During a technical interview, you may be asked a variety of technical questions and asked to solve technical problems. It's important to not only have a solid understanding of the concepts and technologies being tested, but also to be able to communicate your thought process and explain your solutions to the interviewer.

Answering technical questions

Here are some tips for answering technical questions during a technical interview:

1. Listen carefully to the question and ask for clarification if needed. Make sure you fully understand the problem before attempting to solve it.

   <aside> 💡 For example, if you are asked to design a simple API, make sure you understand the specific requirements and constraints of the problem, such as the type of data being accessed, the expected traffic and usage patterns, and any security or privacy concerns.

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2. Break the problem down into smaller parts or subproblems. This can help you better understand the problem and identify the key components that need to be addressed.

   <aside> 💡 For example, when designing a simple API, you might consider the data model, the endpoints and methods, the input and output formats, and the error handling mechanisms.

   </aside>

3. Communicate your thought process as you work through the problem. Explain your reasoning and the steps you are taking to solve the problem. This can help the interviewer better understand your thought process and help you identify any potential mistakes or misunderstandings.

   <aside> 💡 For example, as you design a simple API, you might explain your decision to use a particular data model, how you will define the endpoints and methods, and how you will handle errors and exceptions.

   </aside>

4. Consider different approaches and trade-offs. Don't be afraid to explore multiple solutions or approaches to the problem. Be prepared to discuss the pros and cons of different approaches and explain why you chose a particular solution.

   <aside> 💡 For example, when designing a simple API, you might consider different data models, endpoint and method definitions, input and output formats, and error handling mechanisms, and explain the trade-offs between them.

   </aside>

Managing stress BEFORE & DURING the interview

Technical interviews can be intimidating, especially if you are just starting out in your career. To manage your stress and anxiety during an interview, it's important to keep the following tips in mind:

Before the interview

• Clarify the logistics of the interview beforehand.
  • Technical interviews may vary depending on the company. You may be expected to run code in some but not the others. Moreover, for some companies, you may be given more than 1 coding question in an interview, so timing between each question would be crucial. Thus, maintain clear communication with your recruiter! The more information you know about the structure of your interviews, the more you can tailor your interview preparation and be less anxious on the day of.
• The day before, make sure all of your equipment works and that you have a space in mind.
  • Nowadays, many technical interviews are conducted virtually. Thus, it’s important that your microphone and camera work beforehand. Make sure that all your equipment works at least a day in advance so you have ample time to address any technical issues. It’s recommended NOT to do your interview in a public space, such as a cafe. Instead, find a quiet area, such as your room or private room in a library.
• As contradictory as this sounds, on the day of the interview, it’s best to NOT learn more material.
  • At this point, you’ve done what you can. You’ve likely been extensively practicing DSA questions and have done a few mock interviews. Learning more information or doing more questions will likely stress you out more, which may negatively affect your performance in the interview.
• Take it easy for the hours before your interview.
  • Technical interviews can be nerve-wracking, so it’s best to not do anything too stressful or brain draining the day of. Go out for a walk, eat your favorite comfort food. Do anything that calms your nerves!

During the Interview

• Build good rapport with your interviewer at the very start.
  • This is especially important, since it sets the tone for the rest of your interview. If you build good rapport with your interviewer for the first 5-10 minutes, they are likely to guide you more during the coding exercise when you ask questions.
  • In many technical interviews, the first 5-10 minutes are usually reserved for you and your interviewer getting to know each other. You may ask each other how your day or week is going, or it may start off with a resume walkthrough, when your interviewer asks about certain experiences on your resume (e.g. internships) to get a feel of your background and why you’re interested in the company. With that said, be prepared to talk about EVERYTHING that’s on your resume or your background in depth.
• Remember that a technical interview should feel collaborative.
  • Remind yourself that it is okay to make mistakes and that the interviewer is not trying to trick you.
  • There is so much more to a technical interview than just receiving a problem from your interviewer and coding it up. It should be a conversation. Think of your interviewer as a colleague. During the interview, the interviewer is thinking to himself - if you were to join my team, would I want to work with you?
  • As you explain your approach and write code, pay attention to the gestures of your interviewer? Does he look like he’s following along, confused? Every now and then, ask your interviewer if he has any questions. This can prevent you from going down rabbit holes later on.
  • If you get stuck, take a step back and try to approach the problem from a different angle.
  • Don't be afraid to ask for clarification or help if you need it. “Could you try re-phrasing your question?” or start talking through your process and look to the interviewer for signs of any feedback.
• Thoroughly plan out your algorithm BEFORE writing the code.
  • When you’re presented with a problem you feel comfortable solving right off the bat, one of the first things that may come to mind is starting to write the code right away. However, in many cases, this may not be the best approach.
  • When you encounter an issue as a software engineer at a company in real life, rarely do you jump into the code right away. You pause for a bit and think. What might be causing the issue? How do I use my existing knowledge to make inferences about the cause? The same applies in a technical interview. In many cases, the solution may not be obvious at first glance, and that’s ok! Ask clarifying questions, make note of any important constraints, and bounce ideas off your interviewer while also being receptive to your interviewer’s feedback.
  • In fact, the hardest part of a technical interview isn’t writing the code itself. Instead, it’s coming up with a working algorithm! Thus, the bulk of the interview should be spent on designing an algorithm and running it through some test cases. Once that step is complete, writing the code should only take 10-15 minutes.
  • Write your thoughts down! If you’re on an IDE, type them as comments. When you write things down, you absorb and recall them better when you need those same ideas later on. In turn, this helps your interviewer better follow your steps, since the amount of information can get really overwhelming at times.

Additional Resources

FAANG Practical Interview Tips