Meet Dominik Piątek 🇵🇱🇬🇧! Dominik moved to the UK from Poland in search of career opportunities. He worked odd jobs, acquired a varied set of skills, and became a partner in a digital agency at the age of 23. That's where he got interested in front-end development, and more than a decade later, Dom is still in London. He's a staff developer who has also led cross-functional teams, worked with complex JavaScript applications and multiple times served as a tech lead.
Dominik interviewed Alex for a job in their previous company. Today, the tables have turned, and Alex interviews Dom. In this episode, you'll learn what Dom looks for in a candidate, what's the difference between a senior developer and a tech lead, and whether or not whiteboard interviews can actually be useful. Dominik also talks about company values and explains the notion of a culture fit once and for all. You'll find out if the hiring processes are getting better, what are the current interview trends, and how different companies optimize their interviews so that they select just the candidates that are right for them.
🔗 Connect with Dominik
⏰ Timestamps
- In an interview, you only get one shot (01:34)
- Sometimes you get nervous, but sometimes you're too relaxed (02:45)
- How Dominik became a developer (04:19)
- Why Dominik left Poland (05:21)
- "This is not like C!" (06:56)
- It's going to take five years to become comfortable with coding (11:26)
- Don't be buzzwordy! (12:13)
- Community break with Jan the Producer (15:50)
- What do companies want to see in a beginner developer (19:39)
- If your PR gets destroyed, don't be emotional (23:49)
- What's a culture fit? (24:39)
- Can you codify culture? (26:34)
- A lot of time, values are aspirational (28:13)
- Why do people tend to hire people like themselves? (29:12)
- Should you vibe with your job interview? (30:38)
- Is your ability to interview more important than your coding skills? (32:54)
- Are whiteboard interviews a culture test? (34:15)
- Who needs whiteboarding as a skill? (39:33)
- Do you need computer science fundamentals? (43:54)
- Closing advice: The job market always ebbs and flows, focus on your own growth! (45:31)
- Next week on the show: Rachel Lee Nabors (46:45)
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