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The Ultimate Guide to Preparing for a Technical Programming Interview

Published Dec 03, 2021
The Ultimate Guide to Preparing for a Technical Programming Interview

Technical interviews are often difficult, with the interviewer evaluating how well you can code in a variety of languages. It’s important to be prepared. This guide will teach you everything you need to know about preparing for a technical interview. Whether you are new to programming or have many years of experience under your belt, this guide will teach you the best ways to prepare for any type of technical interview. You can read more about what to expect during an interview, how best to practice your coding skills, what not to do during your interview, and how to nail that final technical question.

What is a technical interview?

A technical interview is an in-person interview where the interviewer evaluates your programming skills.

It can be intimidating to prepare for a technical interview, but it is possible. You need to know what is expected of you during the interview and how to practice for it. With this guide, you will be well prepared for any type of coding interview.

Preparation for your technical interview

You'll want to prepare for your interview just like any other. You should be well rested and ready to take on the day, but it's also important to get a good night's sleep before the interview, too.
This will help you feel refreshed and more confident when you go in for the interview.

It may seem like a lot of work, but taking a couple hours in advance to prepare will go a long way toward getting a better job offer!
Coding practice

There are a ton of ways to prepare for your interview. One way you can prepare is to practice coding. Coding is the perfect way to be prepared for any type of technical interview, as it will help you keep your skills sharp and show that you have the ability to write code on demand.

There are many great resources to help you practice coding, from books and tutorials to online platforms where you can create programs and submit them for feedback from other coders. It’s important, however, not to overpractice. Doing so can lead to a robotic or repetitive style of coding that won't go over well with an interviewer. You want your code to be clean and concise, but at the same time show off your skills as a coder.

If you're having trouble deciding where to start practicing coding, check out these three free options:

  • Codecademy - This site has one-hour lessons that teach programming through simple examples that gradually become more complex as you progress through the course.
  • JudoCoder.com - A community for programmers with challenges and levels of difficulty available at various skill levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced).
  • Kaggle - A site where data scientists upload real-world data sets for other people in the data science space.

The right mindset for technical interviews

When preparing for a technical interview, it's important to understand the mindset you should have. A good developer needs strong problem-solving skills and an ability to think quickly on their feet. You should be able to work at a fast pace and maintain your focus on the task at hand. It's also helpful if you can solve technical problems creatively, as opposed to following a linear approach.

Programming interviews require that you demonstrate these skills in a timed setting – typically 30 minutes – with a whiteboard or pen, paper and code editor in front of you. The goal is simple: show the interviewer that you can code well enough to be considered for a job with their company. To do this, they will likely give you some programming problems to solve as part of the interview process.

How do you prepare for such an interview? Practice! You should go through as many coding problems as possible before going into an interview so that when the interviewer asks for your solutions, it won't seem like such a daunting task.

Tips for answering questions

It’s easy to get nervous when being interviewed for a technical position. But if you are prepared, you should feel confident. There are many ways to prepare for an interview, but here are some of the most helpful tips that will help you answer questions confidently.

  • Research the company before the interview. Learn about the technologies they use and even read about their blog posts or subscribe to their Twitter feed. This will make it easier to answer questions about what they do and may even give you ideas for follow up questions!

  • Practice coding on your own time. You never know what you'll be asked during an interview so it's best to be prepared! If you can't find answers on Google, ask other programmers on forums or sites like Stack Exchange.

  • Bring a laptop or tablet with your resume and portfolio on it if possible so that you don't have to work from memory.

  • Remember that interviewing is just as much about assessing how well the candidate fits into the organization as it is assessing how well the candidate can code!

Interview tips and tricks

Tech interviews are intimidating, and it’s not always easy to know what you should be prepared for. You might be worried about what the first question will be, and how to answer it quickly and accurately. But don’t worry - we’ve got your back.
The best thing you can do is practice. The more time you can spend preparing for a technical interview, the better chance you have of doing well on the actual interview.

Practicing your coding skills is one of the most important things you can do to prepare for a tech interview. One of the most common questions in a technical interview is “can you code this?” It’s an excellent question to practice with because it forces you to think quickly and come up with an answer on the spot.

So how do you practice your coding skills? One method is called “coding challenges”: challenges that are designed to help programmers hone their skills through solving programming problems or puzzles.

A very good resource to practice coding challenges is JudoCoder.com - it will help you get an understanding of what they are so that when an interviewer asks about them.

What to do before the interview

Before you head into an interview, it's important to take a deep breath. You don't want to be anxious or nervous because that could affect your performance during the interview. To prepare for the interview, make sure you are rested and well-hydrated.

You will also want to make sure your resume is up-to-date and showcases all of your accomplishments. Your interviewer will likely ask about any gaps in your work history or why you left previous jobs. Be prepared to explain these things concisely and without emotion.

The technical interviewer will also want to know what projects you have worked on in the past, so be sure to bring copies of these with you for reference during the interview.

Finally, before heading into the interview, remember that coding is just one aspect of being a programmer or software engineer. Interviewers are looking for people who are passionate about programming and who have good communication skills

How to nail that final question

With the right preparation, you can show off your best skills and knowledge during any type of technical interview. One key area to prepare for is the coding question.

These questions are often common during interviews. You may be asked to code in a language that you're not familiar with or you may be challenged to solve complex problems that involve complex algorithms.

It's important to have some resources on hand so that you are prepared for these types of questions. You should have resources customized to the language or tools being used in the interview so that you don't spend the entire time searching the internet for what to do next.

A great resource is JudoCoder.com, which provides coding challenges in many different languages and frameworks. JudoCoder.com code challenges are also rated by difficulty level so that you know what level of challenge will appear on your interview.

How to end the interview

On a good note!

It's easy to get nervous during an interview. But, don't let your nerves get the best of you. To ensure you end on a good note, make sure to follow these steps:

  • Answer all questions completely
  • Do not provide any information that isn't requested
  • Be polite and respectful
  • Show enthusiasm for the position
  • Use proper body language

These are all great ways to end on a high note. You want your interviewer to leave with a positive impression of you!

Conclusion

Technical programming interviews are hard, but they dont have to be. Use this guide to prepare for your next programming interview.

Let me know if this guide was helpful. I would love to hear what you have to say.

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