The Tech Interview Guide Podcast

Do companies follow a script of questions at interviews? I think interviews should be ”conversation, not interrogation”

Some companies have very rigid standards to follow when interviewing people, down to very detailed scoring mechanisms. Other companies have more flexibility and want the interview to be more conversational in tone than just rapid-fire Q&A.

What should you do if you accidentally apply for the wrong role?

A listener submitted an application for the wrong role (they didn't just change their mind). How should you handle this scenario? (hint: as quickly as possible!)

What would you do if you were kept waiting ON PURPOSE at an interview?

Companies expect the utmost respect from us as candidates. What if they don't reciprocate, and treat us in a disrespectful way? How would you handle it, and would you give the company feedback about it?

Can an interviewer determine how trustworthy you are in an interview?

Getting to know someone takes time and leads to trust. But we tell companies we want SHORTER interviews, FEWER interviews. How can they determine trust that we can do the job if they collect less data?

Can interviewers ask fewer questions and get more data? Yes, but at a high cost.

Asking questions that are too complex can raise the anxiety of interview candidates. Questions should be simple and to the point, and hopefully spark some great conversation.

How to answer ”Tell Me About Yourself”, and my daily email series

You can subscribe to my daily email series at https://techinterview.guide/daily-email-series where I explore common technical questions from the mindset of the interviewer. Why are these questions important to us? What are we REALLY asking?

How many golf balls fit in a school bus, and handling ”brain teaser” questions

Big tech companies asked these questions in the 2005-2009 era, and smaller companies followed suit. The questions were unhelpful and dropped, and small companies again followed. What other interview trends will we see from big tech companies?

Companies, if your candidates are spending months preparing for your interviews, you OWE them feedback when they don‘t get an offer

There's nothing more frustatrating as a candidate than to spend months getting ready for technical interviews, and then getting "ghosted" by companies. Actionable feedback is crucial.

How many leetcode problems does it take to change a lightbulb?

Is it worth the time investment to grind hundreds and hundreds of leetcode problems? Or is there a better way? The time you spend is really about quality.

Will any current technologies last the test of time?

When you take a job in the tech industry, you're signing up for life-long learning. There are always going to be new things to learn, and old things to leave behind.