How to Outsmart Your Technical Job Interviewer
Tags: coding, developing, interview
Published: 2018-06-01 11:23:13

---
title: How to Outsmart Your Technical Job Interviewer
published: true
description: Tech interviews can be tricky if you don't know how to get through them. These five tips will give you the edge you need over your interviewer and other candidates, and you can be sure that you will be at the top of their favorite list when you use them. 
tags: coding, developing, interview  
---

If you're at a point where you want to find steady work in coding, developing or in any high-tech position, you can't just have the professional knowledge in your field, but also some killer interview skills. If you want to outshine other candidates, go to your interview as well prepared as you can be and use these 5 tips that will give you a great head start when you sit in front of your possible future boss:

###1. Prove that you're a team player
A lot of people that go on tech interviews make the mistake of being arrogant and boasting about what they can do when sitting in front of a blank coding screen. When you go on your interview, put aside the arrogance and be confident instead. The former shows the interviewer that you are way too full of yourself to play with others while the latter shows that you can be part of a team and accept  constructive criticism when necessary.

###2. Communicate, communicate, communicate
The tech society is definitely made up of some special characters that oftentimes like to answer questions with binary answers – Yes or No. When in an interview, those types of answers just won't do. In any profession, interviewers prefer open ended questions, including those who work in high-tech. If asked if you have experience with, let’s say, J2EE, don't respond with a simple "yes", but instead talk about a project where you used your experience in whatever it is they asked you.

###3. Get a leg up on your interviewer
If you have the contact information of your interviewer, it's not a bad idea to a little snooping around on them. Check out their social media accounts, for example, to learn more about them. You can also use websites like [golookup.com](https://golookup.com/) to do a [reverse phone lookup](https://golookup.com/reverse-phone) to look into your interviewer. Obviously, you shouldn't tell them what you found out about them but having information about the person you are interviewing for can help you know them like they know you while taking the edge off of talking to someone you have never met.

###4. Don't get over eager about perks
It's no secret that tech jobs come with plenty of perks and treats for those who get into that world, but that is not a discussion matter for first interviews. If your interviewer asks you if you have any additional questions, don't start asking about vacation days or special parking spaces – those are questions for human resources. Keep your questions professional and light-mannered so your interviewer knows that you came to work and that you realize that the perks are a side bonus rather than the main event.

###5. Seal the deal
There is no shame in showing that you want to get the job when you have a great interview. Before it's time to go home to wait for the hiring decision, show that you are interested. Shake the hand of the interviewer and tell him or her that you would be happy to join their team. Don't just say a polite "thank you" with a smile. Show enthusiasm (in proportion) and let the interviewers know that you are the person they were looking for.

Tech interviews can be tricky if you don't know how to get through them. These five tips will give you the edge you need over your interviewer and other candidates, and you can be sure that you will be at the top of their favorite list when you use them.