How Do You Prepare For A Technical Interview?
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- čas přidán 9. 06. 2021
- How do I prepare for a technical interview? What should I study? How do I get the practice I need to be ready for a technical interview? How do I make sure I won't freeze up? These are the questions we will tackle in this episode of Dev Questions.
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This video felt like a therapy session. Being myself a full stack developer,I struggle every time before an interview because every job description seems like they are looking for an entire IT department in one person. .Net , Angular, Database, Cloud, Microservices, Devops etc etc..How can anyone know everything so perfect and anwer exactly what an interviewer wants to listen. I think more than aspirants, people who interview candidates need to view this video. Because at the end of the day we don't need to hire a computer for the job ,but we need to hire someone who can make a computer work and solve real life problems..
I'm glad it was helpful, and I agree that interviewers need to understand this as well.
100 percent correct
There couldn't of been a better timing for a video like this from you, Tim. Thank you!
Thanks for looking to and trusting Tim
This content deserves lot of views. As a developer taking my leap to apply on a senior role, it always fears me wondering what if I couldn't answer all the questions. It makes me a get a little bit discouraged. But this content really lifts me up and be reminded to just relax and be smart enough on your reponse when you don't know a technical question.
I am glad it was so helpful.
"Relax, be Honest and I don't know but..." is probably the best way to go. Thank you Tim! Loved the video
Thanks for watching
Recently I've been going through some interviews, some being utterly disappointing and some being really enjoyable, the disappointing ones having a negative impact on my self confidence.
I would like to thank you Tim for some really motivating words and thoughts, knowing that not being "able" to give textbook answers to certain technical questions is not a shame, does a lot.
This got me my first SWE job over a year ago and here I am watching while preparing to interview again. Thank you!
You are welcome.
This is the best and most honest video on how to ace an interview. This is exactly what I look for in people I'm interviewing. I just want to see how they think, and how they will find this info out. I want to see their normal day at work.
Great video as always and you always say what I say to people. For me, the technical interview is the way I determine if I want to work with someone or if I want them to work with me. Some interviews drive me nuts, and on both sides when someone else is involved who thinks they are know it all. I am still amazed at how marking a method at compile time as obsolete isn't known by ppl who expect someone to remember something else, but because someone doesn't know off the top of their head how to do some specialized thing 1% would only know makes ppl think someone isn't qualified. I literally had that argument with someone after we interviewed who was more than qualified that one person said they didn't know enough because their question they couldn't answer.
Keep in mind, the interview is not just them interviewing you but you interviewing them. Listen to how they ask questions and ask questions back.
I'm having my first ever technical interview in a few days and I have to tell you this video really helped me a lot to deal with the massive pressure I'm feeling right now. You have my likes and subscribe!
I am glad it was so helpful.
I usually tell straight forward in my interviews that I might don't the exact syntax but I do know what to search and what I need to search for my problem. So I can implement it.
Thanks, Tim! A lot of good advice! I've never thought about how hard holding a great technical interview is also for the interviewer, helps put things in perspective.
Glad it was helpful!
So much truth! Thank you for wide sharing these things!
You are welcome.
Nice context, right into the target! Thanks for video.
You are welcome.
That was super helpful, Thank you Tim!
You are welcome.
Good video ... when I heard Tim say just relax, right off the bat, I thought this was going to go nowhere. So many people give that advice, but never say how. However, I was very grateful that Tim did not just stop there and gave advice on the how. Thanks Tim!
Thanks for trusting Tim to help you prep for your interviews.
Wow this couldn't have had come out at a better time
I'm preparing myself for interviews .
Thanks Tim!
Please share with us how the interviews go. Also, note the other great tips in the comments below
This throws light on me, I am always ultra nervous in technical interviews, I really thought only those "perfect" coders, writing lines like if they were movie hackers is what companies wanted to see. I do consider myself as good coder, I have worked in several projects and yet I don't know everything... Before watching this vedeo I really believed that was a kind of "dissability" and proving I am a good developer my most difficult task. Thanks, this new knowledge takes a ton away from my shoulders. :D
Please consider watching Tim's other videos on interviewing - czcams.com/users/IAmTimCoreysearch?query=interview
Thank you so much. I really appreciate the advices.
You are welcome.
Excellent Tips. Thank you!
You are welcome.
Much needed video thank you❤️
Thanks for watching.
Great tips, Thank you indeed!
You are welcome.
Great video, thanks for the advice
You are welcome.
Amazing video, thank you for this!
You are welcome.
This is excellent! Thank you!
Thanks for watching
This is great. I am ramping up my studying/applying as I want to move from jr to mid-level with a different company this year. Thank you for the information. I know this will help, as I've had interviews in the past that went wrong because I wasn't sure what to say when I didn't know the answer to a question.
When I was a job coach, I stressed to my folks to focus on what you know. A good interviewer will ask tough questions to see how you handle it. What is your level of understanding and how to you address a problem when you don't know the answer. Tim's advise on how to handle the "I don't know, BUT..." is perfect in those situations. If you go into the interview knowing that you will get those type questions and knowing how to answer, you will be far more comfortable in the interview.
@@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597 it definitely makes sense to have a sort of work-around without not answering it. I know in the past it has destroyed me if I have to say "I don't know" which isn't always bad but I really like the idea of following that up with showing how you would figure the question out.
Thanks, really apreciate this vídeo.
You are welcome.
Thanks for sharing!!
You are welcome.
I felt like you were coaching me personally. Great video!
Glad to hear it!
Absolutely true. The best interview is to show who you are, relax, breathe, If you don't know anything do just like Tim said. It's true believe me, I've done the same thing 👍 thanks for sharing Tim, best Man
You are welcome.
I have a technical interview in literally 3 hours, what a timing! Checking this out, hope it helps... Thanks for the amazing content man!!! ':- )
oh shit same here!!
Very helpful advices, thank you sir
You are welcome.
I really needed to watch this video. U have no idea the kind of stress and pressure u have taken off my shoulders. I feel so relax now. I'm having a tech interview in 2 hours. Thanks Tim
Best wishes on your interview.
Thanks Tim
You are welcome.
Great video, thank you
You are welcome.
Those principles applies to a day-to-day software developer job as well.(If you want to be a better each and every day). Great advice though!
that was really helpful!
I'm glad!
Hi I just want to say thanks for your video. I'm not in the IT sector but was preparing myself to a technical interview and came across your video. I was cramming information for my interview and after I paused and watched your video I deleted everything I was writing for two days. The only thing I told myself was "this is the technical experience I have of is good fine if not, maybe the job is not for me. Today I received an offer and will start working on May 1st. So again, thank you for your video and honesty. God bless you.
Awesome! I'm glad you were able to get the job.
Been watching his tutorials since I was in college and this is the first time I’ve ever seen his face!
Than you need to check out his dozens of other Dev Questions posts.
You've got a lot of other videos to check out then. This is video number 54 in this series. Hopefully there are others in the series that would benefit you.
With respect Sir Time Corey I need your help
Tim your videos are awesome, I have one request/suggestion, how about a deep dive video about taking your app (web app, desktop app, any app) from development to production where you go through aspects that one should know about or take into consideration when doing so?
Tim offers several videos covering deployment with different types of programs. - czcams.com/users/IAmTimCoreysearch?query=deploy
Great video.
Thanks!
I'm preparing for a technical interview in 4 days. I know I wouldn't have got this far without Tim's Foundation in C# course series. Thank you, Tim, for creating such helpful content. 😊
Awesome! I am glad it helped.
I didn’t get the job after two interviews with the company. But you know what?
The hiring manager told me I was the #2 candidate in the list, I interviewed well, and he found I would likely have done the job well.
It was a great learning experience that I can take to my next opportunity. :)
When I'm being asked by the interviewer of something I don't know, I honestly say ... I don't know about it, I haven't used is in my development. But I realized, you a right, you to answer in smart way. I don't know but I can do some research in order to learn that piece of component, if it is needed or required in the development.
Yep. Don't just act defeated. Act as you (hopefully) would in the real world - admit where you are at and formulate a plan to get to where you need to be.
Really great video👍👍👍
During my many interviews I had really bad questions (please write down an implementation from a linked list in C with pointers etc) to really good ones, where they started with questions on how I would approach a situation, or what are Elements of my standard work environment etc.
A few additional remarks:
1) Do a little preparation in the fields you know your future work needs (not by remembering stuff, but by looking up which techniques, tools etc are standard in this environment)
2) Ask your own questions relating to the product / service on which you will work on (that shows you have at least looked up what your future employer does)
3) In doubt draw a picture😉 what I mean is, you could try to explain how a priority queue works and what methods it has etc or you draw a simple image. Also State and activity diagrams give always a good impression
Thanks for the great tips
I remember an interview not knowing what a callback function was and instead of just asking the interviewer, I panicked and messed up the entire problem as a result. I'm pretty sure if I was just upfront about it instead of flustering for the answer I would have done much better. Pretty sure I narrowly missed the job because of that one mistake. So yeah, don't panic is right.
This made me feel so much better about my technical interview coming up.
I'm glad. Best wishes!
I created a SQLite database interactor to make using it easier and more streamlined. I also implemented a system for "transactions." If I wouldn't have worked on it recently to implement additional improvements (like automatically creating the commands via reflection and replace Dapper, which I can't use), I'd have forgotten most of it. Obviously in an interview I'd expand on what I did rather than talk about the details. Or better: Show them. I have so much of my private code to show actually - I could talk for hours about my personal project, that is technically and mathematically highly challenging. I had to create a small application with which I could test functions and stacked functions for my algorithms. The entirety of the code is kept clean and well structured too. I am using basically all sorts of C# features. And my project isn't even remotely finished.
Thanks for sharing.
Beautifully said - and it generalises to a general insight in life. If you would replace "programming" with "social relations" or "raising children" or "preparing for a presentation". This valuable info needs to be abstracted into a superclass! ;-) Very sociable/wise software developer you seem to be, there would have been much fewer fights amongst technologists if they would all have your attitude. And they would get much more work done...
I am glad it was helpful.
God bless you man... I almost lost a night of sleep trying to ace an upcoming interview
I am glad it was helpful.
I have a tech interview tomorrow, I needed this video since it’s my first one.
Awesome! Best wishes!
I was asked recently to do a technical dev test interview on languages and frameworks that I don't even know, and they told me I'm not at the experience level they're looking for. This after telling them from the outset, I don't know these products. Thanks for these tips Tim.
It sounds like their screening process is not working. That was not fair to you, but at least you got the experience of that type interview. Every experience helps you build your interviewing skills.
Tx u so much ❤️🙏
You are welcome.
Hey Tim I have to say tjat tje Devs that work with you are really lucky. I've been job hunting for a while now and still didn't find an interviewer with your mindset and attitude. You feel like they're all looking for the next Bill Gates with their questions while the job post is a simple backend senior developer. Thanks for all the great videos and courses
Unfortunately, you are correct. It is a problem I'm working to change by modeling how it can be different.
Amazing video. Recently I gave an interview where the interviewer actually wanted me to know the syntax for everything. which was weird tbh...
Yep, you are going to get bad interviewers.
Thanks to you. Now i am completly sure i can try to find job as C# Dev :)
Thanks for trusting Tim to help you.
Great vid, been guilty of cramming before tech interviews and it definitely didn't help. The hardest thing that nobody can prepare you for is taking the first rejections not personally. I still have one interview that makes me shudder when I recall it despite getting a job since then.
Excellent observation. You are correct - rejections should not be taken personally, even though that is really hard to do.
I found this at the right time as I am searching for the next opportunity
Great!
Most of the time, the interview is looking to see your thought process. I'm a verbal processor so this works well for me. Be comfortable either talking through what's in your head or writing on a white board. Second, and this may seem negative, but there are many companies that DON'T know how to interview or hire technical people. They DO expect you to know everything. Technology is a mystery to them. They DON'T understand what it takes to make things work. There are many of these. It may be the right place for you and a good job, but management is clueless. These are the gray areas. Show you can fit in.
Great advice, thanks for sharing.
@Jef You said "They DO expect you to know everything." and I've seen this in job postings for junior developer, or mid-level. They have a long list of technology requirements that even a senior or principal developer might not have encountered! So what advise can you give to applicants that want to send their CVs but lacked the skills on half of those in the list? Just skip and look somewhere else, or try and embarrass themselves for showing to the interview even if they know they're way out of their heads?
@@higherpurpose1212 I totally agree. It's gotten out of hand.
@@higherpurpose1212 You need to understand something, that posting is considered a wish list. They put everything hoping to get the best mix they can. Also, they need to be able, in today's lawyer driven climate, to have the ability to to justify NOT hiring you or hiring you over someone else. They don't really expect you (or anyone they can afford) to have all of it. So, go after it clearly calling out what skills you have and, as Tim states, show a plan for how you intend to learn the rest.
@@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597 "They don't really expect you (or anyone they can afford) to have all of it." -
If this is true, you've boosted my confidence a notch! Have a great day!
Here's a sample of skills one company is looking for from a developer, and this is not even mid-level or senior type:
Duties & Responsibilities
Web Team is using AngularJs, VueJs or React, and Microsoft .net Core, .net Framework. A strong understanding of c# MVC, CSS, javascript, and HTML, SQL is required while experience in a .net based CMS system like Sitecore, Umbraco or similar is an advantage as is experience with MSSQL, PostgreSql, MongoDb.
The API team is using Microsoft tech stack C#, MSSQL, .Net Core, and RESTful API. Some desired skills include Postgres, Azure Topic/Subscription/Queues and Kubernetes.
The Identity Management team is using .Net Framework 4x, .net , C#, Web API, MSSQL , Azure Blob Storage (Tables & Queues). Familiarity with OAuth 2.0, SAML 2.x, OpenID Connect, JWT (JWS,JWK) , Identity Server 4. Working knowledge in PowerShell scripting. Other desirable skills MySQL , Classic Asp , Asp.Net Web Forms , Active Directory
Man this is so refreshing, this is my thought process but the sad truth is that most interviewers only care about seeing you solve all the algorithms tests correctly even though those algorithms are not used on the job.
Things are slowly changing in that regard.
Couldn't agree more. I even saved your video, ready to send to a recruiter if I fail a technical test because it's based on memory or theory things 😆
Great!
I agree 100 percent, that the best thing you have to do during technical interview is to relax and feel confident. However to feel confident, you have to be at least knowledgeable of the skills you listed down in your resume. Of course, you would never know perfectly or 100 percent of the tools and technology that you are using, but sometimes interviewer ask some silly questions that expect you to know every piece and component of the technology. It gets me irritated somehow with this kind of interview, and I felt sometimes that if this the kind of interview I get, I wont push myself to the job.
Most interviewers are mainly focusing on the technical skills or knowledge of the developer for the different development framework. They forgot that there are other crucial and also important skills that developer should possess, such as creativity, critical thinking and good analysis.
Yep, actually knowing what you say you know is important. And yes, you will get asked silly questions but if you can address them like you would in the real world, you can at least show off your skills as a developer even if they aren't asking good questions.
Thanks Tim, I would request you pls put Rate Limit Concept in Web Api in ur suggestion
Thanks for the suggestion. Please add it to the list on the suggestion site so others can vote on it as well: suggestions.iamtimcorey.com/
"I do not know", good. "I do not know but I would look here", better. "I do not know, I will look here for a few hours then ask for help", winner! A manager wants people to be honest with limitations (good), be a go-getter (better), and not spend to much time on one problem in isolation (winner).
Training plan: The interviewee should ask 2 questions, 1. "What technologies are you using today?" - so you (the interviewee) can measure the comfort level and build on it. 2. "What technologies will you adopt on your product roadmap?" - so you can start learning the new technologies and be 'ready' when it is time to use them on the job.
I think it depends on the company size, for small/medium startups is ok to evaluate every candidate in environments close to their work, but for bigger companies that approach is not scalable due to the amount of enginneers that they have to evaluate, there isn't time for doing so, for me the advise would be:
1. Relax.
2. Be honest.
3. Don't be afraid to say I don't know.
4. Like it or not (it is what it is) study data structures and algorithms (specially if you're interviewing for big tech companies).
5. Know your stuff very well, what ever it is, frontend, backend, mobile, etc.
@Soy Orbison sure I didn't say you are going to use it in your daily work as you mentioned maybe you never use them, but my point is if you want to pass a coding interview for big tech companies you must know them well, because that's the way they evaluate you. We all know we're not going to reverse a linked list or invert a binary tree in our jobs, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't learn them as I said it's what it's.
You guys are making some valid but sad points. Prepping for an interview, in some situations, has little to do with the real job skills. GlassDoor web site can give valuable insights into how a company interviews, FYI. Great place to help prep you for the interview.
I found that I always write down the actual question whether or not I immediately know it or not.
"J, explain to me {{insert some concept}}'
If I know it, great. If I don't then I will explain that I don't (then I'll look into after the interview). Personally I've started following up with:
'Yeah I'm afraid I've never had to use {{ex. DYNAMIC variables}} in my C# applications. If your asking me about this , it must be pretty important in this roles' day to day operations. Can you explain how its used in this role?"
I've found 2 responses:
One is they see it as an attack or 'being combative'. All you did was ask a question. Do you want to work in that environment?
The other is they will explain it, hopefully in a non-condescending manner, which tells me they are open to being questioned.
Thanks for sharing your valuable experience.
Hi Tim, Thx , a great Video as always. What if in an Interview the interviewer asked why I want to leave my job or why I already left my recent job? because I am actually in this situation . what is a good answer? do u have a video about it? Thx :)
I'm a big fan of honesty. I find that if honesty burns you, it can be a blessing (you probably didn't want to work there anyway). So if you are leaving a role because the pay is poor, say that. Say it well, but be clear about it. Say "I really like where I am at, but I am not being paid what I think I'm worth. I want to provide better for my family, so I am considering a job change." Or, if you are leaving because the work environment is toxic, say that nicely. Something like "While I fit well in my current role, the work environment does not fit me well. I would like to find an environment that is healthier for me where I can thrive." Or you could put the two together.
The key here is NOT to bash your previous/current employer. Remember, your prospective employer is trying to see if you fit. They are going to put themselves in your former/current boss's shoes. If you talk bad about your former/current boss, what is to stop you from doing the same to them? If you are going to leave without trying to make a difference, why wouldn't you do the same to them? Show your potential future employer that you are a good employee who is respectful and wants to succeed even in tough circumstances. Show them that you can be trusted and that you aren't going to burn them.
@@IAmTimCorey you're amazing thx again🌹
I am a senior developer. Could you please give me sample training list?
What is a secure way to store users API key and secret? I am building a blazor web assembly application where the user will provide my application their API key and secret then I call the API to provide info to them
Great subject, again! Now I'm off to a technical interview in 45 minutes..
Let us know how it went, please.
@@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597 Not good unfortunately
@@TheSjoerd Each interview is a learning experience. Think about what you can do better and where you need more practice. You know, for most of my jobs, I walked away from the interview thinking I blew it, but I somehow got a call back. In one interview, I fell on my face. Literally. I sat with my legs crossed and one leg went COMPLETELY numb but I was too nervous to notice. Stood up to leave and BAM. A while later, they called and I still got the job. So, you may still have a chance... 😀
@@tomthelestaff-iamtimcorey7597 yeah it is weird, I know, As an assignment the asked me to build an api and a webclient getting data from the api in a grid. I made a solution following ghe setup from Tims TimCoRetailManager and they still were not satisfied, said I was underskilled. One guy said it didn't matter as long as I fit the team and they said I did. Another guy said they really needed a pro skilled developer no matter if he fit the team or not. I know this: when you are denied the jo , they seldomly tell you the real reason. Anyway I had an offer from two other companies so its their loss :-)
@@TheSjoerd Good choice. Taking that job would have set you up for someone always pointing the finger at you and resenting you. Sadly, I have seen that argument in teams often. Looking back, I think it often was someone fearing having to step into that lead technical role themselves, so they claim "we need a real pro" to keep the pressure off themselves. Bottom line: you did well and congrats on the new job!
it is not uncommon for potential employer to send you an excersise to check your skills before actual interview. How far should you take it? Should you go above and beyond or just write a code taht does the job and doesn't take to long for you to get back with your solution? You can't show off your entire skills for some random small excersise.. or can you? Should you? What if you miss something?
Good questions and some that I'll probably address in a future episode. Basically, do a good job and try to do what is right for the solution. That means not throwing every "best practice", "principle", or "design pattern" at it. If you aren't sure what is right for the situation, just keep it simple yet well done and then discuss your decisions with them. Talk through why you did or did not use a certain pattern that might normally apply, etc.
People who memorise everything I would guess would be out of date before ever getting to use anything of what they took the time to memorise,
I really don't want to hire someone that can only memorize things, they have to be able to apply the concepts to really add value.
I need your instruction please.
We are humans, it is okay to forget things over the time. It doesn't mean that we don't know em...
Agreed.
11:00 ish is real talk.
👍
Failed my first interview yesterday, so perfect timing. Heh.
Each interview is a learning experience that you should build on. Hopefully, you get the job and don't need any more.
I hope this is encouraging and not discouraging, but it won't be your last unsuccessful interview. I've been turned down hundreds of times, and not just at the beginning of my career. Remember that this is a bit like dating. You are looking for the right match and so are they. Just because you are a great person doesn't mean that you match up well with the person you are "interviewing". As a developer, they are trying to see if you are the right fit. That's hard to put into words, just like it is hard to put into words who would make a good partner. Keep at it. You can do it. Just do your best and don't take the rejections personally. Remember that if you and I interviewed for the same position and we were both qualified, they would probably turn you down not because you aren't qualified but because you don't have as much experience as I do. That has nothing to do with you. It has to do with the pool of candidates they were working with. You will find the right fit. Just keep working towards it.
@@IAmTimCorey hello Tim and thank you very much. I felt discouraged at first but as I analyzed everything, it got better. Now I actually feel good about that interview, because it indeed was a great experience. And now I know what I should work on.
But looking on Google, looking on StackOverflow, putting this in a class library, etc. are all really bad answers to the question of how to find a square root WITHOUT A COMPUTER. 🤣
And how often do you need to do tasks for your job without a computer? Just because an interviewer asks a silly question doesn’t mean you need to play the game. They aren’t hiring you to do math on a whiteboard. They are hiring you to write code.
I said: "I don't know butt", i don't know why but they say me that's not appropriate
unfortunately in reality, not all interviewers are skill-full enough to handle and judge the candidates appropriately, so in most cases you have to memorize every tricks and fight to get the position
There is truth in what you say. The question is, do you want to work for a manager that is that poor of a manager?
I am getting murdered on technical interviews! Call me Mr Rejected!
Yeah, they can be really hard.
18 minutes long and no mention of grinding leetcode? Most important preparation for many higher tier tech companies
Nope, no mention of it because it is falling out of favor. Plus, the benefits of doing so will only possibly benefit you in a few specific interviews. I'm trying to maximize your potential success. The answers I give here will allow you to get past some of the answers that "leetcode grinding" might help you "solve" (usually poorly).
@@IAmTimCorey Most of the known tech companies are using leetcode with no signs of slowing~ sure some "IT department" from like a bank or similar might not ask but then they're also the ones more likely to be picky of having experience in a particular framework.
Prep will cover lower tier tech companies like IBM all up to the top ones like Google and it is equally useful for all since the same patterns will be relevant in all the interviews
Interview is hard, even harder if isn't in your mother language
I am sure it is.
Too many people chasing too few jobs. The only thing that makes interviewers acts this way is just too much competition. They can afford to be choosy.
I wouldn't say "too few jobs" - there are lots of unfilled jobs out there. The issue is definitely the number of people that apply for jobs that aren't qualified. That leads to a filtering process that can easily filter out good developers. What makes it worse is when good developers don't actually show off their skills well in their resume and portfolio. For instance, when they don't tailor their resume to the job, so there aren't many keyword matches. Or when their portfolio doesn't have anything that relates to what they will be doing.
@@IAmTimCorey You and I will have to agree to disagree on this. I think that other responses here lend credence to what I am saying. "qualified" is a tricky word since the New York Yankees professional baseball team lamented over finding a "qualified" applicant to replace Hall of Famer Derek Jeter. As others have said, companies seem to have similar standards to the Yankees in that their requirements are so high.
Anyway, we can agree that you do a great job with your videos. I really appreciate them. Thanks!
I appreciate your content. but I wonder why you need such an introduction...
It is a podcast. That's a standard intro.
Write a the code for a palindrome…you have 2 minutes. 1 minute in, you have not written anything..are you googling stuff?