Do’s and Don’ts of Technical Interviews
By: Muazma Zahid
Tags: Software Engineering, Resources, Data Science, Tips, Interview

Interviewing can be very stressful. This is a simple guide for top things to do and things to avoid in an interview. Consider an interview as an opportunity to learn more about the company and to see whether it is the right fit for you. Therefore, it is imperative that you prepare the right questions that will help you with the decision once an offer is on the table.

Image from Stockvault

General Guidelines

Do’s

Always research the company, its culture, and the latest news about the company before an interview. It is a powerful indicator of your interest in the company and is something that the employers love to see.

Prepare for behavior-based questions and think about your strengths and weaknesses. It is important to prepare tangible examples of situations that exhibit those strengths and weaknesses.

Mention recent and relevant examples.

An interview can be either informational or technical. Be clear on the type of interview it is going to be by asking the HR contact or recruiter clarifying questions about its nature. Also, if it is technical, find out whether it would require you to code through an online code editor tool for interviews such codeshare.

Rest well before the interview, no one likes yawning candidates.

Stay hydrated.

Ask a lot of clarifying questions if the interview problem is not clear to you. Also, prepare questions that you want to ask the interviewer to learn more about the team, culture, day-to-day work and other topics that are of interest to you.

Clarify and communicate your assumptions when solving a problem.

Bring your whole self to the interview, think about what is unique about you?

Don’t give up and stay calm.

It’s okay to say you don’t know the answer.

Always tell the truth.

Don’ts

Bad-mouthing past employers.

Talking too much or too little.

Using cellphones during the phone.

Phone Interview

Double-check your internet connection if it's an online call.

Use headphones and avoid background noise.

Be prepared for video as most companies are doing video phone calls.

Talk clearly and slowly as its harder to follow on the phone.

In-person Interview

Come early to avoid any unforeseen issues like parking, finding the right building, etc.

Dress accordingly and most importantly comfortably.

Take a shower.

Bring a copy of your resume.

Body language is equally important.

Don’t be afraid to use a whiteboard.

Interview Resources

Here are some useful resources for practice and mock interviews:

Software Engineering

Books

Mock Interviews

interviewing.io (beta), Free

Practice Mock Interviews & Coding Problems: Pramp, Free

CareerCup, Paid

Online Resources and Practice

Data Science

(Read more detail guide by Sundas Khalid here: https://blog.usejournal.com/nail-your-next-data-science-interview-cc8a958bd6bf)

Kaggle for dataset & Kaggle for practicing on actual data science problems.

Hackerank for coding (Python, SQL).

Analytics Vidhya for analytics questions.

SQLzoo & Mode for SQL questions and practice.

Behavioral

All the best and remember “Practice, Practice, and Practice”.

About the Author: Muazma Zahid

Muazma has been in the tech industry for over twelve years and she is passionate about Data, AI and Cloud Computing. She is an advocate of diversity and inclusion at the workplace and enjoys helping and empowering others via several platforms. She believes in building a world of equal opportunity for all. She is also a volunteer by heart in several organizations like AnitaB.org, Women @ Microsoft, Women Who Code and Lead for Pakistani Women in Computing.

Twitter: @MuazmaZahid

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/muazmazahid/