Spotlight: Jen Miller

Jen MillerJen Miller, an alumni of both Coding & Cocktails and LaunchCode, got her fresh start at Myers and Stauffer recently, where she is now a developer. We caught up with her not long after she started to ask her about the technical interview process.

KC Women in Tech: What would you like to tell other KC Women in Tech members about interviewing for your first technical role?

Jennifer: Don’t panic and don’t shut down. They gave me a 4 page code test with a 20 minute time limit, which was nowhere near long enough for a junior developer to take this test. Some of the questions were quite vague. Both of those were on purpose, to see how I handled the stress and uncertainty. Then they reviewed it in front of me and questioned my answers… to see how I handled criticism and correction. So keep your cool, and ask for feedback if you are in a situation like this – worst case, the feedback will help you in your next interview. Best case, you can demonstrate that you DO understand a concept where the interviewer was questioning your abilities. I also recommend following up with a Thank You note. It’s another opportunity to get your name in front of the decision makers, and if you noticed an area where your answer wasn’t the best, you can craft an answer addressing that area. In my case, I found an online class that covers a topic that I struggled with, and I mentioned that I was taking the class to help fill the gap in my knowledge.

KC Women in Tech: Have your experiences with KC Women in Technology helped you professionally? If so, how?

Jennifer: Of course they have! Going to Coding and Cocktails has been a great confidence booster, gave me a starting point for several topics that I have had zero experience with, and helped me with buzzword bingo – all of those acronyms and software package names that people in the industry just expect that everyone knows.

You can connect with Jennifer on LinkedIn


1 Comment » for Spotlight: Jen Miller
  1. Kathryn Golden says:

    Congrats, Jennifer! REALLY happy for you!

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