Tech job interview preparation: a Business Analyst’s top tips

You finally landed an interview! Congratulations. That’s no mean feat in the current IT jobs market.

Questions, my answer, and your prospects…

How did you manage it?

Recruiter, direct application or, more likely in my four decades of experience as a technology worker, an old colleague called you, seeing that you were available?!

But now what?

How do you improve your chances -- before the interview -- of actually landing the technology job?

Best-practice interview prep if a tech job is in your sights

Well, in UK tech there are commonly asked interview questions and curveball interview questions, but here’s my personal take on how Free-Work readers facing a tech job interview should prepare, writes Elaine Richardson, a veteran business analyst.

The three stages of landing a tech job…

Overall, I believe there are three key stages to landing a technology job.

1. Preparation

2. Execution; and;

3. Follow-up. 

Here, in part one of this 3-part series, I will focus on preparation for a technology job position or contract.

My top interview prep tips are for Business Analysts and other techies

Bear in mind, I’m offering these interview preparation tips based on my 40 years of experience as a professional technologist, all of which have been as a Business Analyst.

However, my interview preparation tips have wider application.

They will invariably apply to your own next tech job interview, regardless of your specific IT skill or technology field.

10 must-knows ahead of attending your tech job interview

Without further ado, here are my 10 must-knows before attending a tech job interview, for both aspiring BAs and other IT job candidates:

1. Know...your client

First, you need to get to know the potential client or prospective employer, way before you arrive for the interview.

Check them out; trawling their website, LinkedIn page, news articles featuring their organisation and (not to be missed off if you’re going to be a contractor), Companies House.

Why check the UK’s register of companies?

Well, you need to know if this client is solvent, particularly if you’ll engage them as a contractor (because your protections, including from nasties like non-payment, will be slim to none).

Glassdoor is worth a look with a pinch of salt

No ‘due diligence’ process as part of getting to know your prospective client or employer is complete without browsing Glassdoor.

That said, do consider that many entries and posts on the job search and career community website are by workers who have an issue with that organisation! So take any negative comments you come across with a pinch of salt.  

2. Know...what the organisation does

Knowing what the prospective client or employer does goes hand in glove with knowing your client, above.

How to avoid looking like an idiot…

But understanding the ‘nuts and bolts’ of their business or operation is so important that it’s worth mentally separating it in your mind.

If you don’t know what the organisation does when you arrive at its premises for a tech job interview, you will look like an idiot.  

The same is true if you have a video phone interview.

3. Know...what you’ll be doing

Find out what the project involves and see if you can align the job spec to the projects the client is working on.

Don’t just settle for the details from the job advert; ask your recruiter for the full job spec and any other supporting details that could be relevant to the post or assignment.

The all-important deets from your recruiter should let you detect the employer's pain points….

Remember, you are gathering information about the role now, and what your day-to-day job will involve, because you will come over much better later on -- at interview -- if you are aware of the projects.

Related to the project, asterisk any likely pain points you can help with.

4. Know...what you’ll likely be asked

I’ve already referred to classic and curveball interview questions and the importance as a tech job candidate of being prepared for both sets of questions at interview.

But I especially advocate preparing answers to “How Would You…” questions.

What 3 or 4 ‘How Would Yous?’ can you predict?

In my experience, there are normally three or four “How Would Yous?” that you can anticipate being asked once you know about the company, what they do, and the tech project you’ll be joining.

Want to maximise your chances of interview success? Well, if you can expand on your answers to the “How would you?” questions with actual examples of how you solved a problem, then you’ll be holding yourself in extremely good stead.

5. Know...who will be interviewing you

Do you know who will be interviewing you for your tech job?

If you do, check them out. LinkedIn is ideal for this. It will let you see if you and the interviewer have any contacts in common, or if you have worked at any of the same organisations as them.

As to whether you invite them to connect on LinkedIn, that’s a judgement call that only YOU can make!

Hit ‘add’ on LinkedIn no matter what (because after all, you got to interview stage)

Would I advocate adding the interviewer on LinkedIn before the interview?

Personally, no, I wouldn’t – not until after the interview, but then I would definitely add them as a LinkedIn connection, regardless of how I felt the interview went and whatever the outcome.

After all, even if you aren’t offered the job or contract, remember -- you were good enough to be interviewed. So maybe next time?!

Leave Facebook at the door, even if they won’t…

Another personal preference. I tend to avoid checking interviewers out on Facebook.

However, be aware that potential employers are very likely to use Facebook to check YOU out.

So make sure there is nothing on your Facebook profile (or your friends’ photographs in which you are tagged) that might come back to haunt you.

6. Know...your interviewer’s style and preferences

If you have LinkedIn contacts in common (which in the small world of tech recruitment, you invariably will), get in touch with those contacts.

Hopefully, you are on LinkedIn ‘chat’ terms with them already.

Either way, ask if they have any suggestions as to how to approach an interview with your mutual connection -- the interviewer.

Formal, footy-mad, or just fanatically against ‘For Him/Her’?

These LinkedIn contacts you share with the interviewer may know if the interviewer is a ‘formal’ person; is a mad football fan, or just hates people who wear aftershave or perfume! You think I’m joking, but I honestly met a hiring decision-maker who had this very particular bug bear!

If you’re feeling brave and can’t tell by the responses you get back, ask the mutual connection if they would like to work for the person you have in common.

Keep in mind, most people who ‘do’ the interviewing are looking for someone to work with them; for them or for their teams or clients.

7. Know...what clothes to wear on tech job interview day

It may seem like overkill, as many offices are now informal, but make sure you know the company dress code and stick to it.

It’s 2025, but a major city bank may still expect a suit and tie (or equivalent).

Jeans could jettison your chances

And so turning up in a ripped pair of jeans may well turn the interviewer off before you can show your brilliance.

Equally, overdressing for a casual office may get you marked down as ‘too stuffy for us.’ Try to strike the right balance.

8. Know...what to ask your tech job interviewer

Make a set of questions for the interviewer.

Consult the questions just before you enter the interview, and occasionally (if a question is answered), take a moment to tick it off or make a note. 

‘Any questions for us?’

Then, at the end of the interview, when asked the inevitable “Any questions for us?” you can check your notes, either to pose the questions not covered, or explain that all your questions have been covered.

9. Know...four BA questions -- what to ask the interviewer as a business analyst job candidate

The above eight must-knows before a tech job interview are mostly generic. They should help you with all tech roles you apply or go forward for.

But if you’re a Business Analyst like me, you will need to ask some BA-specific questions at your interview.

‘Fine,’ I hear you say, ‘but what questions should business analysts ask their job interviewer?’

BA function is a sound enquiry to pose, as is BA hierarchy...

Well, the questions I tend to ask as an experienced Business Analyst are about how the BA function is structured.

Two to try:

• Do they use specific standards, or is it more fluid?

• Is there a BA hierarchy; who would you be reporting to?

At an interview as a business analyst job candidate, it’s also a good idea to ask if any deadlines have already been identified.

So, two or three more to try:

• If deadlines have already been identified, what are the deadlines?

• Have key stakeholders been identified, and are they on board? Or would dealing with stakeholders be one of the first BA tasks expected of you?

10. Know...the physical boundaries during an interview in today's 'new normal'

Before the horror that was covid, I would always offer a handshake to any interviewer upon initially meeting.

Nowadays, with the pandemic still quite fresh in our minds, I would probably not initiate a handshake.

But I will always accept a handshake if offered at the start or end of an interview.

Whatever your personal preference, do not go in for a hug. Now is definitely not the time!

Tech job interview preparation complete. What’s next?

So you are there! You’ve made it to the interview.

Whether it’s a physical or virtual interview, your next goal is to secure a job offer!

The key to successfully landing the tech role will be how well you can demonstrate your understanding of both the client/employer and the role.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, what NOT to do during your interview will follow this part one, ahead of how to handle the follow-up. And that follow-up is whether you get the job or not. For now, though, good luck with your tech job interview preparation!