How to ace your next Magento 2 or Adobe Commerce interview.

We have plenty of experience on how to not just get through an interview, but entirely stand out from the rest.

Here are the eight steps to ace your next Magento 2 or Adobe Commerce interview.

Once you have decided it is time to find a new job, the most terrifying thought can often be, “I am going to have to interview!” The interview process can be one of the most significant hurdles when finding a new and better job. The interview is often unknown and secretive; what questions will they ask me? What if I forget something or freeze up? What questions do I ask the interviewer? How much money should I ask for? What should I wear?...

Questions like these can often make us feel anxious about the interview process and can sometimes keep us from looking for that next job, after all with all of the unknowns, you may find yourself thinking, “I will probably fail the interview, and I don’t want to deal with that,” so we just stay put.

But it doesn’t have to end like this. We here at SwiftOtter have worked through plenty of interviews and are sharing what it takes to ace the interview process. I’m not talking about just squeaking through but taking on the interview process confidently and leapfrogging the competition.

In this article, I will give you eight ways to stand out from the others in your group. Don’t wait until your interview to begin these changes. Build your plan and start today.

I am sure you have heard the saying, “the grass is greener on the other side,” While that is possible, it is not a guarantee. So how do you know that it is time to move on?
Of course, you should always be open to new opportunities that may come up, but how do you know when you should start actively looking for a new job? If you are unhappy with where you are or your work, look for a new job. That was Easy, right? Well, you do need to be a little more thorough in your assessment.
Has your company recently invested in you (like helping you get certified)? If so, give it time—help them recoup their investment and see how things develop.
Have you considered looking for new opportunities with your current employer? Don’t be afraid to ask about promotions and new opportunities to learn and grow.
If, after a thorough assessment of your current role, goals, and opportunities, you feel it is time to move on, get out there and start looking.

The foundations

These must be part of what you bring to the table.

So you have decided it is time for a change. Now what? Be Hungry!

I’m not talking about a hunger for food. I’m talking about having a hungry attitude. Are you hungry to improve? Hungry to climb to the next rank? You will excel in the interview process if you are truly hungry. Companies want to fill their positions with hungry people because this means better output and, ultimately, better profits.

As you will see, hunger is a common theme in this article.

Did you know your interviewer can quickly assess your eagerness to learn? A good interviewer will ask questions to understand what you are doing to improve your skillset. It is essential that you answer with confidence and details.

For example, I recently interviewed a candidate who explained that they spent 15-30 minutes a day learning integration testing, a critical skill and that they plan to start learning Hyva next.

Many candidates I speak with have an answer when we ask about what they are learning, but it’s usually arm waving (useless answer) and not concrete or consistent. Often I hear that “my learning happens on the job,” and don’t get me wrong, this is true, but when no initiative is taken outside the four work walls, it shows a lack of hunger. You must invest in your education to excel and stand out at your job or in an interview.

Suggestions to improve:

Begin a daily regimen of continuous education.
Develop a plan of 2-3 topics to master.
Don’t interview until you have a couple of months of history of consistency.

Get Certified

I may be jaded, but when I interview a candidate that is not certified, I immediately give them a demerit. Is that harsh? No, because I always offer a remediation plan. The demerit is wiped away if this plan is accepted and they get certified.

Why is certification necessary?

Certification shows you are willing to invest in this platform. You might consider a certification worthless. But you are missing the most critical audience: those who come across your profile. Your certification shows you have achieved a baseline of knowledge. You know much more than the baseline, but this puts you at or above a set level.
Certification increases your experience. The certification badge is worth 10% of the total value gained. Your certification efforts will galvanize what you know. Do this in the months preceding a job hunt process, and you will be fine in your interviews.

Certifications take time. Plan on 2-3 months to get an Expert level (if you have 1-2 years of experience). If you don’t think you can achieve Expert, get the Professional level. Suppose you do well, set aside three weeks of intense study, and go for the Expert. Once you get the certification, begin the interview process.

Are you ready to look for a new job? If you aren’t happy and need some change, we will help you find a new place to work.

The Preparation

Here's what you do to stand out.

Aggregate your expertise

I always ask about your most challenging project in the past six months. You’d be surprised how many don’t have a good answer (although a plausible explanation is that you haven’t had anything to challenge yourself, which is why you are looking).

Take some time to gather notes about your experience:

What projects have you been most proud of, and when did you work on these?
What was the most challenging task in recent history?
What work have you had to escalate to another developer because it was too difficult?
What examples can you share of projects you have built? Code repositories are ideal as they help the interviewer understand your code style and approach to architectural decisions.
What certifications have you achieved, and how did you get them?
What fabulous ideas have you had recently? Whether they were rejected doesn’t matter—we all know how corporate politics work.

Brush up on Magento

Take a few hours to refresh yourself on critical areas of Magento—including those annoying ones, like uiComponents. If you can concisely and confidently summarize areas of Magento, you will set yourself apart.

I recommend taking the following approach to building these overviews:

Review the below list of topics and self-identify your weaknesses.
Build a scenario (like placing an order), set breakpoints, and step through the process line-by-line. Take detailed notes.
Summarize these notes into paragraph form.
Review and generally memorize these notes. Master your study enough that this comes from your DNA. If you simply recite from your notes, you’ll come off worse than saying, “I don’t know.”

Frontend critical sections:

uiComponents (ugh!) and Knockout JS
Layout system: Layout XML, blocks, view models
Caching
LESS

Backend critical sections

Dependency injection: object manager lifecycle, plugins
uiComponents (yep, here again)
REST API
ACL
Controllers
Design patterns

If you aren't yet certified, or want to level-up your game, we can help.

If you would like a helping hand to master Magento and Adobe Commerce, we have a rich library of content that will get you where you need to go. By our estimates, we have helped almost 10,000 people get certified.

Learn more here.

The interview

Here's how to ace the interview conversations

Look your best

Yes, for us as developers, we aren’t the “suit and tie” type of folks. We are the mechanics of the web. We are tough with the mental fortitude to fight to the finish and get websites running again. We have the longevity to build applications right—the first time.

This can, unfortunately, translate into our appearance for our interview. I’m not recommending going and getting a suit and tie. Your interviewer can’t see your lower half, so that saves some time (if you choose to wear pants for the conversation).

Instead, dress nice. Look at yourself in the mirror and ensure you would want to hire yourself.

Arrive 5 minutes before the interview

Never, ever, ever, ever be late. You should be on the video call at least 5 minutes before the interview. I once had an interview set up for a candidate who never showed up. They finally got back to me and explained that they had a plumbing emergency and “lost track” of time. While I understand that life is unpredictable, leaving the interviewer in the dark is inexcusable and is a great way to ensure your interviewer loses interest in helping you.

The entire hour before your interview should be solely dedicated to doing your best for the interview. No matter what it takes, you have to be completely ready. This is like taking a certification exam—except there is a human being on the other end of this exam. If you are distracted or not present, your interviewer will take notice. This brings us to our next point.

Focus on the interview

I had an interview with a candidate recently. They were wearing glasses, and the room was somewhat dimly lit. I could see them doing other things on their computer during the interview in the reflection of their glasses. It couldn’t be more apparent that either they were bored with the discussion (not hungry) or incredibly distractible and thus wouldn’t be a good worker.

Focus on the interview. Put your phone and computer in Do Not Disturb mode. Did you know it’s almost immediately apparent when we receive a message? Our brain switches tracks, and it is evident to the interviewer. We lose our train of thought and become obviously distracted.

Be honest and authentic

Trying to be someone you aren’t is tough. Only a few people can do this (outside of movies). They are called spies or moles. They live two lives.

A massive turnoff is when it’s obvious a candidate doesn’t know the answer, but they try to make up one or are clearly searching online for an answer. Don’t do that. BS doesn’t take you anywhere. If you don’t know the answer, just say so. There is no shame in not knowing an answer. Honesty is refreshing. If you want to stand out and show that you are hungry, explain your plan for immediate remediation of this deficiency and say you’ll get back to the interviewer with a concise explanation.

Don’t lie. Body language experts explain how to detect lies. You may be able to skate through an interview, but the truth will eventually become apparent. How would you describe being fired from a previous job because you were dishonest? That won’t go over well.

If you are one of those who will ace an interview thanks to mastering the above concepts, and it’s time for a change, let’s chat. We are in the business of talent. We will hire or introduce you to a great company if you are a great candidate. Don’t let “imposter syndrome” stop you from emailing us. The most crucial point is your hunger to learn—if this describes you, you will achieve success.