hadoob024 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Hello all. I'm going in for a technical interview next week for a Senior PHP Developer position, and was wondering if anyone here has gone through one or has given one. In either case, what kinds of questions/problems did you encounter? I want to make sure to nail this interview and am just trying to prepare myself for it, but am not sure exactly how to do so. Any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
448191 Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 Why do you think you qualify? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cags Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 I've never sat for one or given one, but here's one question I think I'd ask if I was to interview somebody. I'd ask them if they were in my position what questions would they ask potential applicants. Because a.) that will give you a good idea of what they feel they should know and what the job entails, b.) they might think up things you never even thought of asking. Obviously the chances are they will only come up with questions they know they can answer (pretty brave/stupid to suggest the question otherwise), but it could help get some information I might otherwise miss. c.) it's a question that would likely not be expected and you can see how they cope with the pressure of unexpected events. But thats just IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadoob024 Posted October 30, 2009 Author Share Posted October 30, 2009 Hmmmm... That all makes sense. I mean, I have the experience. I'm 33 now. Got my first T.I. and a Basic programming book when I was 8, and been doing it ever since. Been doing web development since 1994, and I've continually been adding new skills. Started with just HTML. Then over the years started adding stuff like JavaScript, CSS, PL/SQL, ASP, etc. For something like this, how important is it to know details about specific functions? Like if a question involves calculating a result and then sending an email, do you think it's a big deal to know exactly the parameters that are going to be fed to the mail() function? Or do you think it's more about seeing how someone is actually tackling a problem? I guess my main problem is that I've programmed in so many different languages, that I'm always having to look up specifics like that. I hope that won't be an issue. Maybe I should be upfront about that before the interview. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mchl Posted October 30, 2009 Share Posted October 30, 2009 For something like this, how important is it to know details about specific functions? Like if a question involves calculating a result and then sending an email, do you think it's a big deal to know exactly the parameters that are going to be fed to the mail() function? Or do you think it's more about seeing how someone is actually tackling a problem? Senior PHP Developer != php.net Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
448191 Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Right. And Senior Lawyer != Law books. I sincerely hope that was a joke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cags Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Most employers I would have thought would look for good analytical thought and a methodical approach over encyclopaedic knowledge of the PHP functions. Given 20 seconds and a net connection you can find what order parameters are passed to a function. The same can't be said of programming techniques. Obviously having an idea of what functions are available as tools is important but in my opinion far less so than a solid grounding in techniques that apply regardless of language. Being a 'senior' position they will obvious expect good knowledge of the functions available. But I can't see them quibbling over details such as the order of needle and haystack parameters in various functions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keldorn Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Hmmmm... That all makes sense. I mean, I have the experience. I'm 33 now. Got my first T.I. and a Basic programming book when I was 8, and been doing it ever since. Been doing web development since 1994, and I've continually been adding new skills. Started with just HTML. Then over the years started adding stuff like JavaScript, CSS, PL/SQL, ASP, etc. You started programming when you were 8, that is now 25 years of programming experince, your probably well skilled in programming methodology. You shoule beable to understand and solve programming problems quickly. 94' that is 15 years experience. That sounds pretty good right there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadoob024 Posted October 31, 2009 Author Share Posted October 31, 2009 Cool. Thanks a ton for all the advice. We'll see. The person who I'm supposed to interview with was out of town this past week, so I should be having it this upcoming week. Will post again after the interview. Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynewex Posted October 31, 2009 Share Posted October 31, 2009 Depends on who's interviewing you. A technical interviewer or a business interviewer, or both. A technical interviewer might ask what your experience is, what technologies you've used, your familiarity with PHP software such as Wordpress, Joomla and Drupal. Your experience with frameworks. It depends on the company looking to hire. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 Hello all. I'm going in for a technical interview next week for a Senior PHP Developer position, and was wondering if anyone here has gone through one or has given one. In either case, what kinds of questions/problems did you encounter? I want to make sure to nail this interview and am just trying to prepare myself for it, but am not sure exactly how to do so. Any thoughts? Cool. Thanks a ton for all the advice. We'll see. The person who I'm supposed to interview with was out of town this past week, so I should be having it this upcoming week. Will post again after the interview. Thanks again! Are you the interviewer or the candidate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadoob024 Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 Are you the interviewer or the candidate? The candidate. Sorry if it wasn't clear. Yeah, it's going to be a technical interview I'm sure. I already meet with the recruiter for what I believe was the business interview. I guess she does all the pre-screenings before passing on along the info to the client. She said that I'd be having a technical interview with them, so I wasn't sure what to expect since I've never gone in for a "technical interview" before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadeemshafi9 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 im going to have to go through this one day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadeemshafi9 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 a senior php developer would be an engineer rather then a coder, he would be the person who designs the architecture, gathers specifications and distrabutes them amongst team members Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
448191 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 ..and write implementation proposals for clients in decent English.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadeemshafi9 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 ..and write implementation proposals for clients in decent English.. when decent English is required, it gets checked over, my teachers told me you have to judge whether testing is necessary and how much, i apply this to all parts of life. What real advantages would i recive by spending extra time on spellings on this forum, the message gets accross and i dont waste any more time than is necessary, but im productive and have contributed lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 nadeemshafi9 strikes again.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadoob024 Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 That's what I was hoping. I guess we'll see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadeemshafi9 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 i had a java teacher and a ADA teacher, they were both from the army one worked on the jaguar jet coding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
448191 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 That's what I was hoping. I guess we'll see what happens. What are you hoping for? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel0 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 What real advantages would i recive by spending extra time on spellings on this forum[?] Respect instead of contempt. the message gets accross It doesn't always get across. Your posts are sometimes difficult to understand due to lack of cohesion and proper grammar. and i dont waste any more time than is necessary, but im productive and have contributed lol. It's better to make less but higher quality contributions than a lot of low quality contributions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadeemshafi9 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 That's what I was hoping. I guess we'll see what happens. iv had around 13 interviews and i think if your going to an interview that you realy want to suceeed in, i reckon you should do a few dud ones first and then go for the one you want, go to some senior php roles you dont want and check them out what they say and that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hadoob024 Posted November 2, 2009 Author Share Posted November 2, 2009 What are you hoping for? That the interview is going to be more focused on how I approach problems as opposed to knowing functions and syntax. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mchl Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 What real advantages would i recive by spending extra time on spellings on this forum, the message gets accross and i dont waste any more time than is necessary, but im productive and have contributed lol. Now seriously man, how much time do you spend on looking for misspelled variable names? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nadeemshafi9 Posted November 2, 2009 Share Posted November 2, 2009 What real advantages would i recive by spending extra time on spellings on this forum, the message gets accross and i dont waste any more time than is necessary, but im productive and have contributed lol. Now seriously man, how much time do you spend on looking for misspelled variable names? before i write it, if i have doubts i paste it into google and then presto, cant let my team mebers know i type crappy lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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