10 Technical Interview Tips
QUICK SUMMARY
Technical Interview can be a hard nut to crack. It's challenging, it's different, it's evolving. These days, you can't only show coding and problem-solving skills but also have a personality that plays well with the team. I prepared 10 universal tips to help you beat the next interview.
Introduction
I have been working as a Technical Recruiter for almost 2 years. All these days where we can just code and be happy are gone. Soft-skills are sharpening as a crucial ability in the IT world, especially Frontend. Co-op with Designers, Product Owners, Clients, brainstorming with the Team is just a few terms that require excellent communication skills.
Don't get me wrong, problem-solving skills, great mind, and desire to learn are still up to date but to be the best, it's time to combine these two different worlds.
The Actual Tips
Let's jump into the topic and learn how you can improve your next interview.
1. RESEARCH THE COMPANY
What are the main projects? For which clients do they make these projects? What is the company size? What are the recent activities/events the company organized?
The above questions are the bare minimum you should research. If it's possible, attend meetups (more likely Webinars due to COVID situation in the world). It's important to show your interests by knowing about the company activities, history, technologies they use, and so on.
A very common question during the interview is - What do you know about us?
Don't lose the chance. Research.
2. STUDY YOUR CV ONE MORE TIME
Look for typos, check contact details, and links to projects on GitHub or other platforms. Be honest with the knowledge, when you don't have too much experience, there can be that irresistible feeling to pack CV with technologies you might not use at all.
Instead, do some side projects, learn technologies that are most used, and enhance your CV with them. You will have strong arguments with the side projects and feel more confident. Don't forget about mentioning soft skills which could consist of being a team player, open-minded, like brainstorming, etc.
3. PRACTICE COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND LANGUAGE
Chances are that English is not your native language, and neither it's mine. The practice is a different thing. Watch courses in English, e.g. on Egghead, FrontendMasters, Udemy, or Pluralsight.
You can kill two birds with one stone, become fluent with additional language, and get some extra knowledge Frontend related.
Remember about looking at the recruiter, don't get frustrated, don't speak too fast, control your speech. If you're confident enough, lead the conversation towards your strengths, make a situational joke.
Believe in yourself.
4. SAY HI AND BE NICE
It's connected with the previous tip, but just a simple Hi at the start can change the first impression diametrically.
There is a Rule of Sympathy which can help a lot during the interview. Recruiters love enthusiastic candidates, believe or not, but you can make friends within the conversation for a new job.
5. DO SOME KATAS
Algorithms, a little bit of JS practice will train your brain, after all, it's a muscle that needs some help from you to grow. Try out katas on Codewars. If you like games, CodinGame is great. For analytical minds, Project Euler will be perfect.
Practicing before the interview will make you more confident and prepared for potential code challenges.
If the interview is fully online, prepare a microphone, camera, internet connection, and all the tools you need. Usually, it's on CodePen, JSFiddle, or similar code editors with live sharing enabled. Otherwise, ask an HR person who contacted you if you need to bring a Laptop.
6. PREPARE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS BEFORE
Ask about benefits, work culture, project you will work on if you pass the interview. Ask about activities, events, the team. Write questions down one day before the interview, it will help you to remember. It's quite common to forget important things when you're under the pressure or stressed. Overcome it.
It's also worth preparing for questions. What was the biggest challenge in your previous work? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Describe your previous projects and work.
The above are just the examples, you can research for more, but take this list as an example of questions you will need to answer.
7. DO MOCK INTERVIEW
Call it a warm-up or pre-interview. Services like this exist, there are plenty of them on the Web, they can prepare you before the real interview.
8. RELIEVE STRESS
Maybe you already know how to deal with the stress, but often we get angry, scream, or hide in a cozy corner to avoid everyone.
Meditation or I would rather say exercises to control your breath can help you relax. I recommend Calm as it's very well suited for beginners. Try it out, maybe it's the way for you to relieve stress.
If that doesn't help, you can try to understand your feelings by learning what makes you angry or being shy. This exercise will help you to work out better control over yourself.
Stress during the interview can mess up with your memory, block from answering the questions. It's good to overcome it.
9. SLEEP, EAT AND DRINK WELL
Our brains are mostly made out of the water, drink often, not all at once, but around 8 glasses per day. Use Habit tracking apps to help you remember.
After executing the previous step, you should already know how to deal with the stress, get some good sleep, and wake up refreshed and full of energy for the interview.
10. SURPRISE EVERYONE
In the past, I was mentoring my friend and helping him with writing the CV. He added a note about understanding Graceful Degradation and Progressive Enhancement in it. Thanks to that, he was invited to the interview and succeded at it.
Knowing weird or geek things as a Developer is a great way to shine during the recruitment process. Mention some hobby, technology, or anything that makes you special. It will earn you bonus points and maybe even prevail about the result.
Closing Notes
I hope the above list was something new and you could learn a thing or two from it. Sharing is caring and that's why I prepared homework to let you practice before the next interview.
Thank you for reading and good luck. ❤️
- Read this article.
- Take a look at your CV (study all the technologies and skills you've added to it).
- Gather information about the company you're applying for.
- Practice code challenges (min. 3).
- Write down the interview cheat sheet (questions you will ask, answers to questions you expect from the recruiter) one day before.
- Do Mock Interview.
