Catch of the Month: Preparing for the Java Interview

Each month I’ll feature a lens that I discovered while exploring Squidoo.

Installing JavaMost people want a job. Getting a job requires doing well in the interview. To land a programming or software engineering job, you better be prepared for that interview.

Interviews for programming jobs focus on your understanding of languages, concepts and how to use them effectively. You’ll also be expected to talk about how you solved technical problems in prior projects.

To help you get ready, there’s the Java interview preparation guide by TheLastResort. The guide provides background info on Java, employment trends, sample interview questions, tips and recommended books.

The book lists are comprehensive, covering Java and software design concepts that are applicable to most languages. Each recommended book has a detailed description of why it’s recommended and for what purpose.

If this is your first programming interview, the list of example questions will open your eyes to the level of technical questions you can expect. I’ve been on both sides of the table in programming job interviews during my career and like this list.

While the guide focuses on preparing someone new to Java for an interview, there’s good info for long time programmers as well.

The best way to be prepared for any type of interview is to do. Work on your skills every day.

Image Credit: hillary h used under Creative Commons.

An Easy Way To Add HTML Tables To Your Lenses

Sometimes you have content for a lens that’s best presented in a table. But Squidoo doesn’t allow HTML <table> tags in any modules.

Fortunately, there’s the SquidUtils Table Generator developed by lensmaster thefluffanutta to help you build custom tables for your lenses.

It’s a simple tool that works well. Tell the generator what format your data is in, paste in your data and choose your style options. (The color fields for Border and Shading apply to all of the options, not only the last one.)

Press a button and the tool shows you a preview of the table with your data and gives you the code to copy. The preview makes it easy and quick to experiment with different options. When you’re happy with how the table looks, copy the code and paste into a text module on your lens.

Now that your data is in a proper table, you can publish as is or customize the formatting even more if you want. A few ways you can do this are to bold or italicize text, add hyperlinks and adjust the cell widths.

Here are two examples of how I’ve used and customized the generated table code…

Office Character TableOn my Office TV Show lens, there’s a two column table that matches characters from the UK version of the show with their counterparts on the US version. The table generator settings for this were Border: Boxes; Border Color: black; Shading: None; Alignment: Center.

After copying the generated code into a text module, I modified it by bolding the header row text to help that stand out.  Then I added hyperlinks for most of the character names.  The links help readers find more info about each character and potentially increase clickouts.

Results TableMy Fantasy Football Addiction Test has a table to tell readers what their score means. The generator settings for this were Border: Header; Border Color: blue; Shading: None; Alignment: Left.

I customized this table by bolding the text in the header row and all of the scores in the first column. Since the text in the left column is shorter than what’s in the right column, I adjusted the width settings of each cell (width:140px and width:440px, respectively). This balances the table and allows enough room for the longer text in the right hand column.

Now go have fun adding tables to your lenses…

Catch of the Month: My Favorite Quotes by JRR Tokien

Each month I’ll feature a lens that I discovered while exploring Squidoo.

The J.R.R. Tolkien Deluxe Edition CollectionThere are many good lenses on Squidoo. When reading them, I look for the unique and good elements of the lens. Yet I’m often tempted to think about what I might do differently if it was my lens.

Not with this month’s catch. My Favorite Quotes by JRR Tolkien is the best lens I’ve discovered on Squidoo in many moons.

Lensmaster Greekgeek has crafted a personal tribute to one of her favorite authors, JRR Tolkien, focusing on Tolkien’s quotes. She explores the meaning behind each quote and how it relates to her (I loved the English teacher story).

The lens seems so simple but is very powerful. Greekgeek’s elegant use of language in her descriptions and the way she weaves a consistent flow through the intro, module titles, sub-titles and body are a lesson in good writing and lens crafting. She keeps everything focused. There’s nothing to distract the reader from the purpose of the lens. Best of all, the content is interesting.

I found this gem while reading Greekgeek’s blog post on using CSS with Squidoo’s new responsive design. She used it as an example of using CSS smartly to serve a functional purpose. In this case, for highlighting Tolkien’s quotes.

Enjoy, learn and have a Happy New Year!

Image credit: Jemimus, used under Creative Commons.

Catch of the Month: Toronto Pearson Airport 5k Runway Race

Each month I’ll feature a lens that I discovered while exploring Squidoo.

Airplanes and airports have always interested me and I enjoy running in 5k races. So when the title for bassetmonkey‘s lens about the Toronto Pearson Airport’s 5K runway race popped up, I had to check it out.

Wow…this is a very good example of a lens showcasing an annual event and it makes me want to run this race!

With a descriptive title and photo from inside a hangar, the first module creates a sense of excitement similar to what a racer feels waiting at the Start line.  That’s followed with info about the race, pre and post race pictures (including the unique finisher medals) and a thorough race review from the lensmaster, who ran the 5k in 2011.

The thing that makes a race like this unique is access to a place that’s normally off limits to most people.  Bassetmonkey captures that restricted access vibe in a fun way in the lens.  It also highlights the cool stuff race organizers did to make the race experience extra special.

Hopefully I can get to Toronto to run this race one year.  If you run this (or any other) race, bassetmonkey reminds you to thank the race volunteers!

Side note: About a week after discovering this lens, I got excited when I saw an ad for a 5k at a local airport.  Sadly, the map showed that their course is only on access roads, not the runway.  And it doesn’t look half as cool as bassetmonkey makes the Toronto airport 5k look.

Image credit: Paul’s Best Shots, used under Creative Commons License.