The interview process is intense and potentially intimidating.

It begins with a 30-minute skills test in which you are given about four times as many questions as you can complete in the time allotted.

It's followed by a series of three or four two-on-one technical conversations, all of which last 45 to 60 minutes.

The final interview will be with one of the highest level IT managers.

The best strategy for this sort of interview, I found, was to go in with a "nothing to lose" attitude and to admit what you don't know.

Describe the architecture of a system you worked on. Explain your choice of technology and why you ruled out alternatives.