Technical interviews are one of the most difficult aspects of the hiring process. Candidates have to demonstrate their knowledge in a high-pressure situation. To make it through a technical interview, you'll need a lot of preparation and practice. Here, are some tips on how to prepare for a technical programming interview.
Practice Technical Interview Questions
One of the best ways to prepare for technical interviews is to practice. This gives you the chance to explore different topics and learn how to explain your knowledge in an interview setting. Practice will also help you build confidence and feel more comfortable in the interview.
Here are some questions for you to practice:
1) What is an Abstract class?
2) How would you solve the following problem: "Write a program that finds the median value in an array of numbers?"
3) What is the difference between a regular expression and a substring?
4) How do you check if an integer is divisible by another integer?
5) How is an IDE different from a compiler?
6) What are some of your strengths?
7) What are some of your weaknesses?
8) What is the difference between a class and an object?
9) What does "Foo(int x)" mean?
10) What does "Foo(3, 5)" mean?
11) What does "Foo()" mean?
12) What does "Foo(int x, int y)" mean?
13) What does "Foo()" mean?
Know Your Data Structures and Algorithms
Data structures and algorithms are one of the most important topics related to technical programming interviews.
Data structures are the way that information is organized in a computer program. How information is arranged impacts your program's performance.
Algorithms are the processes that computer programs use to solve computational problems. Knowing your data structures and algorithms is essential for a technical programming interview because you will be asked about them.
For example, if you're given a question like: "What is the shortest distance between two points in a diamond?" You need to be able to answer it and know the algorithm needed to solve the problem.
Asking questions about how data is organized and what algorithms can be used to solve problems will help you prepare for a technical programming interview.
JudoCoder.com – The Best Coding Interview Preparation Website you can trust
Among many other platforms, JudoCoder is the most reliable and efficient coding interview preparation site. Here, many coding problem-solving programs, challenges, and question-answer challenges prepare you well for your upcoming interview.
JudoCoder has a lot of coding challenge questions for your practice and knowledge. They will strengthen your programming concepts and skills. The challenges, and questions focus on various coding aspects such as algorithms, arrays, data structures, BST, Anagrams, recursion, backtracking, Hashmaps, dictionaries, string manipulation, and more.
Familiarize Yourself with the Programming Language and Paradigms
Programming languages are integral to the job search. More than 92% of companies use programming languages in their hiring process. If you're not familiar with the various programming languages, it's time to learn.
Learning the syntax and paradigms for programming languages helps you answer questions quickly. You'll be able to speak the language of the company you're interviewing with. Plus, knowing the language will help you understand the company culture and dynamics better.
If you're interviewing with a company that uses Ruby on Rails, you'll need to learn Ruby. If they use JavaScript, you'll need to learn JavaScript.
Be Aware of Different Styles of Questions
You may be asked technical questions in a variety of formats. Some interviewers will ask you to solve a problem on the spot, while others will give you a problem to prepare for in advance.
You may be given a short question and a long question. The short question will require a few lines of code, while the long question could be more than 10 lines.
The interviewer might also give you a computer science problem to solve. This could be anything from sorting algorithms to deduction puzzles.
It’s important to practice the different types of questions so you can be prepared for anything.
Prepare for Non-Coding Questions
Non-coding questions are meant to determine how you think, problem-solve, and communicate.
These questions are more subjective in nature, but there are some things you can do to prepare.
One way to prepare for these questions is to practice your public speaking skills. This will help you build confidence in your abilities and give you a better understanding of how to answer these questions.
Luckily, there are many ways to practice public speaking. Some organizations have public speaking classes for people who are interested in becoming a better speaker or who want to improve their skills. You can also watch videos of speeches, practice out loud with friends, or even give your own speech in front of a mirror.
When it comes time for the interview, you'll be more confident in your abilities and prepared for the questions. This will make the interview more comfortable and less stressful for you.
Conclusion
The best way to prepare for a technical interview is to practice. If you're a beginner, find a good tutorial and follow it through. If you're a more advanced programmer, try practicing with sample coding problems or typing out an algorithm.
The good news is, JudoCoder.com provides handpicked selection of all sorts of data structures and algorithm questions, most of these questions have been asked in a real interview!.
I would suggest you create a free account at judocoder.com and start practicing your skills. You will be prepared in no time!..
No matter what you do, make sure you practice! You'll be happy you did when it's time for your interview.
Top comments (2)
Self taught programmer here, with 38 years experience here (26 professionally)... This isn't good advice if you ask me. Last minute cramming or preparation will only stress you out more. Either you know and understand stuff, or you don't. The best way to go into this is calm and relaxed, armed with the knowledge and understanding you have. Stress is your number one enemy.
The best advice on revision and cramming I got was from high A-Level Physics teacher:
I appreciate your input Jon. I do not entirely agree with you though.
Different styles work for different people. For some its last minute cramming that nets them the job (and they are very likely going to retain that information). While some people prefer take their time to let everything in.
Its really about the person and how he thinks. Both are right.
Have a good day :)