Tips for Nailing your Tech Interview
Let’s face it: technical interviews can be tough, regardless if you are a junior or a senior. Some people find it difficult even to admit when they are nervous or when they might use some help with the interview prep.
@Talent Matchmakers I have learned to really try to be there for the candidates. We are happy when they ask for our help and we go above and beyond to contribute to their professional development. And when candidates don’t ask for help, we come up with ideas that might inspire them — like putting together a checklist for a successful technical interview. I do not promise that you will end up with an offer, but it will help you grow and leave a lasting and authentic impression.
1. Prepare for the interview
We cannot stress enough how important it is to prepare yourself before any technical interview. Yes, of course, you want the company to get to know your true side, to accept you for who you are, and what you might become. But allowing yourself some time before the interview will enhance your potential and reveal the best version of yourself.
- Research about the hiring company and/ or the client — if it’s an outsourcing company and you have this information — check their website, LinkedIn Profile Glassdoor, GitHub — open source projects, you might even want to see your future colleagues by checking their professional profiles.
- Recap on theoretical aspects of programming — the ones that you deal with every day, and the ones that might have been forgotten. You don’t want to end up saying — “I know what it is but can’t find the words to explain it”. Don’t rush into technical interviews, check your schedule, and make sure you’ll have some time to prepare before. If you have a trusted friend, that happens to be a developer — practice with him, check out online resources as well, like https://www.pramp.com/.
- Look through your accomplishments (from a technical point of view): think about the context, the actions you took, the result, and what you learned from the experience. Think about the latest challenges you have faced, things you are proud of. Think about the details that might stand out, easy to remember. Just having these words rolling through your mind can help you be more confident, as they will be recent to your thoughts.
- If it’s an online technical interview — and for sure it will be for the next couple of months — make sure you have the technical details for the interview — an invitation to the meeting, the app installed, account created if needed, webcam ok, ready to share the screen if peer programming is involved — all the setup. It’s really helpful to have an overview of the interview — its structure, the evaluation method — will peer programming be involved?
2. The technical interview could be one step forward in your career
No matter the outcome, you can always learn something new when you get the right feedback. Be prepared to ask for feedback — to know what to improve. Ask for the solution when dealing with a difficult problem. This will help you learn something on the spot, and by the end of the technical assessment you will already know a few new things.
Look at the tech interview as if it is an exercise. Don’t take it personally, the technical evaluation is meant to refer to your actions, not yourself.
3. The right mindset
- It’s ok not to have all the answers.
Evaluators are not looking for the perfect candidate. If you don’t know the answer, admit it. Honesty is truly appreciated. But do more than this, take a bit of time to reflect on it, and explain what you would do to get to a solution. Explain your mind map — relax and keep thinking out loud. If you feel that you are stuck, ask some clarifying questions.
Start with what you know - > think out loud - > express your flow.
The listeners can understand how you take tech decisions.This will underline that you are trying, you wish to reach a solution and will also maintain active communication. Consider collaborative communication, mind your vocabulary — try to speak by the book when it comes to tech terminology. For example, instead of saying “it calls that function and the result is 5” say “the add_numbers function call returns 5, which is assigned to the variable sum”.
SOLUTION < THE PROCESS (during tech interviews, solution values less than the process).- It’s ok to take some time to think about a solution
Even though 5–10 seconds might seem a lot for you, it does not feel the same for the listener. It’s ok to slow down, ask questions, ask for clarifications — maybe you know the answer, but you did not understand the question itself. This will show that you don’t rush into solutions, you think about the bigger picture and you are looking to get an overview.
- Emphasize your desire to learn.
Admit that you don’t have all the answers, but you would like to get to know them if given the opportunity.
4. Show interest towards the company, be curious, discover them.
Consider that it’s up to you as well how the discussion is going, how you connect. Evaluators don’t like to feel like they are participating in an interrogation. A friendly flow is more likely to have a bigger impact. Try to seed in the conversation reasons you would like to join their team, what do you like about the project, how working there intersects with your professional roadmap. Think about how to connect your motivation — through your hobbies, interests, or maybe through an experience that was important to you. You don’t want to make them cry, you just want them to remember you — no matter if they hire you now, or maybe in 2 years.
The things you should ask are part of a long and different conversation, but you should prepare the question before the interview. As well consider that some questions may arise during the interview as well, make sure to get an answer for those too.
5. Keep in mind that decision and evaluation are bidirectional
Don’t participate in interviews just because recruiters want you to. A recruitment process has 2 actors: employers and candidates. The decision is yours as well. Make sure that you have a clear understanding of who they are, what they are doing, and how it might be to work with them, for them. Use the technical interview to evaluate the opportunity!
If you have the feeling that the ones sitting in front of you have the answer for anything, and they don’t seem gentle or are just poker face — don’t jump to conclusions. We are all humans after all. The whole hiring process may reveal some fears: to be exposed, to be evaluated, etc. The fear that you might be judged or seem less prepared or less smart than you really are can drag you down. Remember that you are in control as well — you are also evaluating them as well.
Mind the impostor syndrome!
6. Leave an open door
Before saying thank you and have a great day, make sure you let them know that you are open to answering any other questions they might have missed, or clear any concerns that might have about your involvement in this opportunity. Simple questions like “Is there something else you would like to know about me?” could help a lot.
Here comes the end of the list.
All the above is just some advice, a guideline to consider. Of course, every interview is different, it varies from company to company. If you don’t follow the suggested flow, it does not mean the interview is ruined. There is a lot of information and it’s up to you to extract the one relevant for you and create your own flow.
Please feel free to leave a comment and add other thoughts as well.
It might help us grow.
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EXTRA! To think about after the interview.
If you liked the interview you just had, the people you met, the information you got and you see yourself working in that company, send them an email. Send a thank you note and again, use the opportunity to reveal what you might have missed during the interview about yourself. This will help you underline your willingness to be part of the company and to complete the image they will make about you.
Madalina Naghiu
