React/Node.js Interview Made Easy With the Tech Lead at Turing.com
Alina: If you are a developer looking for top American jobs, you would want to watch this video till the end. Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you could work from home forever, would you stay at home, sip a cup of coffee while writing code, or would you rather teleport yourself to the Hills and live in the lap of nature? Hello and welcome to Turing developer diaries. I am Alina Khan, joining from Gurgaon, India, and I shall be your host for the day. Turing, a leader in the remote work space, is a platform that connects Silicon Valley companies with brilliant pre-vetted, remote software engineers from across the globe. We promise that if you watch this video, you will definitely want to have a look at their website today. The link is in the description below.
Without further ado, Let's welcome Jose, who is joining us from Ontario, Canada. He has been a developer for 16 long years and today he is the React Node Tech Lead at Turing.com. We will know more about the important tips to crack a React Node interview and we'll also get to learn more about how you must stay up to date with the latest technological trends. Hi Jose, thank you so much for taking time out for this discussion.
How are you doing? And how's the weather in Ontario. Jose: Hi Alina. First of all, nice to meet you.
But if you asked me this question last week, I would say that the sun is very shiny outside, the temperature is really warm outside, but today, it's really cold. The temperature is around five, maybe four degrees And you ccan't go outside wearing a T-shirt, for sure. But as you know, in Canada, we have a lot of snow. Now we have Four to six months of snow every year, and it's almost impossible to know what is the road and where is the sidewalk, for example. But I love that. Alina: That sounds quite amazing.
Actually, the weather here as well is quite erratic. It was very sunny during the day today and it just rained a while back. So you never know what happens. Jose: Hmm. Yeah.
Here, no. If you see the sun outside, it doesn't mean it's hot. The temperature could be really cold.
Yeah. Alina: Okay. Now Jose, I think our audience must be pretty intrigued about your background. So I think let's begin with a quick introduction. Tell us more about yourself and what is your story? Jose: Yes.
Yes. My name is Jose. I am Brazilian. And I have a big last name, like everybody in Brazil. Okay. And I have a technician degree in Analysis and Development software. I started my career a long time ago, creating creating desktop application using Delfi.
That that was a good time for sure. But after a few months of working in that company, they decided to migrate all tech, all application, all desktop applications to web applications. And then I had to adapt myself and learn new technologies and new language, in that case PHP. And since then I have been working on the web environment. I always take responsibility and work with things that other developers don't like to do, like setting up databases, work on the servers, even working with Javascript, from that time. And The other developers in my team in the company that time always preferred to work as a back end, because they think it's more easy, you know? And, and then I have to learn Javascript to help them.
Nowadays, Javascript is my strongest skill and I love it. And I always try to be the first one to arrive in the company and the last one to leave. It makes me work a lot. Yeah. Alina: That sounds pretty amazing.
And I'm really glad to have such an interesting person on the panel today. Jose: Thank you. Alina: In fact, It's fascinating to see how the tables have turned.
You were a developer 15 years back and today you are a technical interviewer. How does it finally feel to be on the other side of the table? Jose: Yeah, that's interesting because I had tons of interviews like this in the past and I failed a lot of them. So I had tons of interviews like this and I failed a lot of them because I was unprepared.
Nowadays, the reason that Developers fail are almost the same. They are unprepared for this kind of interview. Because during the interview you have to sell yourself Right. The interviewer doesn't know you, he doesn't know your background or your friends. And nobody will tell the interviewer "Hey, hire this person because he is a great developer". So no, you have to do it by yourself.
And sometimes, you have only three minutes, maybe one hour to talk with the interviewer and try to convince them that you are a great great, great, great, great fit for this opportunity. And just to complete my answer, I feel really bad when they are not prepared for the interview and fail because of that, because in general, they are a good developer, a good person. And what they're trying to do is get a good job. Alina: Nice. I can only imagine how that would feel actually, in real, and I think you've come a very, very long way. And I think, and I know for a fact that you're going to do great in the near future as well. Jose: Oh, nice.
Nice. Thank you. Thanks for sharing. Alina: Now Jose, You just mentioned that you've been on both sides of the spectrum. So my next question will be to the developer Jose, who we knew 15 years back. How did you level up to get to this point in your career? What all did you have to do? Jose: Okay, this is a fun thing.
Let me start from the beginning. Okay. So my sister started studying software development.
In that time I was working, I was working with my mother as a baby sitter. I was a babysitter in her business, which was transport schooling, I'd take kids from their home and take them to school, take them from school and deliver them home, something like that. But that's not the fun thing. At that point in time, my sister started sharing her learnings with me. And I got fascinated about that. And then few months later, I started studying in the same college with her and I started studying analysis and development software and I've never stopped learning until now.
Okay. I learn every day and I try to keep me updated with my strong skills. Nowadays it's Javascript. Okay. But during my career I have, I have worked in all positions.
I've worked at the backhand, in the front-end, as a DBA with database configuring servers. And I always become the tech lead of the team because of that, because my background. Right. And they usually follow me because of that. Because I know how to talk to people from different areas of the company.
And I used to work as a bridge between the teams. Talk to the front end, talk to the backend, talk to the front end and and the back end at the same time, the database guys, and also, I took some courses like Scrum, I'm also a ScrumMaster, and how to be a inclusive leader. The leader that is part of the team, not the one that says you, you do it, do it, do it. No. I tried to share knowledge. And I tried to ask them how to build things and because of COVID I had to search for another job. It was last year.
Right. And then I found Turing and this position but I didn't know about anything about that. And then I applied for that.
So when Zech, Zech is my tech lead now. When Zach replied to my email and interviewed me and passed me, I got so excited. You can't believe that, but during my first week of interviewing other people professionally, I realized that I was not prepared to do that and had to improve all my skills and I had to learn everything. So I started learning how to interview people.
Okay. How to conduct interview like this. And I watched tons of job interviews on YouTube and I created my own methods to interview people and to expect the best I can for them.
And I still learn about this, and this position. Okay. Because it's not easy to interview people.
If you say something wrong, they will quest you, you know, they will say "What? You are wrong" That's not good for me. That's not good for Turing, right. And then I have to be up to date with every answer. So. During the interview, they usually ask you questions and if you give them a wrong answer, it could be two things, you could guide them to the wrong way or they will question you again, and they'll say, "Ma'am, I'm sorry. You're not prepared to conduct this interview".
Alina: That's quite a heartwarming story. And you've mentioned your entire journey. It's very impressive, I must say. So the next part of my question will be to the interviewer Jose that we see on our screens today. What do you suggest aspiring developer developers at this point in time, How should they stay up to date with the current trends in their fields? Jose: All right.
This is an interesting question because they always asked me this kind of question during the interview. I always say, Make friends, okay. Be proactive. I recommend you to join specific Facebook groups in your area, I mean, in your strong area, if you want to learn about React or Python, join Facebook groups for that. So follow other developers on Twitter or YouTube, you know.
Another common question that they ask me is how I learn things. And I always say first start with the documentation. Okay.
And then go to YouTube and watch hundreds of videos for the same subjects until you have a good understand of how it works. And. If you find a video that clarified find your mind, follow the guy. Because he probably could help you, in other things as well.
And second, exercise that, memorize how to write code. Okay. Without any snippets, because it will make make a difference when you talk with other developers or interviewers like me. Alina: I actually agree with your points a lot.
It's very important to be proactive first and secondly, practice makes a developer or anybody else Perfect. So I think it's very important to practice as well. Yes, Jose: That's Right.
Alina: Now let us have a look at the technical side of things, Jose, we know that the wave of technological advancements seems to bring about a new language, almost every waking hour. So in that respect and in your expert opinion, what do you think US companies look for in aspiring developers, in terms of skill sets and their collaboration abilities? Jose: All right. What I realised Okay. Was that there's a high demand for Python Node Js, Golang and Ruby for back-end and front-end React Js, Angular.
But also, I realized that there are positions for new technologies like VueJS and for DevOps as well, but this is my opinion. It could be a little bit different, but in general, that's what I realized. But the first skill is not even related to any language or framework, but to the ability to solve their problems and design their systems. So what I'm trying to say is, if you know, for example, Python or Golang or Javascript, they will say "Yeah, you're good in development" You probably will find a good job.
Right. But if you have the ability to solve their problems or design their systems and combine that with your strong skills like Python, for example, they would say, "Yeah, you're the greatest developer of the world and I need you" Okay. And did they probably will ask you if you have friends like you. Alina: Okay.
I hope our audience is listening carefully because it is super important to stay up to date with the current technological advancements, as well as upskilling yourself time And again, Jose: Yes. Alina: Jose you've talked about the skills that US companies look for in aspiring developers. We would also like you to talk about what Turing looks for in its developers. Can you share a few tips and tricks so that our audience can prepare themselves better for the Turing test? Jose: Yes.
Yes, of course. So I love to pass them. Just to record that I love to pass them. I love when I ask them simple questions and then they give me a complete answer, but regarding to my tips Okay. How to pass my interview? Okay.
So first, you must know the Javascript concepts because to work with React Js and Node JS, for example, you must understand how Javascript works, right. And the concepts of React and Angular as well. So, I always will ask you a simple question, but try to give me complete solution. Okay. Because, we can discuss about that.
We can discuss about that for sure. And care about the performance of the application. Try to create simple functions, not complex, try to learn about the time and space complexity and try to make simple things. And if you could do that, I will be glad to pass you, for sure.
And I would change your life, for sure, because it starts with me. Alina: That's very interesting. And it's very nice to see that coming from you, especially because you are a React Node interviewer at Turing.
To all aspiring developers, here I would like to add and emphasize the fact that Turing has job opportunities with elite US companies in hundred plus technologies. If you believe to be confident in the skill-set that you possess, You can apply to Turing.com today. Head onto turing.com/jobs. Coming back to you Jose, we know that a variety of developers sit for these interviews, the technical interviews that you take especially, and some might be prepared for the interview, others might not be so much. Is there any one aspect that you particularly look for in aspiring developers when you're interviewing them? Jose: Yes. Yes. So first, read the documentation, everything's there.
So try to learn how React Js actually works in this case. How the React reconciliation process works, what the React library is, what it does for you. Okay. What are class components? What are functional component? Because that's not only a concept. They are a real word. You find something like this in projects around the world.
Some companies work with old version of React, some companies work with new version of React. Okay. And how to share the state of the application between different components. Think about data structures. Okay.
Because it will save your time. So think about data structure and memorize functions and data, because it could help you to create better applications. Try to modularize your application, as much as you can. Okay. Create components and try to reuse them.
As much as you can. Maybe even share them between other applications. Okay. And my last word about this is, test your components.
Okay. Or codes as much as you can, and only publish them when you are confident that they won't break your application. Alina: That's quite some insight and I hope and expect all aspiring developers, React Node developers especially, to be taking notes from this interview so that they can clear the next interview that they sit for. Now Jose, we have a very clear picture of what Turing looks for in aspiring developers.
I would like you to share And I would like you to share your personal experience of being with the company, how has Turing impacted your life? Jose: Yeah, that's awesome. Turing has changed my life. Okay. Working remotely for me means that you have free time and you can use that free time for many different things like play with your kids or your pet if you don't have kids Okay. Or both, you can play with your kids, your pet, because you have time to do, and you can use that time for destress. You can use that time to start to start a new hobby like I did. So I started a new hobby that I have to learn a lot of stuff.
Okay. And I love it so I can show you something. So this is my new, my new job, my new hobby.
So I started creating things like this. I love it. Yeah. Alina: Okay, wow.
Jose: I got the design from one guy and I modified design. Okay. And I printed it and I made my own design. Right.
So this is a, look, this is a lamp that I'm doing for my kids. We'll build something like that. And. In the bottom will be lights like this and it will, it's really shiny during the night. So yeah, I encourage you to do something like that, if you want. Regarding the salary, Turing pays a competitive salary to you.
Okay. It means a lot of money. Okay. It's probably higher than you will receive in your country.
Okay. And, Turing doesn't require a visa. Okay. For you. If you pass in Turing's vetting process, you start working for a high-tech Silicon Valley company.
That's amazing. Once you have this experience in your country, you will be the best developer. Everybody would like to work with you. For sure. Alina: That sounds amazing.
And that looks like a pretty awesome company to be at! To everybody listening, If you are a developer who hasn't yet tried Turing, I think it is time to click on the link in the description and apply to Turing today. I think Jose, we have had quite an interesting discussion. But before we let you go, there's this one last question that I would like to ask you.
I would like you to share a few tips with our fellow developers who are looking to apply to Turing. How should they prepare such that they clear that Turing test? Jose: Okay, first, watch this video. Okay. Again again, again, again, again, because I gave a lot of tips during this video. But final tip, learn, learn a lot.
And never stop learning. Okay. Make friends. Okay. Join groups, Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups, Discord, Slack groups and then read everything because people will share their projects, will share their dreams, even positions, job positions.
You can participate in that kind of groups. And. To pass in Turing test with me you have to know the things, you know, that's what I think.
Alina: Thank you. Thank you so much for sharing such valuable advice. And I would also recommend everybody, like Jose said, please watch this video because you're going to get a lot of insights from whatever Jose has shared today with us. Thank you. Thank you so much for joining us today. We're glad to have you as a part of our ever-growing family, and we hope that this interview reaches the larger developer community so that it helps us give great opportunities to many more skilled developers Like you.
To everybody out there, we'd be happy to answer any And every question that you have. You can drop us your queries at support@turing.com. Let us know in the comments below how you liked this video. Give us a big fat thumbs up if you liked this video and do not forget to click on the bell icon and subscribe to Turing.com. We will be back with many more such Turing developer stories. Till then
stay safe and click on the link in the description below to apply to Turing. Thank you.
2021-06-19 01:35
