Week 17, the weather is great, the country is slowly returning from hibernation, and tech tests are in full effect.
The first one I had was from a fintech company, and involved 4 hackerrank questions. It started with the classic 'Fizzbuzz' question....this almost made me have a panic attack i was so thrilled!
The second jumped straight into a question about removing duplicates, and then modifying the existing elements left in the array. The third was a question involving hash tables and the fourth was a question i'm still not sure what it is asking, let alone the answer!
Overall it was not as scary as i first thought, the practise i was doing beforehand really helped. I noticed that the more complex problems often involved using multiple easier questions logic, breaking it down into smaller problems definitely helped.
I also noticed that from the start of the week to now, I have become noticeably better at solving these problems. Both in time, success and the time it too to notice the pattern/solution type. This is something I will definitely carry on with daily. Even completing one or two a day will help keep this mindset fresh.
The other tech test involved using a company software, and building an application based on a 'customers' requirements. This overall went well, I explained my process well, spoke through my logic, and am had a great fluid conversation with the engineering manager and my hope-to-be future colleagues.
Fingers and toes crossed that they go well and i can progress though to the further rounds. Not only is this industry new to me, but the interview process is also something that took time to adjust to. Gone are the days of an interview, a handskae and an offer. The 4-5 rounds are draining, terrifying, stressful, but totally necessary. I have learnt to actually appreciate the screening process more - each step I meet more people, learn more about the company, and make up my mind more. Not only is it the company assessing me, it gives me a great POV to see how they operate, see if my goals are aligned with theirs, and see if my ambitions can be realised at their company.
Every day is indeed a schoolday.
As always stay safe, and please wish me luck!
David
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