6 ms·

Other people are giving good comprehensive advice, so I'll just drop in 2 small points. 1. On any interview question, and especially on coding questions, don't

by lmkg 13y ago

Other people are giving good comprehensive advice, so I'll just drop in 2 small points. 1. On any interview question, and especially on coding questions, don't be afraid to take some time to gather your thoughts. You will feel like you're under the microscope and you're obligated to say something. This is normal. Tamp down that feeling. A composed reply is better than a reply that came two seconds earlier. If necessary, practicing using canned phrases as a stalling technique--just saying "Excellent question! So, you see..." buys you like two not-awkward seconds. 2. In any coding exercise, spend more time talking than coding. You will have a large instinct school that your imperative is to find the correct answer. You must fight this. Your goal is to demonstrate that you can reason clearly, even if you arrive at a different answer than your interviewer. Before starting, explain your high-level approach. Be explicit about any assumptions you're making. Any time you make a decision, no matter how trivial, state that it is a decision and preferably why you did not choose alternatives. 3. There will always be a part of the interview where the interviewer asks if you have questions. Ask a question. It doesn't need to be anything special, just have a few on-hand. My favorite is to ask what the company culture is like, since that's something the interviewer usually doesn't cover.

lumens 13y ago
Seconded on number 3. Interviewers feel that you are more engaged and interested in the opportunity at hand if you're asking questions. Having a few 'set' ones, like ?culture, in your back pocket is good in case you get flummoxed on the spot, but you'll probably get a pretty generic answer from 'tell me about your company culture'. Use your question time to really probe about something important to you. If culture is it, follow a general ask with something specific: "You mentioned that you're a team that likes to 'work smart'. I think that is awesome, as I feel like it's a mindset that tends to be undervalued. Can you tell me more about how you see this play out in practice?"
- andrewaylett 13y ago
  Forget the back pocket: get a notebook, write some questions down and have it open on the table in front of you. Keep a copy of your CV there too, for the inevitable occasion when your interviewer is looking at something that's been mangled by an agency and you want to show them what it's supposed to look like.
nairteashop 13y ago
#3 usually comes up on most "how to interview" guides as something you need to do, and so I used to ask a question just for the sake of it. I figured out late into my career why this is so important and why I always liked candidates who had a ton of questions for me: Top performers usually have many career options and are very picky about the company they're going to join. Asking questions about the company shows that (a) you have other options and are "interviewing" the company for fit and also that (b) you care where you work. These are both very good indicators of a great employee.
- throwaway1979 13y ago
  I'm stumped when 5 interviewers in a row ask that question, and at a company like Google. Given that I have enough friends there that I have some sense of what the culture is like a priori. Asking the same question or variant thereof is painful :(
  - dpritchett 13y ago
    Ask a question about the interviewer's workday! A few years back I asked a stakeholder in a one-on-one interview to describe some of the issues he was hoping I could help with. Soon enough we wound up in his office going over his existing systems while I extemporized some solutions. Got the job, too.
fecak 13y ago
Another note on #3 - if you want the interview to remain positive, asking the interviewer what they like about working there and why they joined the company will pretty much guarantee that things will take a positive turn (unless the person shows signs of regretting their decision). It should also provide some insight into environment, as most in tech have that as a high priority and will immediately talk about their environment if it is positive.
- wikwocket 13y ago
  I have heard that if you can get the interviewer to talk about themself for most of the interview, they will remember the interview going great, because everyone loves talking about themselves. I have not managed this myself though. ;)
  - fecak 13y ago
    That is pretty accurate. Most interviewers won't spend too much time talking about themselves, but asking a question that gives them the opportunity to do so gives you an advantage over interviewees that do not.
- Bartweiss 13y ago
  I've had good luck bonding with interviewers over this approach. Questions like "So what brought you to company X?" and "What do you do in a typical day, what do you like most about that?" create a personal connection to the interviewer, and offer a chance for them to share something more personal than empty generalities about the company. As a bonus, if they can't tell you anything they enjoy about their job you get an early heads up that you might want to run screaming from the place.
xianshou 13y ago
"Excellent question!" to any experienced interviewer means, "I have no clue, but I won't admit it!" I immediately dislike any candidate who does it, and vastly prefer the two seconds of silence. If silence is intolerable, "Hmm" is better and pretty natural for engineers. Further good points: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6063790 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6063790
- skue 13y ago
  > "Excellent question!" to any experienced interviewer means... That's an very broad statement. This phrase can come across as gratuitous or stalling, but it really depends on how you phrase it, the enthusiasm you project, and whether you use it sparingly and appropriately.
wikwocket 13y ago
Always ask intelligent questions! It is worth it to explore the company in the news/on LinkedIn/etc in advance, to be able to ask smart questions. Here are some generic questions you can always ask: - What technology stack/environments do you use? - Do you use any methodologies, like Agile? - Do you do any code reviews, mentoring, training, lunch & learns, etc? - How flat or deep is the organization? What is the org chart/hierarchy like? - Who would I report to? Would I be part of a team? How big? - Would I be mostly working on internal projects, or customer-facing? New, or maintenance? - Will I have lots of freedom to choose projects or do we mostly work from the backlog? The general theme here is to act like you already have the job and are going through orientation so that you can be the best employee ever. This shows that you ar einvested, interested, and proactive.
dominotw 13y ago
'spend more time talking than coding' - I always tell people who I interview to do that before starting to bang out code. I am testing for 'problem solving ability' not raw coding skills.
GrinningFool 13y ago
I typically am more direct re: 1) and it's worked well so far: "Let me give that a bit of thought." Yes, it's followed by silence - but the only person who will be uncomfortable with that is you, if you let yourself be. Personally I'm using that silence to actually think about the question, so there's no discomfort or awkwardness.

by lmkg 13y ago

lumens 13y ago

Seconded on number 3. Interviewers feel that you are more engaged and interested in the opportunity at hand if you're asking questions. Having a few 'set' ones, like ?culture, in your back pocket is good in case you get flummoxed on the spot, but you'll probably get a pretty generic answer from 'tell me about your company culture'. Use your question time to really probe about something important to you. If culture is it, follow a general ask with something specific: "You mentioned that you're a team that likes to 'work smart'. I think that is awesome, as I feel like it's a mindset that tends to be undervalued. Can you tell me more about how you see this play out in practice?"

andrewaylett 13y ago
Forget the back pocket: get a notebook, write some questions down and have it open on the table in front of you. Keep a copy of your CV there too, for the inevitable occasion when your interviewer is looking at something that's been mangled by an agency and you want to show them what it's supposed to look like.

nairteashop 13y ago

#3 usually comes up on most "how to interview" guides as something you need to do, and so I used to ask a question just for the sake of it. I figured out late into my career why this is so important and why I always liked candidates who had a ton of questions for me: Top performers usually have many career options and are very picky about the company they're going to join. Asking questions about the company shows that (a) you have other options and are "interviewing" the company for fit and also that (b) you care where you work. These are both very good indicators of a great employee.

throwaway1979 13y ago
I'm stumped when 5 interviewers in a row ask that question, and at a company like Google. Given that I have enough friends there that I have some sense of what the culture is like a priori. Asking the same question or variant thereof is painful :(
- dpritchett 13y ago
  Ask a question about the interviewer's workday! A few years back I asked a stakeholder in a one-on-one interview to describe some of the issues he was hoping I could help with. Soon enough we wound up in his office going over his existing systems while I extemporized some solutions. Got the job, too.

fecak 13y ago

Another note on #3 - if you want the interview to remain positive, asking the interviewer what they like about working there and why they joined the company will pretty much guarantee that things will take a positive turn (unless the person shows signs of regretting their decision). It should also provide some insight into environment, as most in tech have that as a high priority and will immediately talk about their environment if it is positive.

wikwocket 13y ago
I have heard that if you can get the interviewer to talk about themself for most of the interview, they will remember the interview going great, because everyone loves talking about themselves. I have not managed this myself though. ;)
- fecak 13y ago
  That is pretty accurate. Most interviewers won't spend too much time talking about themselves, but asking a question that gives them the opportunity to do so gives you an advantage over interviewees that do not.
Bartweiss 13y ago
I've had good luck bonding with interviewers over this approach. Questions like "So what brought you to company X?" and "What do you do in a typical day, what do you like most about that?" create a personal connection to the interviewer, and offer a chance for them to share something more personal than empty generalities about the company. As a bonus, if they can't tell you anything they enjoy about their job you get an early heads up that you might want to run screaming from the place.

xianshou 13y ago

"Excellent question!" to any experienced interviewer means, "I have no clue, but I won't admit it!" I immediately dislike any candidate who does it, and vastly prefer the two seconds of silence. If silence is intolerable, "Hmm" is better and pretty natural for engineers. Further good points: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6063790 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6063790

skue 13y ago
> "Excellent question!" to any experienced interviewer means... That's an very broad statement. This phrase can come across as gratuitous or stalling, but it really depends on how you phrase it, the enthusiasm you project, and whether you use it sparingly and appropriately.

wikwocket 13y ago

Always ask intelligent questions! It is worth it to explore the company in the news/on LinkedIn/etc in advance, to be able to ask smart questions. Here are some generic questions you can always ask: - What technology stack/environments do you use? - Do you use any methodologies, like Agile? - Do you do any code reviews, mentoring, training, lunch & learns, etc? - How flat or deep is the organization? What is the org chart/hierarchy like? - Who would I report to? Would I be part of a team? How big? - Would I be mostly working on internal projects, or customer-facing? New, or maintenance? - Will I have lots of freedom to choose projects or do we mostly work from the backlog? The general theme here is to act like you already have the job and are going through orientation so that you can be the best employee ever. This shows that you ar einvested, interested, and proactive.

dominotw 13y ago

'spend more time talking than coding' - I always tell people who I interview to do that before starting to bang out code. I am testing for 'problem solving ability' not raw coding skills.

GrinningFool 13y ago

I typically am more direct re: 1) and it's worked well so far: "Let me give that a bit of thought." Yes, it's followed by silence - but the only person who will be uncomfortable with that is you, if you let yourself be. Personally I'm using that silence to actually think about the question, so there's no discomfort or awkwardness.