The technical interview is a specialized, rigorous process that tests your coding skills, problem-solving abilities, and personality. It’s also one of the most stressful parts of the job application process, which is why we’ve written this guide to help you prepare for it.
What is a Technical Interview?
If you’re applying for a technical job, the interview will usually be conducted via an online coding challenge. Set up like an exam, the test will include problems in a range of difficulty levels, and you can use any tools you like to complete it.
The purpose of a technical interview is to see how you handle a variety of challenges and situations. By using challenges and assignments, you can demonstrate your skills as a software engineer.
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The stages of a Technical Interview
Following are the stages of a technical interview:
1st stage: the technical phone or video screen
The company liked your resume and wants to talk to you more. This short social & technical screening stage is designed to see if you are qualified and enthusiastic enough to proceed to the next technical round. This interview stage typically lasts 15-30 minutes and is conducted on Google Hangouts, Skype or over the phone.
The interviewer can be an engineer, a hiring manager or someone from HR but they will always have career experience in tech, regardless of their department in the company.
2nd stage: remote coding interview/assignment
For some companies, the coding test will be conducted in advance and you’ll need to complete it outside of the in-person interview. In many cases, this means a coding challenge will be assigned to your online resume before you’re even invited to come in for an interview. This can take a few hours or even a full day depending on how complex the task is.
3rd and final stage: onsite interview/whiteboarding challenge
The technical interview stage is where you actually get to see if it’s a good fit for the company and for you. It involves an in-person interview with coding challenges you have to complete on a whiteboard in front of the interviewer(s). This could also be done remotely over video conference if the company is remote.
Tips for acing your Software Interview
Following are the tips you should keep in mind to ace your next software interview:
- Do your research on the company
Research the company’s website, and check out their app. Read reviews from people who have used it, and see what they’re saying. Look up who you’ll be interviewing with, and see if there are any similarities between you and that person. Also try to get an insider’s perspective on what it’s like to work there.
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- Craft your answer to the introduce yourself question
The ‘about me’ question is a guaranteed one for almost every job interview, because it gives the hiring manager an opportunity to engage with you on a personal level and have some sense of who you are as a person. Prepare for this question in advance by writing out your professional story and practicing telling it. You may even want to consider having someone else ask you so that they can give feedback on how well you do.
- Prepare answers for the other questions you know you’ll be asked
You have the extra hurdle of convincing the interviewer that you can ‘handle’ the technical side before you’ve gotten to that stage in the interviewing process.
You can be asked questions like –
1) Why are you switching into engineering and
2) How do you learn new technical skills?
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- Get in the mindset
Mindset plays a vital role when it comes to succeeding in life. And interviews are challenges one has to survive to get to their dream job. Havin the right mindset is crucial.
- Practice algorithms and data structures
Practice at least 1-2 questions every day during your job search because you want to be practicing speaking out loud, conveying your thoughts, your different approaches, etc. It’s a great way to keep your mind sharp and stay focused on the task at hand. Plus it makes you feel like you’re actually working on something even when your not!
Entri provides video classes as well on various important topics by the excellent faculties. One will get revision modules, monthly tests based on the classes. You will be provided with an online platform to prepare for the exam. It also gives you access to clarify your doubts.
