I’ve read the previous interview threads I could find, but thought there might be some new opinions out there…
I’m needing, for various reasons, to get a job for a couple years before going to grad school, so I’m applying to several different kinds of companies. I have 30 minute interview on-campus tomorrow with a major software company that I would very much like to work for; I like their products, and I like what I know of their corporate culture.
Thing is, I’ve never had a job interview before (and, despite trying, couldn’t schedule a couple first with companies I’m not as interested in). I’ve read the advice in books, online, from my school’s career center, etc., but thought maybe some of y’all would have tips of your own.
One large issue is how to answer the obvious question of why they should hire a physics major for a software job. An acquaintance who works at this company thinks that I could, with the programming experience I have, get a position in testing or QA, writing test code and such. Since I made it past the first round of selection (in competition with CS and engineering majors in one of the best programs in the country), I know that they think they might have some use for me, but I’m trying to formulate a concise statement of why I think they have some use for me.
I think that the most important relevant benefit from the physics curriculum and from my work in research labs has been great experience in solving ill-defined or open-ended problems; devising multiple methods for arriving at answers; checking the validity or plausibility of results when there is no specific expected answer; and devising new means for checking and refining those results. From what I’ve seen from friends who are CS majors, their coursework, while difficult in the nitty-gritty of coding, tends (as a generalization) to be much more formulaic in its requirements.
Or is that sort of thing too vague?
Thoughts? General interview tips? Random encouragement? Thanks in advance.