Ask HN: How to make a good impression shadowing a senior dev for an afternoon

3 points by Kornee 8 hours ago

Last week I had a really nice interview for a potential job as a junior full stack developer at company x. This interview was with two upper management individuals, I don't think they're following the typical recruiter - technical interview etc. route. They've now invited me to shadow their senior dev for an afternoon this week, to see "if their tech inspires me and what I think I could best work on (they've got a bit of a broad range of products)".

Now, I assume this afternoon is also very much to gauge if I actually know a thing or two about development. I have a little experience in full stack development at a previous company, but I was still doing my degree part-time during work hours, so it doesn't count for much. I don't work there anymore because of multiple reasons that aren't relevant and am now looking to get back in the field. So, basically: I'm a junior dev with a little work experience (potentially) going into a new job where they are hiring for somebody with 1-2 years of experience. Before, I worked in a Python (Django)/React stack and the company I'm interviewing for has a Java/React stack. What I'm worried about:

- I've never worked with Java, so I probably can't really read the code very well. How do I try to follow along and still gain an understanding and possibly be able to ask questions.

- Because I'm still a junior I know I can't grasp large complex codebases super quickly, so I'm a little afraid I'll get overwhelmed if he shows me a lot. Same question as above.

What I want to know:

- What are some good ways to prepare for an afternoon like this?

- What general questions can I ask to solidify my understanding of their tech and also make a good impression.

- Do I try to bring up in conversation my own work/projects I've done, to show the developer I have experience?

Of course I have my own ideas of how to approach this, but I wanted to leave it open to get a wide variety of suggestions.

Thanks!