My First Check24 Interview: A Newcomer’s Perspective

The Setup

Okay, this was… intense. I’ve been living in Berlin for about six months now – moved here after finishing my computer science degree back in the UK – and I’m really trying to build a career here. Finding a job has been a bit of a rollercoaster, but this interview with Check24 felt like a big step. They’re doing this “team fit” thing, which, honestly, is always a bit nerve-wracking. It felt a bit like a mini-version of the UK recruitment process, but with a distinct German flavour.

“Guten Tag! Herzlich willkommen…”

It started with a standard “Guten Tag! Herzlich willkommen bei Check24. Schön, dass Sie da sind. Wir wollen uns heute ein bisschen austauschen und schauen, ob Sie gut in unser Team passen. Schön, Sie kennenzulernen.” The interviewer, let’s call him Herr Schmidt, was really friendly, but clearly focused on what I could do. He started with the classic, “Könnten Sie mir bitte etwas über Ihre bisherigen Erfahrungen als Java Entwickler erzählen?”

My Java Journey

I took a deep breath and started explaining about my previous role at TechSolutions back in the UK. I focused on the fact I’d spent two years building and maintaining web applications, mainly for financial clients. “Das klingt gut,” he said, nodding. Then he jumped straight in with, “Wir arbeiten ja selbst auch im Finanz- und Versicherungswirtschaftlichen Bereich. Haben Sie Erfahrung damit?” I readily admitted I’d been working with insurance and financial products – that was a definite plus. I talked about REST APIs and Microservices, trying to explain what they were in a way that wouldn’t sound too complicated. He seemed genuinely interested, saying “Das klingt sehr vielversprechend.”

Database Details & Technical Jargon

Things got a bit more technical when he asked about my database experience. “Können Sie mir etwas genauer erklären, mit welchen Datenbanken Sie Erfahrung haben und wann Sie welche eingesetzt haben?” I explained I’d worked with both MongoDB and MySQL. “MongoDB nutzte ich oft für flexible Datenmodelle und schnellere Entwicklung, während MySQL ich für strukturierte Daten und komplexe Abfragen bevorzugte.” Honestly, I felt a little self-conscious explaining things like ‘flexible data models’ – it sounded a bit fancy! He seemed to get it though, and we moved on to CI/CD (Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery) and Clean Code – terms that I’d read about but hadn’t really done before.

CI/CD & Code Review

He explained CI/CD as something that helps us make changes faster and more reliably, and Clean Code was all about making the code easier to understand and fix. I tried to sound confident saying I understood the importance of automation and good coding practices. “Das klingt sehr systematisch,” he commented.

Learning & Responsibility

Then he got to the questions about my learning mindset and taking responsibility. “Wie sehen Sie Ihre Lernbereitschaft und Weiterentwicklung?” I made sure to stress that I’m always looking for ways to improve and that I enjoy learning new technologies. I gave an example of a project where I took full responsibility for designing, implementing, and testing a new microservice – automating the insurance premium billing. “Das ist eine gute Aufgabe,” he said, which, you know, was a good sign!

Microservices & Kubernetes

We talked about the microservice architecture they use, and I explained my belief in its benefits. Then he asked about Kubernetes, which I’d been hearing a lot about. “Ja, ich habe bereits mit Kubernetes gearbeitet, hauptsächlich im Rahmen der Containerisierung und Orchestrierung unserer Anwendungen.” I explained how I’d used it to package and manage the applications.

Quality Assurance

He wanted to know how I ensured quality. I explained my approach: Test-Driven Development, unit tests, integration tests – the whole shebang. I also emphasized the importance of coding standards and code reviews – which, let’s be honest, I sometimes skipped back in the UK!

Product Passion & Agile Teams

Next, he asked about the products I was interested in developing – specifically, the insurance apps for consumers. “Ich finde die Entwicklung von Versicherungs-Apps für Verbraucher sehr spannend, da ich die Möglichkeit habe, Menschen bei der Auswahl der richtigen Versicherung zu unterstützen und ihren Alltag zu erleichtern.” – I actually meant it! I genuinely think it’s a useful thing to do.

He wanted to know how I’d describe working in an agile team. I emphasized communication and collaboration, saying, “Ich bin ein Teamplayer und arbeite gerne in agilen Umgebungen.”

German Skills & Final Questions

Finally, he asked about my German and English skills. I reassured him that my German was very good, and that I could communicate effectively in both languages. “Haben Sie noch Fragen an uns?” I asked if they could tell me about the main focuses for the next few months – they were working on new features for their mobile apps and optimizing their microservice architecture.

Wrapping Up

The interview ended with a “Vielen Dank für das Gespräch! Vielen Dank auch Ihnen! Wir werden uns noch einmal mit Ihnen in Verbindung setzen.” I felt pretty good, even though I was nervous. It’s a long process, but hopefully, this Check24 interview marks a positive step towards finding my place in Berlin.