How to Prepare for A Technical Interview with GitHub Copilot

Technical interviews can be nerve-wracking. Especially if you aren't sure, you know everything there is to know about the technical component of the position you're applying for. However, with the recent release of GitHub Copilot, an AI-powered code assistant, preparing for the interview process has become more streamlined and efficient thanks in-part to the use of AI pair programming.

This article will provide tips on how to harness GitHub Copilot to help prepare for technical interviews. While it is not advised to activate GitHub Copilot during the interview itself, harnessing Copilot as an AI pair programmer to increase your skill and confidence may help solidify your next role at your potential future employer.

Understanding GitHub Copilot

Before we begin the preparation process, it is important to understand what GitHub Copilot is and how it operates. GitHub Copilot analyzes your code and makes suggestions depending on the context of your code using deep learning algorithms. Based on your existing code, it can recommend functions, classes, and even entire code blocks. It accomplishes this by learning from a massive amount of open-source code on GitHub and then making suggestions based on that knowledge.

This is where GitHub Copilot and AI-powered paired programming comes in. As previously stated, technical interviews can be intimidating; but, with proper preparation, you can improve your chances of success.

Here are some steps you can take to prepare for GitHub Copilot technical interviews:

Step 1: Familiarize Yourself with the Technology Stack

Before the interview, it's important to learn as much as you can about the technology stack you'll be using. Recruiters and hiring managers are tasked with ensuring the organization they support stays ahead by recruiting creative and knowledgeable talent to complement existing team members. Knowledge surrounding how your prospective future employer uses programming languages, frameworks, and libraries can be crucial to you landing the role. GitHub Copilot can quicken the process of familiarizing yourself with the technology stack used. It can also help you highlight how your experience and creativity would fit in with your future employers' endeavors by helping you navigate the logic of their technology stack.

Step 2: Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills through Practice

Practicing your problem-solving skills is crucial because technical interviews frequently include tackling complex problems. You can utilize GitHub Copilot to produce coding challenges or suggestions depending on the context of a code exercise to prepare for technical interview questions. GitHub Copilot is an excellent tool for learning new programming languages and frameworks, experimenting with different problem-solving strategies, and receiving feedback on the quality of your code. Also, you may utilize GitHub Copilot to generate code snippets and analyze them to acquire a better knowledge of how the code is used in production.

Step 3: Practice Pair Programming

Pair programming is a common technique used in technical interviews, where two developers work together on a coding exercise. Practicing pair programming can help you improve your collaboration and communication skills, which are essential in technical interviews. GitHub Copilot can be used as a virtual pair programming partner, providing suggestions and code snippets to help you work through the exercise. This would also allow you to become more familiar with the technology stack used and how to collaborate with future coworkers on said code.

Preparing for technical interviews can be stressful, but with GitHub Copilot, the process can become more manageable. By familiarizing yourself with the tool and practicing coding challenges, you can better prepare for your next interview. With these steps, you can increase your chances of success during the technical interview process.