Coding Wisdom: Insights from Your Interview Experiences?

Share the interview mistakes you've learned from and corrected. What lessons can others apply to improve their performance in future interviews?


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What I do/have learnt:

• Simple and obvious but important: when meeting the interviewer make eye contact with them as you give a firm handshake. If they introduce themselves, repeat their name back to them, eg "Nice to meet you John."
• If you don't know the direct answer to a coding question, be honest and admit as such but describe how you would go about finding the solution.
• Do your research on the company, even if it's just looking at their website's about page. Formulate one or two questions you can ask the interviewer about the company, eg what projects they're working on, who they work with, what industries they service, etc. Doesn't have to be web/IT related questions.
• Ask the interviewer to give you a "day in the life" of the role. This can give you prompts to ask more specific questions.
• Ask what challenges the business has (relevant to the role), and what future projects they're excited about.
• Another obvious one: never bad mouth a previous employer.
• Bring a notepad and pen to take notes (I once interviewed a guy who took notes on his phone. It's petty, but it wasn't a good look - it just looked like he was texting someone).

That's my advice, hope it helps!