The technical job interview is unlike any other interview. Candidates undergo a rigorous and specialized technical interview process to test their coding skills, problem-solving abilities, and aptitude. Technical interviews, however, are more than a tough challenge where developers are put through a full day of coding evaluations and tests.
Suppose you are preparing for your following technical interview and are overwhelmed with all the information on the internet. In that case, it’s time to cut back and start by understanding the essentials of technical interview rounds.
This article is prepared to help developers crack technical interviews by understanding the dos and don’ts and delivering their best.
DOs
Prove with numbers
When you go for technical interviews, remember that you are presenting yourself as a valuable candidate who can impact the company. This is why you must elaborate to the interviewers on the impact you made in your previous role and how it helped the company you worked in.
Interviewers ask such questions to understand how the candidates view their tasks. Can they conceptualize the bigger picture and take steps to impact the outcome positively? During technical interviews, your skills beyond programming will be gauged. Companies like Amazon, Netflix, and Microsoft are very metrics-driven and look for engineers and developers who can see beyond coding.
Communicate your thought process
Many candidates lose in technical interviews because of various reasons. One of the most common reasons is not to think the problem through before working on the solution. When you are given a whiteboard question to solve, don’t start with the solution immediately without giving it a thought. It is essential that you align your thinking and, if possible, try to frame your answer for your interviewer. Start by outlining methods, data structures, and algorithms you think will be the best solution. Even if you cannot answer the question correctly, communicating your thought process to the interviewer should work in your favor.
Ask questions genuinely
Developer interviews are not just about the candidate; they are about the company as well. Some of the best candidates for the job are the ones who are interested in the company culture and the work it does. It might seem like a cliché technical interview tip, but you must know about the company and show interest by asking questions.
That being said, do not ask general questions that can be answered with a simple Google search. Instead, ask about the most significant technical challenges they have faced lately or how the culture at the company is. You can even ask the interviewer about their role. Such queries indicate that you are interested in the job and provide you with an opportunity to connect with the interviewers.
Practice
This is one of the most straightforward technical interview tips ever. Practice interviews to understand how things work once you reach the technical interview round. If you are straight out of college, you can participate in discussion rounds with other computer science graduates, or you can take the help of resources such as the Talent500 blog to understand the technical interview process and avoid any surprises.
DON’Ts
Don’t get stuck with one bad round
You will face several technical interviews in your life, and you will most likely perform better in some than the rest. Try to not get stuck on one lousy round or question you could not solve and let it ruin the entire interview. Algorithms, data structures, programming languages, design patterns – the technical domain is so vast that it is nearly impossible to know everything. If you couldn’t make it through a few questions, don’t let them define the rest of your interviews.
Don’t badmouth a technology stack
As a developer, you will have your favorites. You might prefer Python over PHP, MongoDB over MySQL, or React over Angular – but that’s your preference. It doesn’t allow you to say bad things about other technology stacks. Such comments during a technical interview project you as an elitist. Companies often use multiple technology stacks and if you start discrediting a specific tech stack, you might be targeting the technology the company uses without knowing.
Don’t get too stuck on one solution
If you spend too much time solving one question, you risk the time constraints. When you are in a technical interview, do not get too consumed by the solution of a problem. If you cannot solve the issue one way, even after spending enough time on it, consider taking a detour from your thought process and trying something else. If it’s still not working for you, move on to the next question.
Conclusion
Technical interviews are not easy, but they are not impossible either. During technical interviews, candidates are evaluated for their skills beyond just programming. Keep the above-listed dos and don’ts of the technical discussion in mind and try to come across as independent thinkers capable of solving problems without losing focus on the bigger picture.
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