How to land a developer job in a digital agency - the top 5 key indicators I look for when interviewing a new potential developer colleague

How to land a developer job in a digital agency - the top 5 key indicators I look for when interviewing a new potential developer colleague

It goes without saying that you of course need to be a good developer, and can live up to most of the points that are covered in the different job postings. But don’t ever hesitate to apply anyway, just make sure that you explain which of the points you can’t fulfil - we are sometimes looking for people on other levels without having it posted.

I often talk to our teams about “The S.W.A.T. team theory”. The abbreviation “S.W.A.T.” team stands for “Special Weapons And Tactic”. The reason why a S.W.A.T. team is so good at what they do is grounded in a couple of things. One: each member of the team has a specialised position and skillset, and is mastering that craft. But what they all have in common is that they understand to communicate and plan ahead. They are also some of the most talented in the world to “play” as a team. This makes them so powerful on the tasks that they are in front of each and every day.  

So, does this means that being in an agency is like taking down theorists and other bad guys? Of course not. But what we are looking for is some of the same traits that the S.W.A.T. team members have - we have just switched out the machine guns with powerful computers, and an internet connection that could stream all of Netflix content at one time.

Below is the list of the key, different traits, that I’m personally looking after in a potential new developer colleague in an interviewing process. 

The top 5 key indicators

1. Team: we are highly dependent on each other when producing digital products for our clients, therefore it’s ultra important that you understand how to work in a team. No single person can fulfil our clients demanding specifications to top remarks. So, by showing you are a team player and you know how to work with people, is a must. 
2. Skills - well ‘skills-kills’: a proven track record of owning your craftsmanship of one or more skills is super important. Try to focus on one or two technologies that you master. As explained above, we are looking for specialised people. 
3. Portfolio: this goes very much hand-in-hand with the above point. A good way of showing of your skills in an interview process is by having a portfolio at hand. Some relevant cases that you can explain about, and of course show some code, if you are allowed to show it. 
4. Communication: yes, you need to be able to communicate if you want to be a successful agency developer. You need to be able to communicate with your fellow development team members around solutions, and also with the project management team, and in some cases the clients.
5. Adaptable: the tech world moves crazy fast (and won’t slow down), so by showing that you are adaptable to the new technologies and types of working is very important. One of the awesome things an agency can give you is always pushing the boundaries of technology, and how it’s applied to an array of different clients and projects. It’s therefore very important that you have an “always learning”- / “growth”-mindset.

As you can see, the above indicators don’t mention a thing about education, ‘x amount of years of experience’, or whether you code in Sublime or Visual Studio Code. We really don’t care about those things. The most important thing is that you can fulfil the points above, and really get that across in an interview. If you do so, then most of the times, congratulations - we would like to offer you the job!

Hope the above will help you in your next interview when applying for a developer position in a digital agency. You definitely know by now what topics you should cover, if it’s me or one of my colleagues interviewing you ;)

And just a small couple of bonus things, that seem super obvious, but you wouldn’t know how many times during a year I see these things: arrive at the interview 5 minutes before, if you are delayed send a text, bring your computer for all interviews, and of course also for the code-test-review interview. 

And last but not least, we are always looking for talented new colleagues to join our awesome team of +25 developers, so please feel free to swing by https://dwarf.dk/career to read more about open positions, and where to apply for unsolicited applications. Hope to see you out there.

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Have a nice week 🙌🏻