The Interview Process

Terry Foley
Sep 5, 2018 · 4 min read

Having had quite a few jobs over the years, I know firsthand how stressful the application and interview process can be. Being able to represent yourself in a professional way is a skill that everyone will need to learn at some point in their life. The interview itself is a balancing act. Present yourself in the best possible light without misrepresenting anything. Be confident but not arrogant. Be able to describe your weaknesses without actually seeming weak. Be able to gracefully explain your desire to transition to a new role without bringing too much baggage.

Some interviews are more intensive than others, depending on the field, the company, and the interviewer. Funnily enough, despite having interviewed for many accounting roles at companies (some of which I eventually worked for), one of the most in-depth interviews I remember having was for Pizza Hut. The manager interrogated me for hours before employing me to deliver stuffed crust pizzas.

So what is the best way to navigate an interview? You’ll need to be prepared both for the personality fit, as well as the technical interview. The first step will probably be at least one phone interview, before one (if not several) onsite interviews. The onsite interview is the one we’re worried about, so let’s dive in.

The Standard Interview

The first in-person interview will probably begin with some standard behavioral questions that are typical of the interview process. It’s important to learn some acceptable answers to these questions. It’s important to be honest about your work history and shortcomings while trying to highlight your strengths and knowledge. Hundreds of common interview questions can be found on google, and it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with the basic ones so you can prepare responses ahead of time. Know how to describe “your biggest weakness”, as well as enthusiastically and honestly say why you want to work for the company you’re interviewing at.

The Technical Interview

Technical interviews, when presented onsite, are usually around an hour. Some companies may use a whiteboard, while others will give you a computer. The benefit (from the interviewer’s perspective) of a whiteboard is that it forces the candidate to think and communicate more, and you will need to do some planning before you start writing. Often the technical questions will be in person, although sometimes they may follow up with take-home questions to complete. Take-home questions will probably be to build an app in a certain amount of time, sometimes in the language of your choice, sometimes in a language they choose. When I was researching what are the common topics of questions presented in technical interviews, tons of responses came up, but here are some of the common topics to be prepared for:

  • Algorithms and data structures
  • Operating systems
  • Arrays
  • Linked Lists
  • Strings
  • Binary Trees
  • Class Design
  • FizzBuzz (at least three resources mentioned that you should be able to solve FizzBuzz without batting an eye)

Other Tips and Resources

  • Have projects to talk about. Flatiron’s projects are great to put on a resumé, but any others (open source, hackathon, independent) will also be good. Describing the specific challenges of your projects is plus. Rather than talking about how much you learned from the projects, pick some technical aspect (ie. a bug fix) and describe that.
  • Don’t fall in love with one language, companies don’t care so much about your proficiency in one language as much as they care that you know the fundamentals. In fact, being overly strong in one language (bootcamp syndrome) may be a detriment.
  • What if I don’t know how to solve the problem? That’s okay! The interviewer may very well assume you don’t know how to solve the problem. They will instead be looking to see if you understand the problem and how strong your problem solving skills are.
  • If you don’t know the answer to question, rather than say “I don’t know”, describe your thought process for figuring it out. (“I’d google it.” <- not enough)
  • Try solving the problem another way, even if you succeed at one. This shows flexibility and adaptability
  • Minor syntax issues aren’t as important as knowing the concepts
  • More References: Cracking the Coding Interview, by Gayle McDowell, HackerRank

Conclusion

Quora question: “How are algorithms used in programming?”

Quora answer: “Mostly as interview questions.”

SOURCES

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