How to prepare for Technical Interviews

Summary

Mayuko shares her top tips for acing technical interviews, focusing on preparation, practice, and mindset. She emphasizes the importance of studying, including resources like Cracking the Coding Interview and LeetCode, and suggests practicing with a buddy to improve problem-solving articulation. Mayuko also advises tailoring study to specific technologies relevant to the job and highlights the emotional aspect of interview prep, encouraging confidence through preparation and relaxation techniques like power posing. Finally, she reassures viewers that every interview is a learning experience, urging them to seek feedback and stay positive.

Highlights

• Cracking the Coding Interview is a must-have resource for technical interview prep 📘
• LeetCode offers a vast array of practice problems to hone your skills online 💻
• Studying specific technologies shows your expertise and readiness for the role 🤓
• Practicing with a buddy helps improve your thinking-out-loud skills 🗣️
• Remember to breathe, relax, and approach each interview as a chance to learn 🧘‍♀️

Key Takeaways

• Prepare thoroughly using resources like Cracking the Coding Interview and LeetCode 📚
• Study relevant technologies specific to the job you're applying for 🌐
• Practice with a buddy to enhance problem-solving communication 👫
• Stay positive and see each interview as a learning opportunity 🌟
• Power pose to boost your confidence before interviews 💪

Overview

Technical interviews can be daunting, but Mayuko's advice can help pave the way to success. Start by getting familiar with common technical problems using resources like Cracking the Coding Interview and LeetCode. These will refresh your computer science knowledge and allow you to practice solving problems under conditions similar to real interviews.

Once you've brushed up on your technical skills, it's crucial to apply this knowledge to specific job roles, especially if they require expertise in particular technologies or frameworks. By demonstrating your understanding of the necessary tools, you increase your chances of impressing potential employers.

Lastly, don't underestimate the power of preparation and mindset. Working with a friend to practice interviews ensures you can clearly express your thought process. Remember to power pose and stay confident, as each interview is a learning opportunity regardless of the outcome. Seek feedback to improve and maintain a positive attitude throughout the journey.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction and Overview This chapter serves as an introduction and overview of the process of preparing for a technical interview, a key component in software engineering job applications. The speaker, Mayuko, shares insights and strategies to excel in these interviews. The chapter outlines the three main stages of the interview process: the phone screen, the technical phone interview, and the on-site interview. It sets the focus on effective preparation for the technical interview stage.
• 00:30 - 01:00: Study for Technical Interviews The chapter focuses on preparations for technical interviews, highlighting the importance of studying. It covers strategies applicable across various stages of the interview process, both in technical phone interviews and on-site assessments. Although it promises more content in future videos specifically about other interview stages, the current advice aims at enhancing overall interview readiness by specifically focusing on tackling typical technical problems one might face.
• 01:00 - 01:30: Importance of Real-life Problems The chapter discusses the significance of encountering real-life problems during job-related tasks as a measure of true capability in a professional setting. It criticizes companies that do not utilize realistic scenarios, questioning the value of abstract questions like the number of ping-pong balls in an airplane in assessing a candidate's potential. The chapter highlights the purpose of technical interviews in evaluating problem-solving skills while reflecting on brain teaser questions as part of the process. Lastly, it mentions the author's favorite resources for preparing for technical interviews.
• 01:30 - 02:30: Resources for Studying The chapter discusses a highly recommended resource for preparing for technical interviews, specifically the book "Cracking the Coding Interview." This book is described as an essential tool, often compared to a 'Holy Bible' for technical interview preparations. The narrator mentions they have the fifth edition of the book, which is heavily utilized with highlights. The book is valuable as it provides refreshers on key computer science concepts, crucial for anyone aiming to excel in technical interviews.
• 02:30 - 04:00: Specific Technology Study Tips The chapter discusses study tips for specific technologies, particularly for those preparing for technical interviews at major companies like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Microsoft. It emphasizes the importance of practice problems, providing solutions in the book's back section. The book is updated annually to align with the current interview processes of these corporations, and while having the latest edition is beneficial, it is not essential. A link to purchase the book is provided.
• 04:00 - 05:30: Study with a Buddy In the chapter titled 'Study with a Buddy', a tool named LeetCode is discussed as a valuable resource for interview preparation. LeetCode offers thousands of crowdsourced interview questions that users can practice on using an online editor. This feature provides a platform to write code solutions and test them against a set of problems to ensure they work correctly. The questions vary in difficulty, and users have the flexibility to code in their preferred programming language. The tool is recommended to be used alongside resources like 'Cracking the Coding Interview', and its online editor is noted for effectively simulating a technical phone screen environment.
• 05:30 - 06:30: Relax and Confidence Building The chapter titled 'Relax and Confidence Building' discusses strategies for preparing for a job interview, particularly when the role is focused on a specific technology or tech stack. The narrator suggests studying the concepts related to the specific stack mentioned in the job description. They share a personal example: being an iOS engineer, they focus on reviewing core iOS concepts and frameworks such as UIKit to prepare effectively for interviews. The emphasis is on adapting preparation to match the specific technological requirements of the role to enhance confidence and performance during the interview.
• 06:30 - 07:30: Conclusion and Encouragement In the chapter titled 'Conclusion and Encouragement', the speaker advises on preparing for technical interviews, emphasizing the importance of brushing up on relevant technologies like JavaScript and React. They suggest that demonstrating mastery in these areas can position candidates better during interviews. Moreover, the speaker recommends studying with a partner, highlighting this as an essential strategy for interview preparation, which was previously discussed in a Q&A session with Jarvis.

How to prepare for Technical Interviews Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 *keyboard sounds* Hey everyone what's happening? It's Mayuko Today, I'm going to be going over some of my tips and tricks for how to study for the technical interview Which is a typical part of the software engineering interview process. Whether you're interviewing for an internship, or a full-time job, I hope these tips will help you ace your next technical interview so when interviewing for a software engineering job There's usually three stages: the phone screen, the technical phone interview, and the on-site Today, we're going to be focusing on the technical interview
• 00:30 - 01:00 Which is a core part of the technical phone interview and the on-site I might make another video for the other parts But my advice here actually applies pretty generally to all of the stages—so hopefully they help Alright, ready? Here we go! My first tip is to study and this might sound weird or dumb or cliche, but really study for your interview Companies use a technical interview as a part of the standard interview process in order to assess your technical ability Ideally the problems that you encounter in the technical interview
• 01:00 - 01:30 are the types of problems that you would encounter IRL (In real life) at this job because that gives a true measure on how you would do should you work there. And for companies that don't do this. I'm looking at you. What are you really gonna learn from asking someone: How many ping-pong balls fit into an airplane? Now, all of that aside and sometimes Those are the types of questions you might get what you're called brain teaser questions The technical interview is there to assess how you solve problems Anyways here are my favorite resources for studying for technical interviews
• 01:30 - 02:00 the first is cracking the coding interview now I know y'all have heard me talk about this before but cracking the coding interview is basically the Holy Bible of studying for technical interviews. I have my copy right here which is the fifth edition and I wanna say? Yeah, it's the fifth edition and it's it's got all my highlights and stuff in there But this is so useful when it comes to setting for a technical interview it includes refreshers for computer science concepts
• 02:00 - 02:30 and a bunch of practice problems with answers in the back This book is written based on the technical interviews from big companies like Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft A new edition is released every year so that it's always kept up to date That said if you don't get the latest edition, it's not such a big deal but it is cool to see the latest editions of stuff because they're going to reflect What the interview process is like at those companies currently. I'll leave a link to buy the book down in the description box below.
• 02:30 - 03:00 The second tool I use is called LeetCode — it has thousands of crowdsource interview questions that you can work on in an online editor, so it'll give you a problem And then you can code out your solution and it runs it against a bunch of tests so you can see whether your solution works or not The problems vary in difficulty and you can use what programming language that you're most comfortable with I use this hand-in-hand with cracking the coding interview. The fact that it's an online editor really mimics a technical phone screen
• 03:00 - 03:30 and it gets me into the right mindset So my next tip is to study for the specific technology. Now I'm leaving this at like a 1.5, because this may not apply to everyone. If you're interviewing for a role specializing in a specific technology or a stack— And you'll know this by looking at the job description then you're definitely going to want to study the concepts associated to that technology or stack For instance, I'm an iOS engineer and so when I'm studying for interviews I'm brushing up on core iOS concepts and frameworks like UI kit for example my
• 03:30 - 04:00 My friend and web engineer friends will brush up on things like JavaScript and react instead Using this knowledge as part of your technical interview will exemplify your level of mastery with this technology It will give companies a better sense of where you stand in terms of your experience Okay, so my next tip is to study with a buddy This is actually the most important piece of advice that I have for you in studying for a technical interview We mentioned a little bit about this in my Q&A with Jarvis video,
• 04:00 - 04:30 but when companies are giving you a technical interview, They're not as interested in you having the right answer as they are seeing what your thought process is like. "But Mayuko, didn't you just say you needed to brush up on core technical concepts in order to do well in your technical interview?" Well, yeah! But the way that I think about it is that you're better equipped to solve these problems if you have the right tools in hand Those tools in this case are being able to recall computer science concepts and frameworks in order for you to solve your problem well!
• 04:30 - 05:00 Imagine if someone told you to build a table without any tools you're much better off successfully figuring out how to build the table if you have those tools right? So once you have your technical chops back up to snuff from studying then find a buddy to do a mock interview with you they can pretend to be the interviewer and give you the interview problem. you can practice thinking out loud as you would in a real technical interview and the act of doing this will just get you so much more comfortable with articulating your thought process Now, not articulating your thought process in a technical interview is actually where most interviews go awry
• 05:00 - 05:30 If you're not explaining what you're thinking then your interviewer has no chance to course-correct you towards the right direction And they actually don't get very much information or insight into how you solve problems which is exactly what they want to find out in this interview! So, try this out with a buddy and at the end of your mock interview, ask your feedback on what you did well and what you didn't do well. you can take this feedback as ways to improve your next mock interview or for your actual technical interview My last piece of feedback is to relax and you're gonna be just fine
• 05:30 - 06:00 I know that interviews are scary and talking to an interviewer to prove your worth is downright terrifying But know that you are going to own this! If you (1) study and (2) practice with a buddy, then know that you can walk in there with confidence because you've prepared for your technical interview! Do whatever it is that you need to do in order to get yourself amped and ready for this interview! I personally like power posing for two minutes right before my interview
• 06:00 - 06:30 Also remember that everything is a process and so there might be some rockiness along the way Interviews can be really competitive There could only be one spot, but a thousand applicants But know that preparing and going in there and giving it your all is so much better than not trying at all Do or do not there is no try With all things in life remember that each bump in the road is a new lesson that can be learned that you can take with you next time so regardless of the result, I highly recommend you follow up with your interviewer if you can
• 06:30 - 07:00 to ask for feedback on what you can improve on they're usually more than willing to help on this and you can take these lessons with you for your next interview Just remember to take a deep breath and stay positive during your interview. Be polite, inquisitive and thoughtful and you're going to do great! I know that you can do this! So these are my tips for how to study for a technical interview Remember to study and sometimes for specific technologies Practice with the buddy and remember that you're going to do great!
• 07:00 - 07:30 Leave a comment down below for your favorite interview tips and tricks I'd love to hear them Also, if you know of someone who's interviewing for a job right now, then please share this video with them And don't forget to give this video a thumbs up if you liked it and subscribe to my channel for more videos Good luck on your interview, and I'll see you next time. Bye!