Five Things I Wish I Knew Before My First Technical Interview

The following all seem like they should be obvious but they definitely were not for me.

Let's cut to the chase:

1) It's ok to smile, and it's ok to just be yourself. Maybe you're more RBF or, like me, you smile way too much because you're so uncomfortable in this type of interview. Take a few deep breaths and let everything flow naturally. This is your interview. And more importantly, it is a conversation. You're simply talking to some new people. That's it.

2) If something bothers you, call it out. Or, as the airport likes to put it, "See something, say something." This one speaks volumes simply because it doesn't necessarily have to relate directly to the coding challenge the interviewer gives you. Rather, it can be something far more situational. I've had a number of interviews where the interviewers wouldn't even bother to turn on their Zoom cameras, even after explicitly telling me that mine had to be on. This lack of accountability on part of the employees irked me. I felt like I was being watched. This one-sided obligation literally put up a wall between me and the interviewers, but being so new to the tech career world, I was far too scared to say anything. Only after the interview ended did I tell a trusted mentor about the incident, who told me that the best thing to do would have been to speak up and say something along the lines of a question. Example: "Oh, is this going to be an audio-only interview?" Boom. Simple, direct, ballsy. Learn it, love it.

3) You will never sound stupid by saying "I don't know". Honesty is king in technical interviews. Ok. That brick just lifted off your shoulders. I felt it. Moving on.

4) You do NOT have to get the job, you only need to get through the interview. Huh!? But Marie, I just finished boot camp/I'm self-taught/I've been unemployed for four months now. I need this job. Any job! I thought exactly this way as well, for many months. I wish there was a way to slap myself because I needed the wakeup call. And look, I know exactly where you're coming from if you're in a tight situation. There is nothing wrong with working extremely hard to be in a much better place than you currently are, and there's nothing wrong with being open to whatever work comes your way. But if you let it fester into desperation, let me tell you for a fact that potential employers can smell desperation from a mile away. I promise you that.

5) For heaven's sake, have fun with it. You might as well, it's your technical interview. Accept that the chances of being given a coding challenge you have no idea how to solve are fair. You might bomb the entire interview, but who cares? What matters is that you go in with a good attitude and give it your very best shot. I used to go into every technical interview high-strung, repeating to myself over and over in my head, "I have to get the job, I have to get the job, I have to get the job." The moment I changed the narrative and started telling myself, "I can't wait to have some fun today," the entire game changed.

So there you have it. Five things I wish I knew going into my first technical interview. It was the best experience, and the worst experience, all wrapped up into one. There is never a "Done" moment. This isn't high school graduation. You don't get an A and a gold star for having a good interview (or maybe you do, if you like rewarding yourself with gold stars). I don't get into that kind of thing simply, I simply believe that with knowledge comes an obligation of maintaining and building upon that knowledge.

The technical interview journey is much less like high school and far more like a merry-go-round. So stop beating yourself up because you couldn't solve three algorithms in thirty minutes. You're so much more than that. You have time.