survival guide to technical interviews
Hey there, How have you been? I hope you are taking advantage of the winter days to brush up on those developer skills. Today I wanted to talk to you about something you probably hate. Something all…
Dragos Nedelcu
Jan 31, 2023 · 2 MIN READ
- Mental fortitude - when you start interviewing manage your own expectations. You might go weeks working late in the evenings and the weekends without getting much back. Don’t get attached to the outcome. Just keep going. Until you get it. You can also find a community to support you.
- Numbers game - most developers I chat with do around 1 to 2 interview processes per week. That’s fine if you want to land a job in 2024! If you want to get that job sooner than later, you will need around 5 interview processes per week. I am not kidding. Why? Many of those processes will end up without you getting an offer. But Dragos, I don’t have time for so many interviews... Which brings me to the second point…
- Focus - if every week you are interviewing for a different position or technology, no wonder you are failing those interviews. Don't do a frontend interview today, a backend one tomorrow, and a data engineering one the day after. Stick to your specialization! Is much easier to solve 1 problem than 5 at the same time.
- No emotions - learn to move on fast. Don’t fall in love with one company, one team etc. Only if they reciprocate! Bogdan and I like to say, don’t play the hand, play the table. Once the interview is finished or the call is over, move on to the next opportunity. If they come back to you fine, if not you will be already talking to other companies.
- Teach people how to treat you - you will get ghosted and disrespected. When they tell you “we will get back to you” but they never do. And you waste days waiting for an answer, thinking about that opportunity. Time to take back your power. So when they tell you they will get back to you, just say “Cool, when exactly do you think you can get back to me?”. “Could you please do it within the next 3 working days as I am also interviewing with other companies and my situation can change quickly? Thank you”. Say this even if you are not in the process with other companies (which you should be!)
