The words technical interview strike fear into many a technical job-seeker. You’ve heard the horror stories, maybe you’ve gone through the process before: the grueling and sweat-inducing second- or third-round interview to make sure you know your stuff cold.
You do know your stuff, and yet those interviews always seem to catch the one thing you missed.
The struggle of a technical interview is a common story, and they can seem insurmountable. Yet while technical content is what the interview is about, it’s not actually what the interviewers perceive.
While your knowledge will be taken into account, what really shines through to your interviewers are non-technical aspects like these:
– Whether you can think on your feet
– How you conduct yourself
– Whether you understand the business and technical goals of the organization
Obviously if you know nothing of your subject matter, these other areas won’t help much, but without them, you’re unlikely to succeed no matter how much you know.
So, to make the best of your technical interview, here are a few focus areas that are too often neglected:
It’s more important to know how to think on your feet than to be an algorithm guru.
Most companies use some variety of whiteboard coding challenge to see if you can handle the kind of logic puzzles their line of work encounters. While not always very realistic, they offer a significant challenge, and every organization runs theirs a bit differently.
Rather than trying to master every possible scenario, memorize a few of the major algorithms and then concentrate on how you can use those to solve a variety of problems. Quick thinking counts for more than a memorized list when you run into an unexpected problem.
Going from the initial problem, to a base strategy, to a complete solution should appear seamless. And that leads to a second point…
Say what you’re thinking.
It may feel a bit odd to verbalize every thought you have, but think about it from the perspective of the person you’re interviewing: they want to know what’s going on in your brain, how you’re thinking. A dismal silence while you try to sort out the answer to a complex puzzle is not an inspiring sight to the interviewer, especially if your final answer isn’t dead on.
Contrariwise, if you spell out each step you take out loud, talking about your own thought process and how you come to a conclusion, even an outright incorrect answer might win some respect for your methods alone. Let those interviewing you know what’s going on in your head.
Represent yourself.
Several copies of your latest resume, a contact card if you have one, a repertoire of relevant questions, and good business manners all critically impact your technical interview.
Unless you’re a true guru so desired by tech companies that they will bend over backwards to acquire you (and while many of us like to think we’re that, we’re usually not), conducting yourself in a professional and engaging manner is crucial to success, especially if the position you’re interviewing for has any client-facing responsibilities (and keep in mind: other parts of a large organization can count as “clients” too).
Read up on this stuff beforehand, practice in front of a mirror if you have to, and bring your A-game.
Don’t overdo it.
There’s such a thing as over-preparing, especially if it leaves you frazzled, stressed out, and in no state to produce the kind of critical thinking necessary for a technical interview.
Study, prepare, and relax.
If you’re stressing out about interviews and would like some help preparing, I’d be glad to lend a hand.