pick two.
Redundancy and Replication: These ensure that backup resources are available, improving reliability and fault tolerance.
Storage: It’s crucial to evaluate the data storage methods. Different storage strategies can be employed based on the system’s specific requirements.
Message Queues: Enable asynchronous communication between different system parts, improving scalability and decoupling components.
File Systems: File systems oversee data storage and retrieval on disks, handling tasks like file naming, storage allocation, directory structure, and access permissions. With file systems, file identification and access control become easier.
Why is System Design important to know?
Due to the growing complexity and scale of web applications, it’s important to know how to handle large-scale challenges. System Design offers both theoretical knowledge and practical skills for real-world applications.
Investing time in learning System Design can provide both immediate and long-term advantages for your career. It can make you a more versatile and sought-after professional in the tech industry.
In an interview setting, a strong understanding of System Design can be an important difference-maker. Most developers will be expected to demonstrate at least a working knowledge of System Design in their interviews. Depending on their specialization, software engineers typically receive 1-2 design interview loops as part of the hiring process, of which System Design is the most common focus.
Ultimately, candidates who perform well in System Design Interviews will boost their chances of being hired, as well as increase their starting level and salary. (At Meta, for example, a strong System Design Interview can mean the difference between starting as an E5 rather than an E4 — an advantage worth tens of thousands of dollars).
Looking for System Design prep? Here are some helpful resources:
Stay relevant, stay ahead
Use these tips to position yourself for better alignment with top job opportunities out there. Showcasing what you already have to offer, advancing to leadership roles, and mastering System Design are some of the best ways to adapt and progress as a software engineer today.
Originally published in June 2018 by Brittany Curran. Updated by the Hired Content Team and Educative in December 2023. More
138 Shares139 Views
in Talent Acquisition
Dear Developers: Coding Languages That Will Set You Apart in 2023
by Raphael Stevens 16 October 2023, 04:22
Any software engineer will tell you: There are a plethora of coding languages out there and varying attitudes toward each at both the company and individual levels. To dive deeper, Hired’s 2023 State of Software Engineers report examines coding languages that set candidates apart from their peers and the preferences of developers.
Which programming skills were highest in demand by employers?
In 2022, engineers skilled in Ruby on Rails received 1.64X more interview requests compared to Hired’s marketplace average. This year, Ruby on Rails moved up one position to take the top slot as the most in-demand engineer skill. Ruby and Scala came in second and third.
Hired CTO Dave Walters said, “Ruby on Rails is a very mature and easy-to-use framework, which leads to its popularity among engineers and engineering leaders. It allows for faster coding (or increased productivity) which helps engineers deliver minimum viable products and features at a higher pace.”
In 2021, the leading programming skill was Go. Larger companies such as Slack and Twitch rapidly adopted it last year. Its simplicity and power made it popular among engineers. Dave added, “While a favorite among engineers, Go may be less in demand by employers now due to a temporary shift in hiring needs.”
Related: Inside the Coding Challenge: A Hiring Manager’s Perspective
How the engineers feel about coding skills
Employer demands aside, developers themselves have their own opinions of the different coding languages. This is often due to how many resources there are for learning and development related to a particular language or how “fun” they are to use.
In our survey of over 1,300 software engineers, we found engineers ranked Python as their favorite programming language. JavaScript and Java followed as the second and third choices.
Beyond coding languages
Knowing which languages will set you apart from the rest can help you make your profile more attractive to prospective employers. However, it’s just one piece of the engineering talent puzzle.
Related: Code Your Career: Staying Competitive in the Developer Job Market (VIDEO)
In addition to more granularity about coding languages and their competitiveness, the 2023 State of Software Engineers report dives into top roles, market trends, and salaries. The research gives you a better overview of:
The state of the market
Where the market is going
How to best tailor your experiences and skills
Originally written by Napala Pratini in March 2019. Updated by Hired Content Team in October 2023. More
175 Shares199 Views
in Talent Acquisition
Interviewing for an Engineering Manager Role? 15 Questions You Should be Prepared to Answer
by Raphael Stevens 9 October 2023, 17:50
We break engineering manager interview questions down to work history, the open role, and behavioral situations.
Congratulations! You have an interview to become an engineering manager. That’s great news. There’s just one problem – interviewing to become an engineering manager is probably going to be quite a bit different from your previous interviews.
Here are 15 common engineering manager interview questions every candidate should prepare for. If you thoughtfully consider them and have good answers for each, you’ll be well on your way to nailing the interview.
Related: Interviewing with the CTO? 3 Strategies to Help Prepare
Basic work history questions
These questions are among the most basic, but can still be very hard to answer if you’re not prepared for them. Be sure to know your resume and cover letter inside and out. I find it helps to think of your career as a series of short “stories.”
In addition, this is a golden opportunity to really put your best foot forward. Take control of the interview, delving into what you think is most relevant to the job. Take this opportunity to connect them to your strengths.
If you think of your interview as a movie, this is the trailer meant to get people excited about going to see the movie.
Example questions for Engineering Manager Roles on work history:
Tell us about yourself
What was your role with your previous employer?
Why did you leave your last role?
How many direct reports have you managed in the past?
What’s the largest budget you’ve ever managed?
Questions about the open role
These questions probe how interested you are in the role and how hard you worked to learn more about it. It’s also an indirect gauge of how your previous experience has helped you to understand what the role requires. If you’re able to glean interesting insights from the job posting that others can’t, interviewers will notice that.
When I interview someone for a position, I want to know how invested they are in getting the job. I want someone who’s eager. A good way to parse that out is to determine whether they’ve done their homework or not, and it’s these kinds of questions that I use to determine just that.
Example questions for Engineering Manager candidates on the open role:
What can you tell us about the role you’re applying for?
Which aspects of the role do you anticipate are the most challenging?
What can you tell us about this company?
How do you think your skills match our needs?
Behavioral questions
Behavioral questions are very common for engineering management interviews. These questions demand that you be quick on your feet. Again, it’s important to remember your stories and to be able to draw from them to apply them to the question at hand.
If you know your stories, you likely don’t need to imagine what you would do in a given situation, you can discuss what you really did do and how you might do things differently in the future given what you’ve learned from your experience.
One useful framework that I’ve learned for answering questions like these is called STAR:
Situation
Task
Action
Result
When answering behavioral questions, try hard to:
Cover what exactly happened (Situation),
What you had to do in that situation (Task),
What you did as an individual (Action), and
How things played out as a result (Result).
Related: What is the Star Method and How to Incorporate it into Interviews
With this approach, you clearly define what happened and how you personally contributed to its resolution.
Example behavioral questions for Engineering Manager candidates:
Tell us about a time you made a mistake. What happened and what did you learn from it?
Share an example of when you faced a conflict.
Tell us about a time when you faced an ethical dilemma.
How did you handle it when a project was coming down to the wire – what did you do?
Related: 30 Behavioral Interview Questions You Should Be Ready to Answer.
Closing questions for Engineering Manager candidates
When going into an interview, it’s important to consider what you want to learn from the employer and the things you want them to learn about you.
In the past, I’ve gone as far as bringing lists of things to learn and communicate into an interview and crossing things off as they were discussed. This is important because in the end, you’ll get a critical opportunity to deal with any items you haven’t yet crossed off.
Is there anything else you would like us to know about you?
Do you have any questions for us?
It’s likely that the engineering manager interview questions you face will be different from anything else you’ve experienced before. If you go into your interview prepared to answer these questions, you’ll be well on your way to taking the next big step in your career.
Finally, before starting salary negotiations in an engineering manager interview, be sure to check out:
Originally written by Patrick Sweet in April 2019. Update by the Hired Content team in October 2023. More
150 Shares119 Views
in Talent Acquisition
Ready to Start Programming with AI? A Quick Guide for Software Engineers
by Raphael Stevens 4 October 2023, 15:07
Though we’re still a ways out from building machines that will take over the world with artificial superintelligence, AI is on the rise. To sum up the recent explosion of generative AI, Vijay Pande, a general partner at venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, tells the Washington Post:
“There’s a lot of excitement about AI right now. The technology has… gone from being cute and interesting to where actually [people] can see it being deployed.”
AI has found its way into a myriad of applications (think: innovative approaches to coding reviews, testing, debugging) and is quickly becoming an advantage for staying competitive. Talent will likely be expected to leverage AI tools in their workflows to be more effective and efficient. In fact, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 37% of job descriptions listed AI work and skills in the emerging tech category.
This includes building programs to understand and help us humans in our day-to-day lives, like Siri, Alexa, and countless chatbots. It can make operations networks, like Amazon’s, hyper-efficient by predicting who will want what, when and where. It can also focus on research, with programmed learning able to evaluate results against hypotheses, and adjust and retest to advance our understanding of the world.
Tip: Try some courses on AI and Machine Learning
If nothing else, having some familiarity with AI could give you some Thanksgiving dinner fodder to blow your grandparents’ minds. But it also could lead to promising new career opportunities.
Why AI?
If you’re looking to add to your repertoire to boost your marketability as a software engineer, artificial intelligence is a safe bet. According to Hired’s 2023 State of Software Engineers report, demand for machine learning and data engineers ranks among the hottest software engineering roles.
Here are a few lucrative roles for which AI programming may get you noticed:
The other reason for picking this up is pretty simple: it’s cool as hell!
The field of artificial intelligence is an exercise in replicating the very thing that (most of us would consider) makes us human. The emergent property of our trillions of synapses firing in a symphony gives me the sense that I am “me,” and each of you the sense that you are “you.”
Though most applications facilitate learning-focused, singular tasks or making predictions based on massive data sets, there is still something special about working to bring machines to recreate biological capabilities. And even in weak AI, the possibilities are endless to help the world become a better place with creative, elegant software. And isn’t that what we all want?
How to start programming with AI
When it comes to picking the right language to get your career on an AI track, you need to decide what type of work you want to be doing and evaluate that against the support and pre-built libraries that can assist you along the way.
Start with a general language that works well with data processing and analysis. The most prominent and in-demand at tech companies are Python, Java (or Scala), or R (if you exclusively want to be a data scientist). Choose just one.
Learn a language for interacting with a database management system (DBMS) that will help you access and organize the data you’ll use in your algorithms. Knowing SQL and understanding basic NoSQL is highly recommended. If entering a larger company, Hadoop, Spark, or similar will also be helpful.
Understand the key frameworks and libraries for building AI solutions. Some that are important for common AI problems are:
TensorFlow (a must!): used for high-volume, complex numerical computations
Accord.net: used for things like classification, regression, and clustering
Caffe: used for image recognition
Scikit-learn: used for common AI problems and data mining
NLTK: used for natural language processing
Try online courses for programming with AI
It’s also helpful to experiment with the growing AI packages provided by online course providers like Coursera.
Getting started with AI
Getting deeper into machine learning:
And some additional resources:
Like any new skill, it will take discipline to master programming with AI. But from the practical to the theoretical, from the present to the future: programming with AI is a worthy practice to add to your tool belt.
Originally written by Mike Parker in May 2019. Updated by Hired Content Team and Coursera in October 2023. More
150 Shares99 Views
in Talent Acquisition
3 Keys to Write a Software Engineering CV or Resume in 2023
by Raphael Stevens 13 September 2023, 16:39
3 Strategies for a Solid Software Engineering CV or Resume
Whether you’re starting to look for new opportunities or just want to get your CV or resume in shape, it can be difficult to know how to best portray a software skillset on a single piece of paper. This article will provide general CV-writing best practices, as well as specific strategies to highlight your software engineering expertise.
1. Keep it clean and simple
This applies to CVs for all jobs, but it’s worth remembering that recruiters and hiring managers generally don’t have the time nor the energy to sift through multiple pages, opaque wording, or confusing formatting.
First of all, be sure to keep your CV to a single page. Even if you have many experiences that seem worth sharing, you’re better off choosing the most important, relevant ones (and including more details about them) rather than trying to squeeze everything in, but losing the important details of your most impressive achievements.
One way to keep it short is to use concise, straightforward language rather than flowery descriptions. Once you’ve written a draft, go through and think critically about each bullet point: Ask yourself whether there’s a way to say the same thing in fewer words, or to make it punchier with more action-oriented words. It can also be helpful to have a friend, colleague, or mentor read it over for a second opinion.
Lastly, keep the formatting clean by using section headers and consistent fonts/font sizes. Must-have sections include education, employment, and skills (where you can list your proficiency with various programming languages); Others might include personal projects, awards, certifications, or interests.
2. Tailor it to the role
Whether you’re applying to a very specific role or applying more broadly, be sure to tailor your CV accordingly. If there are a few types of roles you’re considering, it might be worth keeping a different version for each.
Some people prefer to keep a “master” CV with all of their experiences listed (this might exceed the one-page limit), which can be trimmed down based on which skills a role requires and how your background fits into that profile. Others may keep a few versions of their CV ready to go depending on which best fits a job they’re applying for.
Whatever your strategy, don’t underestimate the importance of what you do and don’t include on a CV you submit to a job posting: Even if you have the most relevant experience, if it doesn’t come through on your CV then the hiring team won’t know what a good fit you might be. Further, including more relevant jobs or projects may increase your chances of talking about them in the interview, as interviewers often use the candidate’s CV to guide the conversation.
3. Show off your software experience
Unlike many other careers, software engineers’ work (e.g. tools, apps, websites, etc.) can often be publicly viewed. When it comes to CV writing, this is a huge plus, as it gives you the chance to show, rather than tell, what you’ve done.
Some engineers like to include a ‘Projects’ section, particularly if they’re earlier on in their careers but have undertaken personal projects to boost their skills or to explore an area of interest. Even if the work is incomplete or the projects are small, this section can also demonstrate your passion for engineering as it will indicate you’ve taken on this work outside of your day job.
You might also include links to online portfolios such as GitHub or StackOverflow, which can give the hiring team clear evidence of which skills you bring to the table. If you have a personal website with links to various projects, this can be a way of keeping your word count down while still showcasing all of your work.
At the end of the day, your CV is only one small piece of the candidate profile that a company will assemble in the process of interviewing you—but it’s an important one as it’s often the first impression a hiring team will have of you. Spending time to tinker with and tailor your CV may seem mundane, but it’ll certainly be worth the effort if it helps you make it past the initial screening process.
Additional Resources to help write your tech resume or engineering CV
Originally written in 2019, this blog was updated by the Hired content team in 2023. More
100 Shares149 Views
in Talent Acquisition
Tech Candidate Spotlight – Leonard Barraugh, Security Engineer
by Raphael Stevens 7 September 2023, 18:58
Can you share a little bit about your educational background?
I have a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Master’s degree in Information Assurance and Cybersecurity from Florida Institute of Technology. I am also a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP).
Earning an information technology-focused undergraduate degree opened the doors for me to start my career. Obtaining a CISSP certification gave legitimacy to my progression from an IT journeyman to a focused cybersecurity professional.
What would you like to learn more about?
I am fascinated by the new developments in artificial intelligence. I’m excited to learn more ways to leverage AI to enhance personal productivity. Also, as a cybersecurity practitioner, it’s important to be aware of the many nefarious uses of this powerful technology and modern techniques to defend against them.
What led you to pursue a career in tech?
Computers weren’t ubiquitous when I was growing up. However, it was obvious that virtually every industry was clamoring to integrate software into their processes. I believed a career in software development would provide a great balance of career flexibility, security, and fulfillment.
How has your skillset evolved over the course of your career?
Initially, I began my career as a software developer, but the defense contracting world gave me exposure to many different facets of IT. I quickly became a jack of all trades, working on wildly varying projects that required database design, system administration, networking, and traditional IT help desk support. I discovered I had an aptitude for troubleshooting software and operating system issues. This helped me realize I was better suited in a generalist role than as a pure developer. This positioned me well for a transition into cybersecurity given the enormous breadth of the discipline.
If you choose to specialize in one area, what was it and why?
I’ve focused my career path on cybersecurity, which is still incredibly broad and continually evolving. Cybersecurity aligns perfectly with my disposition as a generalist. There is always something new to learn. Advances in technology present new attack surfaces that need to be secured, while novel methods are constantly being devised to exploit existing technology. Being a cybersecurity practitioner allows me to approach an IT system from a completely holistic viewpoint and requires an understanding of all the various components and interfaces.
Is your new role different from previous ones?
My new role will be significantly different from my previous roles as I will be venturing out of the defense contracting world and into the private sector. I’ve had a clearance job for nearly my entire career so this will be a big leap away from what’s familiar and comfortable.
What are some of the things you’re most excited about in your new role?
I am incredibly excited to get exposure to new methods and technologies and to see how teams outside the defense industry approach cybersecurity. Also, as a parent of a young child, I am equally excited about an opportunity to work completely remote!
What was your job search experience like before you joined Hired?
I’ve worked in defense contracting for fifteen years and have built a large network of peers in that time, but I didn’t have many contacts outside of the defense space. Joining Hired provided an interface to employers in the private sector that I wouldn’t have been aware of otherwise.
What’s your best advice for jobseekers on the Hired platform?
The best advice I can think of for jobseekers registered on Hired is to provide as much information on your profile as you can. Hired is different than traditional job search platforms. It showcases the candidates to potential employers. Therefore, having a robust profile gives you the best chance of attracting an employer’s interest.
Related: Want More Interviews and Better Matches? 8 Key Tips!
What would you tell someone who’s curious about Hired?
After you find a possible match on a traditional job search platform, you typically have to leave that platform. Then, you need to provide all of your employment history, education, skills, and maybe even a cover letter on the potential employer’s career site. Doing this over and over again for every opportunity becomes robotic and impersonal. At some point, you might even start filtering out opportunities you would have otherwise applied to because the application process has become daunting and lost its zeal.
With Hired, you only complete your profile once and they do all the work of showcasing you to employers. As an added benefit, they provide compensation information up front so you have a known starting point when beginning the interview process.
Any general advice for other tech professionals?
I take a genuine interest in what my peers around me are working on. That has provided immense value throughout my career. Building a rapport with teammates is critical in establishing a healthy and productive work environment. Understanding their challenges and accomplishments has a more tangible impact as well. You get a much better understanding of how your own responsibilities can impact or depend upon other efforts. This also offers great insight into how other teams may have already overcome some of the technical challenges you may be facing.
About Berkeley Research Group
Berkeley Research Group is a global consulting firm that helps organizations with assistance in disputes and investigations, corporate finance, and strategy and operations. Founded in 2010, BRG has 1,001-1,500 employees and is headquartered in California.
Benefits
401K plan/matching, health insurance, paid time off, work from home flexibility, company activities, conferences reimbursement, mentorship opportunities, and more. More
100 Shares199 Views
in Talent Acquisition
Tech Candidate Spotlight – Albert James, Full Stack Engineer
by Raphael Stevens 28 June 2023, 18:01
Please tell us a bit about your educational background!
I have a traditional background with a Bachelor’s in Electronics & Communication Engineering and a Master’s in Computer Science. My first introduction to programming was in high school. In the last few years of high school, I was introduced to C++. We wrote code on paper and later tried compiling it on computers once per week to see how it ran. Writing code primarily on paper was helpful in writing errorless code.
Related: Code Your Career: Staying Competitive in the Developer Job Market (VIDEO)
As for my overall tech career, I believe my Master’s degree made the biggest impact. It was the first time I learned a lot about programming and computer science fundamentals. I believe a formal education in computer science is really useful, especially if the coursework involves a lot of project work.
What would you like to learn more about?
I would like to learn more about Astrophysics. I’m really passionate about physics, and astronomy was something I loved reading about. Eventually, I plan to enroll in a learning course to get formal training in astrophysics. I might even switch careers someday!
What led you to pursue a career in tech?
For me, I think it came down to two aspects: problem-solving and money. Tech and coding are really interesting. You have to constantly learn and the problems you solve are neither mundane nor boring. It also helps that the salary is nice!
How has your skill set evolved over the course of your career?
I was primarily an electronics engineer who knew some C++ when I started my first job. Over time, I acquired skills in machine learning, database design, back-end engineering, and Android development. I was also exposed to a wider variety of problems and approaches to solving them.
If I could choose a specialty, it would be back-end development. I like the technologies in this area and love learning the nitty gritty of database design.
Is your new role different from previous ones?
It is similar to my role at DraftKings. There are commonalities in the responsibilities but the role is in a new industry. The day-to-day work is similar to what I did at DraftKings but it’s a deviation from my tasks at Google.
I really love back-end development and with this role at Arrowstreet Capital, I have the opportunity to be a part of the company’s foray into the cloud. This offers a plethora of interesting problems and projects while providing plenty of opportunities for personal growth.
What was your job search experience like before you joined Hired?
It mostly consisted of messaging people and applying for jobs via LinkedIn. I’d say I have had mixed experiences with LinkedIn. I found it easier to find job opportunities after landing my first role but before that, I never received responses regarding applications.
What’s your best advice for jobseekers on the Hired platform?
Keep your profile up-to-date and stay active on the platform. Don’t be passive in your job search! Take skill assessments and certifications to showcase what you can do and have learned. Keep updating your resume and profile to optimize it and impress prospective employers.
Related: Want More Interviews and Better Matches? 5 Key Tips!
Also, use the resources Hired provides as they are really useful in the job search. This helps you during every aspect, from beginning your job search all the way to negotiating an offer.
Related: Meet Hired’s Candidate Experience Team: Supporting Jobseekers Every Step of the Way
I had a wonderful time as a jobseeker using the Hired platform. Hired is really thorough and supports you throughout the job search process. It’s a fantastic platform for jobseekers and I encourage other tech professionals to make the most of it!
Any general advice you’d like to give other tech professionals?
Keep up with the job market. Update skills and learn new technologies accordingly. Read at least a few technical books per year to brush up on your skill set. Complete a personal project you enjoy even if it’s silly or lacks a use case. It helps in unexpected ways and demonstrates your drive.
Thanks for sharing, Albert! Land your next tech or sales role on Hired and complete your free profile today!
About Arrowstreet Capital
Arrowstreet Capital is a systematic global equity asset manager providing solutions for institutional investors around the world. Founded in 1999, Arrowstreet Capital has 201-500 employees and is headquartered in Boston.
Tech Stack
React, Python, C#, AWS, Infrastructure More
138 Shares159 Views
in Talent Acquisition
Tech Candidate Spotlight – Autumn Skerritt, Site Reliability Engineer in the UK
by Raphael Stevens 15 June 2023, 15:15
Let’s start by talking about your educational background!
I have a degree from the University of Liverpool in computer science. I have not attended any bootcamps but I do have the AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification.
What’s made the biggest impact on my tech career is choosing to work on side projects (which have become popular on GitHub!). I realized my degree does not matter nearly as much as my GitHub projects do. I highly suggest others think about projects first and degrees second.
What would you like to learn more about?
I’d love to learn more about building solutions for business problems. Right now I code and write solutions for bugs but actually adding business impact is where I find the challenge.
Related: Site Reliability Engineer Career Path
What led you to pursue a career in tech?
I had no other choice! I wanted a job where I could earn money and tech was the right fit. Maybe I could crochet or skateboard but tech is far more viable for me than skating!
How has your skill set evolved over the course of your career?
I originally started off with a small skill set of Python and Bash. Eventually, I learned more about pen testing. Then I started doing AWS certifications to land my first job. I moved into infrastructure and then security. I currently use a mix of both!
Related: Code Your Career: Staying Competitive in the Developer Job Market (VIDEO)
I have not really decided on what I want to specialize in yet. My ideal specialty is being able to make things quickly. I currently work in infrastructure but at a security company, I’m mostly doing IAM projects.
Is your new role different from previous ones?
It’s in a different industry but roughly has the same tech stack. I did IAM work before, which used SCIM/ OIDC protocols and I currently work with these a lot.
What are some of the things you’re most excited about in your new role?
I’m super excited about innovating and making our team more efficient. Currently, there’s a mishmash of things and we’re not too focused on a specific process to streamline our work.
What was your job search experience like before you joined Hired?
It was actually very hard. I applied to 90+ companies and had 27 interviews, most of which were not an ideal match. Hired was super good for my job search! Companies applied to me. Plus, I knew the salary before having to struggle in an interview to find out how much they’d offer.
What’s your best advice for job seekers registered on the Hired platform?
Generalise the roles you’re looking for. Instead of DevOps, I wrote software engineer, which means a larger pool of companies can see you. Also, reply to employers quickly! Being responsive is really important on Hired. It will show companies how much you care.
What would you tell someone who’s curious about Hired?
Just try it. There’s no harm. It takes maybe an hour to sign up and you get to see the platform. You might also just find a job!
Any general advice you’d like to give other tech professionals?
Take a break. It’s not life or death. You’ll survive and it’ll all be okay! Just breathe. If you lose your job, you’ll find another one and life will go on. Be sure to look on the bright side.
Related: Recently Laid Off? A Jobseeker’s Guide to Bounce Back Better Than Ever
Congrats on the job, Autumn! Interested in landing a great role in the UK like Autumn did? Complete your free profile on Hired today!
About Cisco
Cisco hardware, software, and service offerings are used to create the Internet solutions that make networks possible. Founded in 1984, Cisco has 5,001+ employees and is headquartered in San Jose.
Tech Stack
Python, Spark, Javascript, React, AWS, Kubernetes, Java, Go, Docker, Microservices, Kafka, iOS, Android, Kotlin, Kibana, Datadog, Terraform
Benefits
Health/dental/vision/life/disability insurance, 401k plan/matching, tuition reimbursement, paid time off, stock options, employee discount programs, job training, and more. More

Engineering

Latest story

System Design Interview Survival Guide: Tips to Navigate Interviews

More stories

3 Ways to Stay Relevant as an Experienced Software Engineer

Dear Developers: Coding Languages That Will Set You Apart in 2023

Interviewing for an Engineering Manager Role? 15 Questions You Should be Prepared to Answer

Ready to Start Programming with AI? A Quick Guide for Software Engineers

3 Keys to Write a Software Engineering CV or Resume in 2023

Tech Candidate Spotlight – Leonard Barraugh, Security Engineer

Tech Candidate Spotlight – Albert James, Full Stack Engineer

Tech Candidate Spotlight – Autumn Skerritt, Site Reliability Engineer in the UK

ITALIAN LANGUAGE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE