In Your Technical Interview, Please Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

We recently worked with a bright software engineer who was just 24 years old and we connected him with a really hot startup. The initial call went well but when we moved on to the technical screen, it was an immediate rejection. This post will discusses why. When I look back, I'm sorry to say but it was the attitude of this young engineer that killed the deal.?

This was a two year software engineer with a CS degree and his resume was impressive. Very strong GPA from a nice school and throughout his academic career, he had been a leader of various student groups. So, he was not only involved in a lot of extracurricular activities but he was a leader of those groups as well. But going back and looking over his credentials after this interview, I looked at his background in a different light. I saw it as self-absorbed and promotional. I do feel it is important to promote yourself and be your biggest advocate. If done properly, presenting your accomplishments to another party in the proper light can move you along nicely in your career. And on the surface, this young software engineer was doing everything he could to generate some nice momentum for himself. And to be clear, there is nothing wrong with this at all. In fact, it was this approach that got him to the second round with this startup.?

Let's call this engineer, Matthew. The first call was a high level introductory discussion with the company's Head of Engineering. They discussed the org chart and how many were in Engineering as well as Data Science, etc. They talked about how they needed to scale over the next year. So, this obviously went well. The next step, however, was a deep dive with one of the company's engineers. Matthew would be asked a series of technical questions followed by a whiteboard session. Please remember that as a software engineer, the initial call with a company executive is important but no matter how well that call goes, when you you do the technical screen, you're in a brand new setting. In a way, you're back at the starting line.?Matthew felt really good going into the technical interview and we got it on the calendar. After the interview, we checked in with him and this is what he had to say,?

Hey Mark, the interview didn't go very well.?Unfortunately the interviewer received no context at all on who I was prior to starting the meeting and did not even have my resume at hand. So I had to present myself and talk about my background, then we got into live coding a tech challenge. I was not able to complete the challenge in the remaining time and the interviewer had to rush to another meeting.?So I would not call that ideal and things must be pretty hectic over there right now. I did go back later last night and polish up the solution and sent it over to the interviewer.?

This update immediately alarmed me and I did not turn my disappointment towards the company but rather, I looked at Matthew. After reading his note a couple of times, I could not help but see it as an accusation, clear and simple. The words that jumped out at me were?"at all"?and?"even".?By using those words, Matthew was doing his best to emphasize the inconvenience this oversight caused in his technical interview.?He was making a case that his performance would have been better had the company not made this mishap. In a manner of being professionally courteous, I apologized for this happening and I told Matthew I would get him some feedback from the interview. However, in my mind, I already knew that he was going to be declined.?

While I was waiting to hear back from the company, I thought some more about Matthew's email and a series of questions came to my mind. To hedge against what was a likely rejection, was Matthew making a case against the company??Was all of this just an excuse for his inability to perform at their level? Do we, as humans, sometimes set the table this way? We go into any exercise where our performance is under judgment and to counter what will be a rejection, do we critique the setting and yes, blame the other party??Was some of this at play with Matthew???I continued working through the day and late that afternoon, the feedback came in. Here is what I received from the company,?

Hi Mark,?

Yes, we will be passing on Matthew. He was not able to complete our technical screen in the time allotted.?What's interesting is that he sent an email afterwards that appeared quite defensive.?

For your context, the technical interviewer missed my message and did not have his resume or any information on his background. So he asked Matthew to take 5 mins to introduce himself at the beginning of the call. This seems to have really upset him. So, the whole interview started off on shaky ground to begin with.?

Of course, the pandemic has everyone on edge these days and our sense of patience and tolerance is not what it was a couple of years ago. However, I'm sorry but this is on Matthew. True, this interview was to assess his technical abilities but by taking such exception to this minor misunderstanding, Matthew clearly showed the interviewer that he doesn't function very well when things aren't?perfectly aligned. If Matthew got this worked up over having to introduce himself for five minutes then how would he handle the day to day life at a fast moving startup? I'm serious, he got really upset when he realized the interviewer didn't have his resume on hand. As we all know, the daily function as a software engineer at a startup is going to bring a lot more serious moments than this. First impressions mean a lot and it goes without saying that Matthew did not make a good one here.?

And this kind of experience is why I want to make it clear that the table is not always going to be perfectly set for you. For any interview you have with a company, the following can happen,?

1. The interviewer might be late to the call
2. Your resume might not be attached to the calendar invite and you have to provide a short summary of your experience.?
3. The wrong Zoom link can be sent to you and the entire interview needs to be rescheduled.?
4. Someone in HR doesn't tell you that the first call will involve a whiteboard session.?

I could provide a hundred examples of things that could go wrong in your technical interview but trust me when I say to not let it brother you. In fact, here is a phrase to keep in the back of your mind should something operationally go wrong,?

Hey!?Not a problem at all and totally understood! Just let me know when you're ready and I can adjust on my end.?

As they say, please don't sweat the small stuff.?You have walked into an interview but something has gone wrong and things are not starting out as planned. However, this hasn't bothered you one bit. The fact that you are cool, calm and collected will be embedded in the interviewer's mind and will probably be communicated in the feedback to the hiring manager. How about those bonus points??In addition to your technical skills,?your feathers don't easily ruffle and you can function in settings that are unpredictable and less than ideal.?Sounds like a pretty nice supplemental endorsement of your abilities as a software engineer. On the other hand, even if Matthew had crushed the technical screen, there would still be some red flags about him in terms of the feedback and how he processes unexpected events. And they would all be on the personal side which is just as critical as the technical abilities.?

In closing, if you start out an interview and something isn't right, you are entitled to ask for an explanation. I'm not discounting that. If we're going to be judged by another party then we certainly want to make sure the environment is such that we can perform to the best of our abilities. That said, when you are going into an interview,?pull out your lizard skin and be ready to brush off any mishaps that might surface in those first five minutes. Let the misunderstanding roll off like water on a duck's back. Rather than being perceived as the sensitive type who overreacts easily, the company will come away with the impression that the small things don't bother you. They will see you as someone who deals with adversity well. As we can all agree, that is a pretty valuable personal quality to have these days.?

This was a 24 year old software engineer who had a CS degree with a strong GPA. He had already led a number of student and volunteering efforts.?He presented himself as a software engineer that functions in the top 1%. But when something didn't go right in the technical screen, it upset him significantly.?Matthew's claim was that the very fact the interviewer didn't have his resume was the reason he didn't finish the code test. I'm sorry but I just can't buy that. The reality is that sure, he didn't finish the assignment but his emotional reaction to the resume mishap contributed to the company's immediate decision that they should pass on him.?

If something doesn't start out correctly on your technical interview, just say to yourself, "Not a problem, I'm happy to adjust on my end" and then let those words roll out of your mouth and the interviewer will greatly appreciate it.?

Thanks,?

Mark Cunningham

Technical Recruiter

512-699-5719

[email protected]

https://thebiddingnetwork.com

https://markcunningham91.blogspot.com

https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/markhc