John Connolly Interview Presentation

I have learnt quite a lot during the recruitment process so far as I didn’t really know much about DevOps before I started this process. I have learnt that DevOps is still a relatively new way of doing things in the industry but something I can see being used more and more. Creating a continuous cycle of integration and having the developers and operations teams working together on small projects that can be put into action quickly and safely seems to me to be a very productive way of going forward in the future. Working together in this way also means quicker updates and bug fixes and a more enjoyable user experience. I think that with the improved communications between teams that DevOps provides there will be less delays to the work flow and more time to think of ways to improve the user experience and probably a more productive working day. I would imagine that being a government department that is a life line to many people, having a smoothly functioning website would give colleagues more time to help the people who need their help and advice.

I am excited to begin my career in the digital industry and to actually get to work in the office and not just make static sites for my portfolio. I think an apprenticeship is the perfect path to follow to start my digital career. I am confident in the skills and languages I have developed so far but I lack industry experience.
Having the chance to gain that experience, to improve my skills and learn new ones is the perfect way I believe to progress my career. I believe given the opportunity I could, with plenty of hard work excel in the role. I have also read on your website about the variety of roles and skills you can pick up in the department and opportunities for growth in the future. I think it would be the perfect mixture of office-based learning and classroom time so I would be able to develop my skills in a friendly and supportive atmosphere. I also believe starting my digital career in a DevOps focused atmosphere will be an advantage also as I believe a large percentage of the industry will be using those ideals in the future. Working in a team and producing a project together is something that excites me as I have experienced this before whilst doing a Code nation project and I really enjoyed it. Also, I like the idea of working in the public sector and helping people through my job gives me great satisfaction.

I really enjoyed doing the Ruby course with code academy. I have never used Ruby before but I could see lots of similarities to other languages I have had exposure to like JavaScript, Python and PHP. I would probably say Ruby is easier and more enjoyable to use to a beginner like me. The objects and built in modules make it a lot easier and quicker to write simple readable code. Although I can see the benefits in using the other languages also. I am currently learning JavaScript and the Ruby course is definitely a good step on the learning ladder before you tackle the trickier languages.

Some of the tests and challenges were a bit tricky during and after the course and I did have to go over some of the notes I had been making and doing some research on sites like W3 schools and Slack Overflow. I have been mostly self tutoring myself coding for the past 10 months so as you can imagine I have come across many challenges and problems that needed to be solved. The only way I believe I can overcome these challenges is self-improvement and education, I continue to learn coding and build more and more Projects. The more I know the less challenges I face and the quicker I can solves problems. I imagine that has been the same for most developers in this industry.

My strengths are that I am very self motivated and determined to succeed in this industry. I never quit until the job is done or the problem has been solved. I am self-sufficient and given the time can learn a new language and build something with it. I have learnt that I am better at picking up new coding languages than I thought in the past. I believe I'm a good researcher and great at quickly finding the solution to a problem I have never faced before. I believe I am good at thinking logically when reading and understanding code.

I think DevOps can only grow and grow. With lesser downtime and greater security on sites using these principles I believe it makes too much business sense for companies not to go down this route. I believe more and more of the big platforms are already using those principles and that number will only get larger. I think with more people coming into the industry and learning DevOps from the start of their careers will speed up the cultural change and maybe people more set in their ways will come to see the benefits. Also the advancement in automation tools and new technologies that will be developed in the future can only speed up the productivity.