My First Technical Interview Experience
As a fresh graduate of the Flatiron bootcamp, I have been grinding away at algorithm problems and applying for any junior developer positions I can find. Most of the time I get that automated message that they are moving on from my application. A couple of weeks ago I finally received my first technical interview (yay!).
It was a great feeling not only to get my first one but also because the only way I can get better at interviewing is by actually doing interviews. So even if I don’t end up with the job (the ultimate goal of course), I will get great practice and feedback that I can utilize for future interviews.
Using what I had prepared from previous mock interviews, I researched up on the company, created questions I wanted to ask, and re-studied Leetcode algorithm questions.
BIG TIP: sign up for a free Glassdoor account. They have an interview section for companies and you can get a rough idea of how the interview you are about to have is structured.
Naturally, I was a bit nervous going into my first real technical interview. Luckily, that was actually put to ease by my interviewer. He was a very affable person who created a relaxed environment. While it was an interview, it felt more like a conversation, which I really appreciated. I know not all interviews will be like this, but for my first, it felt good. We covered some pretty standard questions, including my knowledge of what the company does and essentially expressing my soft skills through my coding & non-coding experiences. I felt I was able to answer those questions well and the interviewer seemed to respond well to my answers. After, we moved on to an algorithm problem that was wrapped in the context of an “on-the-job” situation.
A tip I had received from my friend who actually does technical interviews is that this section is key but not because you can actually solve the problem. Of course, solving it is always good, but this question also shows what your thought process is, tests your ability to communicate that thought process and how working with you would be like on the job. So, putting into practice my friend’s tips, before doing any coding, I broke down the problem with my understanding of what was being asked, explained how I was planning to first tackle the problem, and asked some clarification questions. Then as I began typing code, I communicated what I was typing and why. One area that I want to work on is making it feel like more of a collaboration. While I felt I did okay with this by asking questions, especially if I was feeling stuck or developing test cases with him, I definitely think there is room for improvement. After covering multiple cases and my code passing (yay!), since we had a little time left before finishing the interview, he asked me to make the code more dynamic. I was able to do it 50% but then I took the time to ask how else it could be done because I wasn’t so sure myself. We then talked about a recursion implementation, which I understood conceptual but admitted was still working on implementing effectively in practice problems. So, even though I didn’t get the additional questions, I was able to effectively solve the original task asked of me and I did it in a communicated effort (not just silently typing code).
After, in the wrap-up, he asked me if I had any additional questions for him (I had already asked some throughout the interview). Make sure you always have questions here, they want to hear questions from you otherwise it looks like you are uninterested! I asked him a couple of my pre-prepared questions and then thanked him for his time. The next day, I sent him a thank you letter for the interview.
Overall, for my first interview, it was a positive experience! The only negative thing I will say is that both the interviewer and the recruiter mentioned they have a fast turnaround (~48 hours) on whether you move on to the 3–4hr multi-interview. It has now been over two weeks since my interview with no contact or updates regarding my application, even after I sent a follow-up email. I would have rather have been told I was not moving on than feel ghosted. Normally, I would not have been as concerned, but given that both people gave me the same timeline of hearing about whether I moved on, I cannot help but feel in this limbo position, which is unfortunate.
Thanks for taking the time to read about my first interview experience with hopefully many more interviews to come!
The Journey Continues!
