Software Engineering Interview Checklist : The D-DAY
Reading Time : 5 minutes
Day 25/30.
Disclaimer : I am not claiming that what I write in this post is the absolute truth. This is a culmination of my experience through all the jobs I applied for, and how I learned in the process. Some things worked for me, and may not work for you but you will never know unless you try! 😉
Wow, we are almost nearing the end - both of this checklist and my 30-day challenge. The interview day is undoubtedly one of the most nerve-wracking days in the entire interview process, but it gets better with two things : 1) if you follow the steps in the days leading to the interview properly and 2) if you have given enough interviews to understand the final day is not that big of a deal. If you have not read my posts regarding the rest of the checklist, here you go :
1) Introduction to the checklist
2) Preparation
3) Networking
And then, we reach the D-day - the interview day. Truth be told, I really think that interview days should be kept as chill as possible, you have practiced enough and you are prepared; last minute LeetCode and reviews are only going to increase your nerves. Here is a list of things that help me power through the day, and hope they help you too 🙅🏻♀️:
Make sure to eat something one hour before interview start time🍳
I have no idea if this is scientifically true so you should probably fact-check this : 1) your brain needs energy to think 2) your body needs energy to digest the food you have eaten. The sweet spot I have found for myself is to eat an hour to an hour and a half before the interview so that my body is done processing the food, and then my brain can use the energy to help me during the interview. Sounds about right? However, don’t eat anything too heavy such that you want to sleep right after or even worse, be extremely sleepy during the interview itself. Similarly don’t eat anything too sweet to avoid a sugar-crash during the interview. I avoid any refined carbs such as rice and bread, and try to eat eggs, avocado and whole lot of coffee (of course).
Talk as much as you can 🗣
This is so important and I wish someone had told this to me when I start giving interviews. Thinking in your head is great, thinking out loud is even better. When you are trying to solve an algorithmic question, try to speak-out-loud each step as it happens in your mind. This solves two purposes :
it lets the interviewer know how you solve a problem, which is one of the things that they are trying to test in the interview
it lets the interviewer know as soon as you are going in the wrong direction so they can correct you. The interviewer is on YOUR side - they are spending time, energy and money on interviewing you and want you to succeed - so they will help put you on the right track.
I have personally been in at least two interviews where I didn’t have to code the solution completely because my interviewer was satisfied with my detailed talking-out-loud of my solution.
Ask a lot of questions ⁇
THIS IS SO IMPERATIVE THAT I AM TYPING IT OUT IN CAPS!! The question is intentionally going to be vague more often than not, and a big part of problem solving is making sure you are not assuming something you shouldn’t. Hence, ask a lot of questions, clarify your assumptions and clear any doubts that pop up in your head. As always, no question is a stupid question. You will always feel better once you have asked a question and be on a better track to answering the question.
Not just questions about the problem you are being asked to solve, make sure you have prepared a list of questions to ask the interviewer about themself and the company. This not only shows that you have done your homework before the interview, but also helps you make a decision about whether you really are interested in working at the company.
Talk some more 🗣🗣
In case you missed it the first time before, here is me telling you to go back to point 2 and read it again.
Be honest about what you know and what you don’t 🤷🏻♀️
I can not begin to stress how important this is. There is no harm in accepting what you truly don’t know. Most interviewers will not expect you to know everything there is under the sun about software engineering. So if there is a question put forward to you that you don’t necessarily know about, please be honest about it. Interviewers will usually accommodate, unless it is something so direly linked to the job profile that it can’t be ignored. Similarly for algorithmic questions that you may know very well from a previous LeetCode session, please be honest about that as well. Most interviewers will give you extra brownie points and let you code the solution anyway - win win 😉
Trust your interviewer ✅
Like I mentioned earlier, the interviewers are spending time, energy and money on you. They really want you to succeed and hence, are on your side. Trust them when they give you hints, because they are pushing you in the right direction. The hints might be subtle, so keep yourself on high-alert at all times.
Be on time🔜
For some reason I feel like I have to put this here, but it is pretty self explanatory.
Please.
Be.
On.
Time.
In fact, be ready 5 minutes before time.
Respect your interviewers time and prevent a bad first impression.
I hope these steps help you like they help me! Let me know in the comments below if you have any interview-day rituals. 😉
