The beauty of the DevOps philosophy is that it never follows a set process or guideline. It’s the evolution and fluidity that make it useful when building out applications. Thus its appeal from an engineering standpoint. In a job interview, answering “correctly” means that different candidates succeed with different answers.
The key element to remember in DevOps job interviews? Candidates that speak to the greater context of how individual responsibilities fit a larger process. Context shows poise. Make it easy for the person asking the questions to connect the dots when sketching your qualifications
Craft responses to run-of-the-mill interview questions you have answered several times throughout your career. Lace a DevOps mindset into any information you give.
1. How would you characterize your role at your present company?
Interviewers want to hear which tools you’ve had your hands on, and how you fit into development teams. If you have experience using the tools that the company uses, great! If your previous teams shared the same structure, that’s wonderful too. Most importantly is getting across that you understand
why. For the why answer, speak to organizational goals and how they relate to the tools and processes to show higher-level professional maturity.
2. What are your preferred tools and processes for software deployment?
Candidates need to show that they understand operating not only the right tools for the job, but why they are using them in the first place. During an interview, communicating a broad understanding of how the tools sit in context to others in the stack demonstrates IQ. Touch on processes also. Topics like testing procedures, how new features are launched without disrupting UX, correlations between frontend and database work, and an ability to talk through diagrams and flowcharts are a goldmine.
3. Tell me about how you’d resolve a rollout that didn’t go to plan.
It’s inevitable. Botched launches happen to the best engineers. The difference is the best ones plan how to mitigate situations where the outcome doesn’t match expectation. Have ready some anecdotal storytelling that illustrates that you know how to identify, troubleshoot, and correct missteps. Bonus points for handling it in a cool, calm, and well-thought manner. Do not forget to include monitoring tools and processes that tipped you off to the problem.
4. Name 10 Linux server commands, the parts of a network packet, appropriate load for a production server, what should you look for in database logs?
You will be quizzed on generalist IT questions. When answering, show that you understand how certain practices solve problems. If you’re unsure of anything, think it through and reason out loud with the interviewer. Demonstrating a fundamental cause-and-effect grasp on the how technology works adds value for candidate.
5. Please complete this in-person script composition.
You might be asked to write if-then logical scripting to show how you process challenges. Whatever the language and script, make sure you can talk through each step for validity. Add information on how you’d go about testing for validity of your spot script.
6. Was there anything else you want to include?
If you haven’t touched on any of the following, now is the chance. DevOps favors open source tools and code, list your fluencies you haven’t touched. DD-WRT, Apache, and whatever else you have.
Most in-demand jobs for DevOps are in automation and data science. Be prepared with terms and trends in those areas. Continuous delivery, trunking, QA automation, testing automation--all should be familiar areas of expertise.
Final thoughts
A DevOps manager wants to see what you know, and just as importantly, how you reason. Exhibiting the desired approach can only happen by understanding how actions and process relate to goals. Talking about what you’ve done isn’t enough. For the best show of your qualifications for a
software engineer job, you must include the how and why behind your actions.
