How to Shine in a Technical Interview
I’ve been interviewing candidates for technical roles lately and I’ve noticed a few patterns that separate the strong candidates from the mediocre. These are pretty simple and will give you a significant advantage over your peers:
Be ready to code
This seems to be a (well-known) area of weakness. And it is easy to fix. Work through a couple of example interview questions. Cracking the Coding Interview is a great resource if you’re not sure where to start. Work them out on paper or whiteboard first. Then work through the examples using a simple editor and command line. It’s important to leave your comfortable environment behind and simulate the surprises you’ll find in the interview.
Work with me
Ask me questions to better understand what I’m looking for. The best candidates will often explore the task that has been assigned and discover a short-cut or creative approach. This shows an important real-world skill. There will be countless scenarios where we have to work together to find a solution. Help me picture what that will look like.
Think out loud
It’s ok to process a question internally. But don’t sit in silence for more than 30 seconds. At least give me an update on what you’re thinking. I want to understand your thought process. In fact, I care more about that than the solution. Interview questions are not designed to be impossible. So if it seems really hard, perhaps you’ve missed an important point (see above).
Understand math
Brushing up on math can be a big help. Google has been known to ask “How would you implement a routine that performs division without the division operator?” Using math, it’s easy. Of course, you can brute force it, but clearly a solid foundation in math will help you build more elegant solutions.
Convince me you actually like this stuff
I want to work with people that are passionate about what they do. I want them to like it enough that they think about it when they’re not at work. I want them to have a genuine curiosity. I want them to play and learn and then teach me what they found. This should come across in the interview.
Be aware of what is happening in our field
I want to know that you keep up with current events in technology. What do you read to keep up? What do you think about continuous integration? What about client side Javascript frameworks? Do you understand what’s different about NoSQL databases? If you’re not keeping up with current events, I worry that you might not be passionate about your job (see above) and that you might overlook an important tool or technology that would improve our lives.
Have an opinion
It’s good to have an open mind, but I want to know what you think. Disagreements are fine in an interview. In fact, they can be great if they show your ability to take a position and support it with data. You can also show an ability to debate, gather data, and change your view based on new information. It really doesn’t matter how it ends. If it’s healthy, you get points either way.