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Holding off from interviewing because you are afraid you aren't ready is just putting an extra hurdle in the way. The only way you will really know is applying,

Holding off from interviewing because you are afraid you aren't ready is just putting an extra hurdle in the way. The only way you will really know is applying, so just do it! Moreover actually doing a real interview can uncover where you are weak more than introspection or mock tests can. Most companies allow re-applying later anyway, and there are plenty of others too.

sharkweek 6y ago
I do agree that most of the time it’s best to just go for it, but I will say... One of my first interviews out of college years ago was at a FAANG company (rhymes with pamazon). I completely embarrassed myself, wasting not only the entire loop’s time but losing a ton of confidence in myself at a young age in my career. The entire experience was embarrassing. Looking back I still have no idea how I ended up even getting invited in for an in-person loop. My advice is to at least honestly assess any job posting’s requirements and compare to your true experience.
- rwnspace 6y ago
  Job posting requirements are generally a poor way to assess the requirements for a job. They're either written by someone non-technical & may be inaccurate, `OR` specify the unicorn candidate. The latter serves to improve the quality of applicants by cutting a good amount of time-wasters, but it also cuts an unfortunate number of valuable self-doubters. Which is why the 'just apply' advice turns up frequently; the people who care enough to ask on forums are probably conscientious and interested enough to be in that latter group, and some will be good value hires - even if they tick only 20% of the boxes at the time of interview. In my limited experience, your attention is better spent sleuthing about on LinkedIn, on the company website, and especially a dev blog if one exists. Getting to know a company is far more instructive and helps with every stage of an application.

sharkweek 6y ago

I do agree that most of the time it’s best to just go for it, but I will say... One of my first interviews out of college years ago was at a FAANG company (rhymes with pamazon). I completely embarrassed myself, wasting not only the entire loop’s time but losing a ton of confidence in myself at a young age in my career. The entire experience was embarrassing. Looking back I still have no idea how I ended up even getting invited in for an in-person loop. My advice is to at least honestly assess any job posting’s requirements and compare to your true experience.

rwnspace 6y ago
Job posting requirements are generally a poor way to assess the requirements for a job. They're either written by someone non-technical & may be inaccurate, `OR` specify the unicorn candidate. The latter serves to improve the quality of applicants by cutting a good amount of time-wasters, but it also cuts an unfortunate number of valuable self-doubters. Which is why the 'just apply' advice turns up frequently; the people who care enough to ask on forums are probably conscientious and interested enough to be in that latter group, and some will be good value hires - even if they tick only 20% of the boxes at the time of interview. In my limited experience, your attention is better spent sleuthing about on LinkedIn, on the company website, and especially a dev blog if one exists. Getting to know a company is far more instructive and helps with every stage of an application.