Useful Vocabulary for Tech Job Interviews and Résumés

Navigating the landscape of tech interviews and résumés demands a certain level of linguistic precision.

The right vocabulary can set you apart, showcasing your expertise and alignment with the role you're applying for.

Here's a curated list of terms particularly suited for tech interviews in product management and software engineering roles, complete with explanations and reasons for their effectiveness:

• Agile Development: A method of software development emphasizing incremental progress, collaboration, and adaptability.
• Benchmarking: The process of comparing your product's performance against the industry standards or competitors.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Working with team members across different departments to achieve a common goal.
• Debugging: Identifying and removing errors or bugs from software.
• Empathy (User-Centric Design): The ability to understand and share the feelings of another, especially in the context of designing products.
• Framework: In software, a foundational structure or set of guidelines used to develop applications.
• Growth Hacking: Strategies focused primarily on the growth of the company, often through unconventional means.
• High Availability: Designing systems with redundancy to minimize downtime and ensure continuous operation.
• Iterative Development: A process that emphasizes repeating cycles of development and refinement.
• JIRA/Confluence (or other project management tools): Popular project management tools used in agile development processes.
• Key Performance Indicator (KPI): A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives.
• Lean Methodology: A principle that emphasizes minimizing waste and maximizing value in the development process.
• MVP (Minimum Viable Product): The version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort.
• Object-oriented Programming (OOP): A programming paradigm based on the concept of "objects", which contain data and code.
• Pivot: The strategic shift in a business model or product direction based on feedback or market research.
• QA (Quality Assurance): Ensuring the development and delivery of high-quality products or services.
• Scalability: The capability of a system to handle a growing amount of work or its potential to be enlarged.
• Technical Debt: The implied cost of additional rework caused by choosing an easy solution now instead of using a better approach that would take longer.
• User Persona: A semi-fictional character based on your real and potential customers to guide the design of your product.
• Version Control (e.g., Git): A system that records changes to a file or set of files over time so that specific versions can be recalled later.

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This list offers a glimpse into the vocabulary that can enhance your communication in tech interviews and résumés. Leveraging these terms effectively can help you articulate your experiences, skills, and vision more compellingly, aligning you closer with the needs of tech companies in roles such as product management and software engineering.