A recent survey of Jobs in Australia 2017” placed data scientists and data engineers in the top 2 spots. That’s just one of the surveys that put the data engineering role high up on a pedestal. Because of the tremendous potential of big data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence in business enterprises, the number and expanse of job opportunities for data engineers are growing like wildfire.

No wonder, data engineering is among the favourite career options for engineers starting in the IT space, as well as for established IT engineers looking for a career shift.

One thing’s certain – with just a little bit of search and a well-compiled resume, you will soon get an interview call for a data engineer position, particularly in a region like Sydney, where data engineering is easily the hottest job option in the IT sector. What’s not so certain, however, is how your interview will pan out. To take things in control, here’s a guide that will tell you everything you need to know to nail an interview for a data engineer role.

 

Lexy Mitchell, IT recruitment expert , recommends 4 core tips.

General Tips and Suggestions to Keep in Mind

The basics of interviews are worth brushing over before you put on your black blazer for the all-important data engineering job interview. Remember to:

• Be on time, it matters.
• Research well to understand the role of data engineering in the company’s scheme of things.
• Appear confident; look the interviewers in the eyes while talking, and make your handshake gentle yet firm and unlike Frank Catton’s grip in Ocean’s Eleven when he was negotiating for those vans in Vegas!
• Find out some discussion-worthy aspects of the company’s data practices and policies, or industry trends in general, and create 2 to 3 questions out of it, which you can ask when given the opportunity to at the end of the interview.

Covering Your Important Bases

Here are some questions that invariably pop up in any interview, particularly those for data engineering roles. It’ll be sensible to draft smart answers to these.

What kinds of places do you like working at?

Now enterprises are in love with the idea of retaining their data engineers for the long term. This drives them to look for culturally well-fitting candidates. Your alignment with the company’s workplace culture needs to be evident in this answer.

 

How long have you previously worked at businesses for and why did you leave or are you looking at leaving?

Again, this question is posed to judge a candidate’s ideology of workplace loyalty. If you have hopped a couple of jobs recently, invest time in drafting convincing answers. You should have sound and principled reasons for leaving different jobs so quickly.

 

What is your tech stack?

Data engineering is a very dynamic field; the number and nature of technologies you’ll need to work with are pretty wide. So, include every language you’ve worked with, and know the basics of; examples are Python, Hadoop, Spark, R, and PySpark.

 

What’s the kind of salary you’re looking for?

This question is likely to pop up in the final round of your interview; we strongly recommend you do a bit of research on the data in engineer salaries in your market. Don’t sell yourself short.

 

An Overview of What to Expect in the interview

Behavioural interview questions are asked to find out deep-rooted information about the attitude, values, and beliefs of the candidate, as exhibited in behaviours in certain situations. So, questions on these lines are bound to be asked: Did you manage any high-pressure requirements around data engineering problems, what did you do to manage the stress, and what was the supervisor’s feedback on the delivery?

Of course, there will be more direct, casual, and linear questions as well. A word of advice – don’t let your guard down, because whatever the question be, you will be judged.

Frenetic questioning is increasingly being relied upon by interviewers to understand how a candidate responds to information excess, stress, and situations that demand creativity, speed, and ability to multi-task.

Apart from these, there will be questions on your expectations from the job role, your experience with the previous employer, your relocation constraints (if any), and your willingness to move to related roles like data scientist in the future.

Final Thoughts

Preparing well for your data engineering job interview will multiply your chances of landing the job that you covet.

 

Lexy Mitchell is an IT recruitment expert in Sydney

A highly experienced and well respected Senior Recruitment Consultant with a strong track record of building high performing software development teams for innovative organisations that demand the best.

Specialising in placing contract and permanent Development Managers, Architects, Technical Leads, Technical Consultants, Software / Web Developers / Front End Developers and UX Designers.

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