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Esther
Esther

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My First Technical Interview Experience

Four weeks ago I had my first “Technical Interview” with the Tech Director from Space Ape Game.

This experience was a really fun one but I was REALLY nervous 😅.
Since my article are about game dev I think is proper to make this small article so other can see that is okay to be nervous in this process.

Lets begin.

What is a Technical interview?
It will vary for positions but:
Technical interviews are typically conducted by employers who are hiring computer science, engineering, IT or other technical professionals. Technical interviews allow interviewers to assess candidates’ technical skills, problem-solving skills and critical thinking skills.

Before the interview I tried to prepared myself, I said tried because I was so nervous that I literally could not concentrate anything related to code 😂 but I did prepared myself in other ways.

First, I google the one was going to interviewed me.
Why I did that? because I had no freaking clue what a Tech Director dose in a game studio. I found out that the position actually varies by company so in a way I already had a idea that his question will be focus on the requirements for the position I am applying.

I also ask for a one-on-one with another developer that has more experience and he help me with some of the question I had ( Ill share some pointers later 😁)
The interview process went really well in my opinion.

At the start he was friendly and explain the whole process, how the question are gonna be and since the interview was going to last 45 minutes he told me what the first 20 minutes where going to be and how the other 20 minutes questions were aim at.
As you guest it, the last question were aim at programing……the question were not hard but I say that is very import to understand how everything works.

I got ask question only about c#, and yes I got the famous question about the difference between a Struct and a Class😂.
Then game the question more aim at Unity syntax and methods.
There were stuff that I did not know and I made it clear and some stuff I have heard but I have never used. All the time I was being me, I did express other stuff that I know that he may not ask but there where more on the side of the question.

At the end of the interview I was ask if I had any question and I did ask him what was his role as a Tech Director since the position can vary and he did answer it. I’m still waiting for the reply in how I did to see if I will go to the next phase but just wanted to share this so others can learn.

Now Some Tips

REVIEW YOUR WOKR AND ASK YOUR SELF WHY DID YOU APROACH IT THIS WAY
When you know your going to be interviewed you will try to get ready but your brains have other ideas😂. If your are nervous and you tried to learn new stuff for the interview this is not a good approach, stick with your work and just review what you have already know.

CHECK THE REQUIREMNT ON THE POSITION YOU APPLIED
As game developer we think that as long as we know how to handle Unity and C# we are okay, but is more than that. Some requirement will hint you at some question your going to be ask. You may not be a master on a skill but if you know what there are referring and you share how you will approach it in a project then you have a idea on what to answered.

BE YOUR SELF
Don't lie. If you do not know the answer just answer truthfully. We are developer but we don’t have the documentation on our brains. If you do not know what there asking just say it and share in what you will do in order to find a answer.

DON’T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTION
When your working on games you will find out about other skill that are necessary in making game. You will try to learn it or just ask for help. By doing this you are learning some terminologies that the industry are using: Rigging, Animation, Game designer, etc. Don't be afraid to ask in how your roll will help the other member of the company or just ask what each roll do on the studio.

BE GRATEFULL
Give a thanks to the one having the interview with you for is time and for the process. Each process, if you passed or not, will help you. This will add up to your experience that you can use in other interviews.

Hope this article helps out.

TO BE CONTINUED 😎

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