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I was recently asked in an interview describe your experience with learning a new technology/programming language/framework.
How do I answer this besides It was a programming language. It had to be learned. So I learned it. Like any other programming language. By writing programs.
Obviously, the interviewer wouldn't be looking for these kind of answers. Any tips?
If you answered me just as you did in the question, I would learn many things about you.
If you had taken the time to answer the question, explaining your preferred learning approach along with how long it takes, I would learn only good things about you. By not answering, or answering the way you did in the question, you show me some not-so-good things about yourself as well. And in an interview, you need to be prepared to show good things about yourself every time you open your mouth.
I am not saying pretend to care about and accommodate different working styles, or learning styles, but maybe don't volunteer how rigid and non-empathetic you are. Don't suggest it's a ridiculous question because "how else would you do it?" Instead, answer it. Talk about your process. Let them know you're a quick and self-directed learner who is willing to put in the work to gain the abilities and skills you need. Show them this about you.
As Neuromancer said in the comments, the bit that jumped out to me that they said "Describe your experience…". I think a question like this serves a couple of purposes.
It's a nice open question that, especially early on in an interview,
In most (if not all) software/technology settings, no two software will look the same. They'll be designed with different (if not mixed) conventions, patterns, architectures, and languages, including domain-specific-languages. As a result, when exposed to the software, you will be exposed to a learning curve. This question gauges your ability and willingness to learn the technologies or languages compared to other candidates. Candidates who answer this question well (i.e. with enthusiasm, perseverance, or a capacity for learning quickly) depict a realizable edge against other candidates. (Assuming they're not lying) said candidates will take less time to be brought up to speed by current teams, thereby increasing the overall efficiency and investment value once the candidate begins submitting features and bug-fixes.
Similarly, it's also a gauge at your long term value to The Company. As a Developer, it's important for you to be capable of learning new technologies, languages, libraries, etc. This enables The Company and yourself to leverage new technologies rapidly. Without this capacity, the software may grow stale and lose competitiveness against competing products who leverage new technologies.
They are looking, in general, to see HOW you approach a new technology and, more specifically, how you minimize your learning time.
So, you want to show two things:
You want to learn as fast as possible so that you are productive as quickly as possible,
That are you are not too proud to ask for help to speed up the process (i.e. that you are not one of those that MUST learn it all by themselves, even if it takes weeks).
Sample Response
Being productive as quickly as possible, while maintaining a path to mastery is my goal. Therefore, I research, I code or exercise the new technology myself and reach out to experts for advice - either online or event better, within my circle of coworkers. That way, I can be productive quickly without sacrificing my ultimate goal of mastery.
They are looking for technical breadth, i.e.:
The above list applies to most languages. It'd be pretty useless to hire you if you still had severe deficiencies with any of the above.
