LAMP interview technical questions, resources?

All I can really tell you, as someone who does interviews for programming positions, is be upfront about your experience.

If you've never used a technology before, don't think you're going to fake your way through the interview by reading tutorials over the weekend. I've had so many people claim things like "9 years experience with AJAX" and the phone screen goes like this:

Me: I see you're quite experienced with AJAX, so I was just curious how do you typically make an AJAX call?

Them: [typing noises] Yes that is short for asynchronous JavaScript and XML, and is a group of interrelated Web development techniques used on the client side to create asynchronous Web applications.

Me: "Uh, ok, what I mean is do you use jQuery or Angular or what?

Them: "Oh yes jQuery.

Me: "Ok, so how does that work in jQuery?"

Them: [typing noises] "Uh yes it is a set of key/value pairs that configure the AJAX request. Oh, and all settings are optional. A default can be set for any option with $.ajaxSetup()."

Me: Uh, ok... moving on, it says here you've got 5 years experience as a Scrum Master. So how do you typically do your sprints?

Them: "I'm sorry, I do not understand the question?"

Me: "It says you're a Scrum Master. Can you tell me what a Sprint is?"

Them: [typing noises] "Oh, yes, sprint! In the Scrum method of Agile development, work is confied to regular, repeatable work cycle."

Me: "Ok, so how long was a typical sprint?"

Them: "Oh yes. 15 minutes every Friday we have meeting."

Look, all I'm trying to do is get a feel for your background. If you list something on your resume I'm going to ask you basic questions about it. I'm not trying to trip you up, it's just we get all these resumes filled with keywords and half the time the person is lying.

I'd much rather hire someone who's upfront and says, "Look, I'm a beginner but I just got my bachelor's degree in C.S. and I need a place to get started."

Don't try to learn LAMP in a weekend and fake your way through it. If you actually have experience, you don't need to be asking this question. If you don't, then say you don't, and say why you want the job (closer to home, heard of the company, etc.)

/r/cscareerquestions Thread