Here's how you can showcase your technical expertise in an interview.

Know your objective: If you are in a technical interview, the assessment is going to be about your capability to understand a problem and deliver code that works. Stability (functional testing) and scalability (performance testing) of the code are additional factors to consider depending on the level / role you are going to be play. With the introduction of genAI based tools to supplement coding, be ready to showcase your capability to understand, reuse and differentiate your coding decisions vs those autogenerated by a co-pilot/work assistant. Be ready to showcase your coding approach, whether it includes following a design document, functional or technical specification or breaking down problems logically on the go and writing code.

You technical capability can be demonstrated by answering questions and performing the activity you are planning to take responsibility for, in your new role but one of the key hurdles in the interviewer's decision making process is assessing your technical credibility. What they want to know is where have you performed those tasks in the past, hence the portfolio. Have a breakdown of your experience list handing, which clearly calls out what we did in terms of your technical skill application. Most people make the mistake of explaining the problem / need of the task. Focus more on how you completed a task, whether you took additional help when you got stuck, explain the thought process in understanding constraints and targets.

It is important to articulate your thought process. No one is a mind-reader. You might be the best coder, technical expert in your area but if you can't communicate that understanding to others, you will have a challenge. Soft skills include the use of all possible mediums, audio, video, speech, text. Anything goes. A lot of people are effective using pen and paper, others love a whiteboard, while some are geniuses at creating slides and documentation. Do what's necessary to share your ideas, thoughts, challenges, pain and joy of working in your technical domain with others.

Ask for more time to demonstrate your analytical skills. You cannot do justice to showcasing your problem solving capabilities in a 2 minute conversation. So, prepare a script, practice it, be ready to handle questions that make you a bit uncomfortable and most importantly, speak the truth. Once the interviewer has doubts about your responses, its very difficult to recover and gain that confidence. It's okay to say that you need more time to provide a response or another opportunity to demonstrate the required skill. If you don't understand the question, ask for a reference point. One of the key factors of problem solving is showcasing capability to understand the other players point of view. Demonstrate by doing a role play.

Your educational credentials showcase your capability to learn. What the interviewer wants to know if how do you overcome challenges when you don't have all the required skillsets. Learning is not only about attending online courses or collecting certifications. Learning is all about reaching out for help when you need it, and also giving it those in need. Don't assume, ask, talk about it and you will always find someone who has dealt with the situation you will see yourself in. Showcase the capability to continuously evolve as a better person.

People err on the side of asking questions for the sake of it. In technical assessment conversations, asking questions about technology where you should have a foundational knowledge is not always perceived as insightfulness. Rather, discuss an approach that you think is relevant to the role you are going to play. The mantra to adoption and application of emerging technology in your role is going to be a critical factor in your success with the advent of genAI based tools. Know when to ask vs when to showcase that you have a thought process , an approach to the topic, research and find out answers on your own. Show that you have taken some effort to find out on your own before you ask. The intent does matters.