Technical Interview Advice

Hello there! I'll have my first technical interview and I'm really nervous. 😨

As a newbie, how should I prepare myself for the interview?

Thanks, guys!

Comments

[Ben Halpern]

You're not expected to know everything. Do your best and if you don't know something, be curious and interested with feedback. Ask questions along the way and show an interest.

Personally I get excited about newbies who are interested in code quality and testing. Experienced devs sort of have to be, and if newbies think in these terms it shows well.

Ultimately it is a very human process, and remember if it doesn't go well, there's always the next one.

But you'll do great and good luck!!

[RJ Hill]

I certainly agree with the previous posts. Read up on the company/team you’ll be interviewing with. Make sure you have an idea of what they do and why you’d like to join the team.

As far as staying relaxed goes, you could practice coding on a whiteboard in front of some friends and family. It’s less about what kind of problem they’ll ask you to solve and more about your ability to explain your thought process. If you feel like you might be weak on certain things (like recursion) you could practice a little. You will NOT get ding’d if you ask for clarification as they might be purposefully ambiguous about certain things in order to see how you handle it.

Always ask questions, especially around things that interest you and things that confuse you. You’re interviewing them to make sure you want to work there too. As Ben and Lauro said, it’s very human. Be yourself. Eat your favorite breakfast that morning!

If you don’t make it, it’s not the end of the world. Ask them what you could have done better. Lock that away for the next interview, there will be more.