Top Tips for Tech Interviews
Fearing that you'll get a ridiculously hard coding question, or just completely blank on a super-easy topic are all just parts of the hardest (imo) interviews out there: technical interviews.
Before I had my first tech interview, I read up on what to expect, how to practice, and how to prepare for them. Now that I've had my first tech interview, I thought I'd share my top tips for how to ace your tech interview!
Describe your thought process out loud.
This one seems fairly simple right? Wrong. It's so easy to go silent when you're stumped in an interview - but don't do it! It's completely fine to take a few seconds to compose yourself and deliver your answer to the interviewer - but if you're in the middle of a coding problem you should be talking your interviewer through your thought process, describing exactly what design choices you're making and why. For example, if you're asked to build a shopping list and you choose to use an array, explain why you're choosing that over a linked list!
Admit that you don't know the answer.
This also sounds crazy, but it's such an important tip to remember in a tech interview! Telling your interviewer when you're stuck in a coding problem - or just admitting that you don't know an answer shows the interviewer that you can admit when you've reached your limits. In fact, some of the feedback from my interview was that my interviewer liked when I admitted when I hadn't learned something yet, or didn't know it - rather than trying to fake it. When you start working, there are clearly going to be things you don't know - and you'll just have to learn them which is all part of the learning process - no one can be expected to know anything!
Come prepared.
This one sounds a bit obvious, but being prepared will make you so much less nervous because you know that you can handle most, if not all of the questions the interviewer will throw at you. Start by searching GlassDoor for the position you're interviewing for, and looking through some of the questions that other people say frequently show up in the interviews. Then, go through some general coding questions that you can find simply by Googling! Additionally, write down some basic questions about the company that you think they'll ask, and write down the outline of what your answer is going to be (e.g. What makes you a good fit for this company? What strengths do you have that will help you succeed in this role?). You don't want to sound too rehearsed and have a paragraph memorized, but you need to remember a few talking points in case you freeze when they ask you the question!
Arrive early!
Nothing is worse than when you arrive to an interview late. It shows that you weren't prepared, you didn't plan ahead, and even worse - they may not even let you into the interview. Leave more than enough time for you to get to the interview location, and make sure that you're at least 15 minutes early.
Dress to impress.
Make sure that what you're wearing is business casual at the least, so a nice blouse, proper trousers, a blazer, and black shoes should be good. However, make sure you read all the information about the interview thoroughly, and if it calls for business formal, make sure you dress accordingly! It's always better to be overdressed rather than underdressed in an interview - it'll make you feel more put together and more focused.
And finally, remember....
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....and you can do this!! Being confident is half of the interview - if you walk in like you own it, chances are your interviewer will believe that you're the one for the job because you are confident in yourself and your abilities!
I hope this helped those of you who are preparing for tech interviews - comment below with your best tech interview tips, and let me know if any of yours are the same as mine!
