Hello, so today I got an email from the company to which I applied for position in game developemnt. During first interview they gave me technical tests, asked questions why did I choose their company and some general questions about myself. They also gave me a task to program a breakout type of game in one week and send the source code with the .apk file to them

And now I'm thinking what should I expect from a second interview? It seems that I already have answered all of their questions and done all of their tasks. 

This is my first time applying for a game dev company, so I really don't know what to expect.

Anyways, thanks in advance for your answers.

-Ed

It depends entirely on the company. Games companies get a lot of applicants so they often have a 'cheap' first round interview, and if you pass that, you get to the second interview with their more senior staff, who asks more detailed questions. Sometimes the second interview is mostly about meeting your potential co-workers and giving them a chance to see if you fit in. There's also a reasonable chance that they'll get someone to ask you about the source code you wrote, to see how well you understand it and how you justify the decisions you made.

Assuming you had your follow up already but here's what to expect from an in-person (follow up round):

More technical questions. You did it on your own / on the phone, but they'll want to see it in person as well probably similar content to the phone just expanded.

Meet the team / culture fit. This is also a chance for them to see your communication skills, which matters a lot more than you'd think as a beginner.

If you passed the phone then they're thinking you can/should be able to pass in person. Just prep hard, stay loose, and try to visualize yourself being a team member there.

On 4/13/2018 at 4:23 AM, EddieK said:

During first interview they gave me technical tests, asked questions why did I choose their company and some general questions about myself. They also gave me a task to program a breakout type of game in one week and send the source code with the .apk file to them

That's an unfortunate thing. While it is convenient for them since it gives some code you've written, they're telling to to make an enormous investment as part of the interview.

Unless I'm rather desperate for the job, I'll give a company 1-2 hours before the interview, and specifically call out companies for asking for more time.  This is extra-important if I'm still employed, I don't have time for that kind of time on the hopes that they might consider me for the role.  I always wonder how many great candidates were rejected because they weren't willing to give what amounts to hundreds of dollars worth of time to the interview process.  

Depending on your situation you may want to point that out. If you get the job, you definitely want to call their extended project out as a problem.  It may be accidental, but time consuming projects for an interview is an enormously disrespectful practice.

I'd also consider it a warning sign about the company: if they don't respect your time now while you're a candidate, how will they respect your time once you're working there?  Be extra mindful of signs of a bad work-life balance.

On 4/13/2018 at 4:23 AM, EddieK said:

And now I'm thinking what should I expect from a second interview? It seems that I already have answered all of their questions and done all of their tasks. 

This is my first time applying for a game dev company, so I really don't know what to expect.

Probably more of the same. Expect to be interviewed by multiple people who will ask a wide range of questions.

There are the general first impressions. While it includes clothing, I've had a few interviews where overpowering body odor was a strong deciding factor. 

Everyone interviews differently. Some people will look for holes in your general knowledge, or look for specific skills they are interested in. Many will be looking for how deeply you've dug into various systems to help them better understand your skills. Some people will look for social patterns and attitude. They may be looking for certain attitudes (quiet, reserved, active, energetic, etc.) and you have no way of predicting what those are, they may be looking for more of what a team currently has, or may be looking for something different from what a team currently has, or they may just be considering how someone fits with the others in the group. 

They'll probably ask you for some white-board code writing. There may be questions related to how you think, like "How would you estimate how many piano tuners think are in San Francisco?". Or perhaps more algorithmic thought processes like "you're trying to figure out how many stories up you can drop a thing without it breaking, you're allowed to break two of them, what is the minimum number of drops to find the answer?" Or perhaps questions around a topic, like asking someone applying for a testing role how many ways they can think of to test a Coke can.  No matter what they ask you should keep your mouth running most of the time explaining why you are doing what you are thinking.

Interviews are not just for the company to ask you questions. You will also be given the opportunity to ask them questions.  Use it, and ask questions of everyone who interviews you. Use more than the words in your own interview of the company.

You should look for signs that you can do the job, or that you cannot do the job.  You should look for signs that you will hopefully thrive at the company.  Look for signs of their work/life balance, such as a very young workforce (older people rarely tolerate abuse and nonsense) or signs that the company is financially solid or having financial issues.  Growing companies hire people, but a struggling company tends to hire many people right before they collapse in a desperate bid to stay afloat. Watch for signs that they have been neglecting long-term maintenance. Look for people you might already know, friends from school, friends from past jobs. Look for signs that the company is succeeding and growing, is thriving and healthy, or that it is not.

1 minute ago, frob said:

That's an unfortunate thing. While it is convenient for them since it gives some code you've written, they're telling to to make an enormous investment as part of the interview.

Unless I'm rather desperate for the job, I'll give a company 1-2 hours before the interview, and specifically call out companies for asking for more time.  This is extra-important if I'm still employed, I don't have time for that kind of time on the hopes that they might consider me for the role.  I always wonder how many great candidates were rejected because they weren't willing to give what amounts to hundreds of dollars worth of time to the interview process.  

Depending on your situation you may want to point that out. If you get the job, you definitely want to call their extended project out as a problem.  It may be accidental, but time consuming projects for an interview is an enormously disrespectful practice.

I'd also consider it a warning sign about the company: if they don't respect your time now while you're a candidate, how will they respect your time once you're working there?  Be extra mindful of signs of a bad work-life balance.

 

Probably more of the same. Expect to be interviewed by multiple people who will ask a wide range of questions.

There are the general first impressions. While it includes clothing, I've had a few interviews where overpowering body odor was a strong deciding factor. 

Everyone interviews differently. Some people will look for holes in your general knowledge, or look for specific skills they are interested in. Many will be looking for how deeply you've dug into various systems to help them better understand your skills. Some people will look for social patterns and attitude. They may be looking for certain attitudes (quiet, reserved, active, energetic, etc.) and you have no way of predicting what those are, they may be looking for more of what a team currently has, or may be looking for something different from what a team currently has, or they may just be considering how someone fits with the others in the group. 

They'll probably ask you for some white-board code writing. There may be questions related to how you think, like "How would you estimate how many piano tuners think are in San Francisco?". Or perhaps more algorithmic thought processes like "you're trying to figure out how many stories up you can drop a thing without it breaking, you're allowed to break two of them, what is the minimum number of drops to find the answer?" Or perhaps questions around a topic, like asking someone applying for a testing role how many ways they can think of to test a Coke can.  No matter what they ask you should keep your mouth running most of the time explaining why you are doing what you are thinking.

 

Interviews are not just for the company to ask you questions. You will also be given the opportunity to ask them questions.  Use it, and ask questions of everyone who interviews you. Use more than the words in your own interview of the company.

You should look for signs that you can do the job, or that you cannot do the job.  You should look for signs that you will hopefully thrive at the company.  Look for signs of their work/life balance, such as a very young workforce (older people rarely tolerate abuse and nonsense) or signs that the company is financially solid or having financial issues.  Growing companies hire people, but a struggling company tends to hire many people right before they collapse in a desperate bid to stay afloat. Watch for signs that they have been neglecting long-term maintenance. Look for people you might already know, friends from school, friends from past jobs. Look for signs that the company is succeeding and growing, is thriving and healthy, or that it is not.

Thanks for the info! Although I didn't get the job

Sorry, didn't notice the date, only the other recent reply.

Since you had the interview already, how would you answer your own question? What was the second interview like?