Applying for a new role can be a whole job by itself. Writing the perfect resume, showing your skillset, and dealing with the hiring roller-coaster can be more work than preparing for the interview!
Technical roles bring even more complications with things like multi-round interviews, technical screenings, and unique expectations around showing your experience.
Luckily, Oracle recruiters, Piyush Agarwal and Nancy Dewan have extensive experience in hiring for the tech sector—especially technical roles like software engineers, developers, technical consultants, and solution architects of all specializations .
Read on for their tips on getting hired, the most important things to focus on and answers to the most common questions asked by curious candidates.
Hard skills, positive impacts
So, what do tech recruiters look for? It seems like a simple question but trying to answer it leaves many candidates struggling.
“We always look for a candidate who has good communication skills. A team player, innovative—someone who takes the initiative and owns projects,” Piyush explains. “For developers, engineers, and testers, we look for hardcore programmers with hands-on experience in problem-solving.”
A rock-solid resume is the first step in showing all of this to potential employers. Technical roles put a premium on hard skills like programming languages and direct project experience, but that’s not all.
“Your resume is your mirror,” Piyush emphasizes. “Mention your project contributions and the positive impacts they made. Include any challenges that you faced and how you have solved them with your technical skills.”
Career breaks
If you’ve been out of the job market for a while—Nancy advises candidates to show examples where they’ve kept their skills up to date. Explain how you used and developed your skills during your career break and back it up by studying industry trends.
Her top tip though, has nothing to do with resumes and interviews, rather she emphasizes the value of finding a culture that understands your experiences.
“Find a workplace that values career returners,” she says. “Oracle provides a welcoming environment, mentorship, and support so you can succeed.”
Be prepared
Preparation plays a big part in getting your application through screening and onto the interview stage. For Piyush and Nancy, there are four main steps to consider on the way to the face-to-face interview.
Technical job application tips
- Make sure your resume is accurate and well-organized. Mention your education, credentials, and employment history. Prioritize your hard skills and tailor them to the role you want.
- Include your contributions to projects and their positive impacts. Tell us how you solved challenges with your technical skills with examples and prioritize direct experience.
- Mention any direct accomplishments or achievements from your previous roles. Show how they added value to projects or the wider business.
- Stick to things you have hands-on knowledge of and don’t pad your resume out. The technical rounds will establish if your resume and skills match.
Putting your most relevant skills and achievements up front while staying authentic can help avoid confusion in later stages.
Do your research and stick to the point
Piyush also believes the screening call itself can be a vital time for candidates to gather information.
“Use the screening call to learn about the role. It helps with research before the interview,” he urges. “Do some research about the product and team before appearing in the interview.” This can pay off at later stages where you can use what you’ve learned to really zero-in on what makes you the best fit.
Then, it’s time to focus on technical concepts and fundamentals. “Stick to the point,” he advises, “but don’t be afraid to use technical language if needed.” Technical interviews can be challenging and often contain questions designed to show how you perform under pressure.
“Don’t give up during the problem-solving section!” Piyush adds. “Do your best to reach the solution—even if you’re unsure.” Showing that you can stay cool, even when faced with tricky situations, can make a great impression on interviewers.
Inside the Oracle interview process
A lot has been written about how to interview well, but Piyush has some unique insights on interviewing at Oracle for technical candidates like engineers and developers. He starts by breaking the process into stages.
“We usually have four rounds of interviews including recruiter pre-screening. The first two are technical rounds and the third is a ‘techno managerial’ round where you meet the hiring manager,” he shares.
“The first and second rounds are coding rounds focused on problem-solving. In addition to assessing a candidate’s problem-solving skills, we also evaluate their technology fundamentals and conceptual knowledge. It’s important to note that these are knockout rounds, meaning that they are critical for progressing in the interview process!”
“If a candidate successfully clears the first level of the interview, the second round will be more advanced. During this round, we delve deeper into the areas where the candidate may have faced challenges during the first interview. This allows us to assess your capabilities in greater detail and determine your suitability for the role.”
Deep dive
Once a candidate passes these two rounds, they’re ready to meet the hiring manager. Here’s where you’ll take a deep dive into your skills and suitability.
“We will revisit the topics where the candidate may have faced challenges during the first and second levels of the interview,” Piyush says. “This round allows us to ensure a comprehensive understanding of their technical skills and knowledge.”
It’s also a chance to get to know the team culture and show behaviors like collaboration and taking responsibility.
Piyush adds: “On the functional side, we will focus on situational and behavioral assessments. These include evaluating a candidate’s ability to collaborate within a team and make effective decisions—this is essential to determine their overall fit within the team and the organization.”
Keep trying
He also reminds candidates that Oracle is different to many employers in the tech space by not having a cooling off period for applicants. This means even if your first application is unsuccessful, you can still try again.
“Candidates often assume that they are not eligible to reapply to that organization for a specific duration,” he explains. “This practice is followed by various organizations in India and is designed to regulate reapplications after an initial rejection.”
“However, there is no cooling off period at Oracle, and you can still apply to other roles within Oracle. One rejection does not impact the success of your future applications, as we hire similar roles within different business groups. However, please ensure you’re not interviewing in parallel for different opportunities within Oracle!”
It’s good news for anyone thinking about applying and encourages candidates to take a chance, even if they don’t check every box for their dream tech role.
So, there you have it—straight from the experts! Now, that you know how to start your application off on the right foot there’s nothing stopping you from applying for our latest open roles.