Technical interview

Interview as a process

Structure of an interview

• Acquaintance & background check
• Technical part
  • Theoretical questions
  • Coding part
• Questions to an interviewer

Before the interview

• Don't be nervous
• Don't be late
• Don't try to recall or read anything right before the beginning of an interview
• If you're at an office, don't hesitate to grab a glass of water or a cup of tea

Interview Structure: Acquaintance

• Tell us about yourself
  • past experience
    • career background
    • tasks
    • achievements
  • skills (soft, hard)
• Ask questions about a project
  • technologies used
  • responsibilities
  • growth opportunity

Interview Structure: Theoretical part

• Don't be silent during the interview. Give at least some assumptions while answering
• It's okay to ask for some time to think about an answer if you barely remember it
• It's completely okay if you don't know everything that's been asked during an interview
• Don't hesitate to be honest. Let an interviewer know immediately if you don't know an answer at all

Interview Structure:

Coding part

• Ask questions to clarify what the goal of a task is, and what result is expected.
• Don't rush to solve a coding task. Take some time to think
• Break down a task into steps
• Show your interviewer how you think while coming up with a solution
• Use a direct solution if you're not able to come up with an ideal one. Having at least some solution is much better than having nothing
• If you know how to optimize your solution, show it
• Don't be afraid to ask if you forgot or didn't get something

Interview Structure:

Questions to an interviewer

• Prepare your questions in advance
• Ask anything that bothers you, even if you're afraid to do so

What if you've been rejected

• This is not the end of life
• Every interview is a great experience, you'll definitely be better next time
• You had a great chance to identify technical gaps that could be eliminated by the next interview
• Maybe an employer has already hired another candidate or simply changed his mind in terms of finding a new employee

Thank you!