20 Tips to Prepare for a Software Engineering Interview
Not everyone gets to the interview stage of the job search process, so if you have landed an interview, congratulations. However, as revealed in discussions over at runrex.com, you will need to prepare for your software engineering interview if you want to ace it and get a job offer. This article will look to help you with your preparations by outlining 20 tips to prepare for a software engineering interview.
Start by researching the company
As the gurus over at guttulus.com point out, this is an extremely important step in the interview preparation process and is one you should take seriously. Some people think that just because they are applying for a big and well-known company like Google, Amazon, Apple, or Facebook, then they don’t need to research because they are already familiar with the product. This is not true, however, as you need to walk into your interview with knowledge about the company’s mission, values, and goals. You can do this by going to the company’s website and reading the About Us section.
Research the culture as well
Researching the culture of a company is also just as important. You should be able to talk about the culture and values of an organization during your interview so that recruiters/hiring managers see you as an ideal fit as discussed over at runrex.com.
Why is researching the company important?
According to guttulus.com, you are likely to be asked directly about the company’s mission and possibly about its values in your behavioral interviews. Even if you are not directly asked, you should be adding information about how its values match your own in your responses.
Don’t forget about the company’s products
It is also important that you spend some time researching the company’s products/services and areas of work of the company you are interviewing with so that you know what to expect if you are selected. This will allow you to know the projects the team there is currently working on, the languages and programs they use, and how you can contribute.
Practice for both technical and behavioral questions
Before attending an interview, it is crucial to analyze the types of questions you are most likely to be asked and practice them. In the case of a software engineering interview, the temptation may be to focus only on technical questions but don’t forget about behavioral questions as they too will be asked during your interview. Practice those too.
Types of questions to expect during your interview
It is important to know the types of questions you will be asked so that you can prepare for them. The following tips should help you with that.
Questions about your background
As covered over at runrex.com, you should be prepared to answer questions about your background, experience, past projects, and knowledge. These questions are mostly open-ended and give you a good opportunity to choose what you want to talk about.
Examples of questions about your background
Some examples of questions about your background that you could be asked, as outlined over at guttulus.com, are:
“Tell me about a project you worked on, and what you did or did not enjoy about the project”
“Tell me about what you learned from working on this project”
“Can you talk about some challenges you faced”
“If you did this project again, is there anything you would do differently?”
How to prepare to answer questions about your background
You can talk about software projects that you worked on during internships, work experience placements, or college course work depending on your experience. As discussed over at runrex.com, when speaking about those projects, a great answer would include a description, objectives, stakeholders, and the impact of the project to show that you have a good understanding of the whole development process and not only the technical side of things. Practice answering your questions this way beforehand.
Questions about the company
You are also likely to be asked about the factors that attracted you to the company and to the software engineering role you applied for. This is why, as already mentioned, it is important to do some research about the company in advance and prepare answers to common questions as far as this is concerned.
Examples of questions about the company
Common questions about the company that you are likely to be asked include:
“What interests you about our industry?”
“What made you interested in this company?”
“What do you expect to achieve by working here?”
“What makes you think you would be a good fit for our culture?”
How to prepare to answer questions about the company
According to guttulus.com, knowing already about the software products the company builds can take you a long way. This involves having an understanding of both the product space and the technology stack. Also, be prepared to show that you are a good fit for the company using examples of how you have interacted with other teams before.
General software engineering interview questions
As articulated over at runrex.com, you can also expect technical questions during your interview so you should prepare for them. This means being aware of the principles of software development like operating systems, object-oriented programming, functional programming, test-driven development, continuous integration, design patterns, version control, and so forth. Depending on the nature of the role you go for, networks, databases, or systems basics might also be required.
How to prepare to answer general software engineering interview questions
To prepare for these questions, the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com recommend that you read the job description thoroughly, and prepare yourself to be able to give definitions and speak about the main benefits. Even if you don’t have practical experience, it is good to be able to talk about why they are important and discuss some industry trends.
Problem-solving questions
Finally, this is the part that many candidates preparing for software engineering interviews dread; the problem-solving sessions. These questions are designed to test your problem-solving skills and understanding of data structures, algorithms, and complexity and you must prepare for them.
Practice solving various challenges
Take some time to solve various challenges in preparation for your interview. Use a problem-solving methodology over and over again to become an expert on solving any problem, not just a specific one. Perfect how you approach the problem, strategize, and plan your actions. Make sure that you also resist the urge to rush into writing code first.
Resources to help you practice for your problem-solving session
As is outlined over at runrex.com, the following are a couple of great websites to help you practice:
hackerrank.com
codewars.com
codefights.com
You can also check out the highly-rated book; Cracking the Coding Interview.
Practice your introduction
You should also practice how you will introduce yourself to your interviewers beforehand, something many people tend to overlook but is important according to guttulus.com. Avoid the familiar format of just starting the timeline of your career as your introduction provides you with an opportunity to provide more than your resume. Elaborate about your accomplishments and tech passions.
For example, rather than introducing yourself like this:
I’m a front-end developer for the past 2 years…
Try practicing something like this:
For the past 2 years, I have specialized in front-end development in a healthcare company. I have also built a small side-project that does (…) and I have decided to work with React because it has (…)
Practice your introduction until you are comfortable with it and build up the narrative of who you are and what you do best.
Master the art of interviewing
As discussed over at runrex.com, you should also perform mock interviews with a colleague or friend as part of your prep. For the technical part, practice using the same time limits (say, 30 minutes) and the same medium (for example paper and pencil, whiteboard and marker, etc.) as your upcoming interview. Also, use Pramp to practice coding interviews in live video sessions with other job seekers.
On the day of the interview
Make sure you are cool, calm, and collected during the day of your interview. Arrive early to avoid being in a rush. Envision the interview the way you would like it to go to give you confidence beforehand. You can even talk on the phone with a loved one, someone who can make you smile. It will make you more relaxed and warm up your vocal cords for the interview.
Right before the interview
Your preparations should carry on up to the last moment before you walk in for the interview. Right before the interview, give yourself a confidence boost by striking a power pose. Studies have shown that a power pose can boost your confidence and influence how others perceive you. Also, take 3 deep breaths to clear your head and smile to yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you’ve got this.
Hopefully, the above tips will help you prepare better for your next software engineering interview, with more tips and pointers on this topic to be found over at runrex.com and guttulus.com.