At C3.ai, I had the opportunity to participate in growing a team from 5 to 20 people in the span of two years. Through conducting 160+ technical interviews, I was able to learn what areas a candidate can focus on to immediately stand out from others.
<aside> đź’ˇ Everybody interviews candidates differently. Furthermore, the culture/size of a company plays a big role in how an interview might be conducted or reviewed. This nullifies my experience when it comes to interviewing with FAANG-like companies.
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I often wondered, what exactly is the interviewer able to glean out the 60 minutes with me? It is really important to understand the point of technical interviews so you can prepare how to present yourself. Technical interviews are meant to accomplish 4 things. They are, in no particular order:
It is important to note that interviews are often sectioned into introduction, resume review, technical question, and then time for questions. But the above points are evaluated throughout the interview in no particular order.
An often overlooked yet crucial part of technical interviews is the ability to talk about yourself in a natural way. It is a bad sign when a candidate starts off an interview with an elevator pitch. Elevator pitches should be reserved for when you quite literally only have 60 seconds to introduce yourself. When you have 60 minutes, it is a good idea to put the pitch away and focus on a regular conversation. I much prefer when a candidate is able to naturally hold a conversation.
My advice is to start off the conversation as you would with anybody who decides to give you their time, show appreciation. You can also ask about how their day is going; or if it’s a Monday, how their weekend went. Doing something simple like this already puts you above 50% of the candidates that nervously default to pitches. To be fair, some interviewers dive right into a candidates resume and no room for introductions. Let the interviewer guide the flow and drop any small talk if this is the case.
This is the time to talk about yourself and how you got to where you are today. Be prepared with your experiences fresh in mind. This makes you look organized, which is always table stakes when presenting yourself.
Before diving into your background, it helps to clarify what exactly the interviewer is interested in learning about you. There are particular angles to the resume review that each interview might be more interested in. I personally am always
It is even better when you can relate your experience to the product that the company is selling. When your experience is limited, it’s still good to stay relevant but if not possible then best thing you can do is focus on challenges you faced and overcame.
When the interviewer asks if you have any questions. ALWAYS SAY YES. Not asking questions is a surefire way to put you in the “average” bucket amongst all other candidates. A surprising number of candidates opt-out of this section of the interview. But it really only requires a little bit of preparation and makes a huge positive impact on the impression you leave. Asking questions is prime time to show that you are genuinely interested in the role and are a curious person. Be prepared with questions about the role and the company. Be ready to listen and follow up answers with more questions. Questions help you communicate a few key things without even trying.