Grace Hopper Interview Tips
There are too many people asking me this question and I want to share what I think about the interview tips from the perspective of an interviewer.
Be Well Prepared
Now that you took a long flight here at Orlando, Waited after a long line at the booth, and finally talked to the right person, and managed to earn you an interview. What an achievement! Congratulations!
Then you found yourself choked on the most basic questions related to the most simple sorting algorithm and data structure. "I simply forgot what I learn last year", you mumbled... I've seen this a lot at the booth! That 'simply' had just cost you an opportunity!
If you are looking for a software engineer opportunity at any reputable high tech companies, the core knowledge, including data structure, and algorithm are the key elements in the interviews. Be well prepared for technical questions. If you are not ready, don't go in an interview! See if you can re-arrange to a date when you think you will beready.
Pay Attention to The Application Details
Pay attention to application steps and details. Some companies do require you to apply on-line in addition to your submission of a copy of your resume at the booth. If you have not applied on line, even if you are an impressive candidate, you may be skipped!
In addition talking to a technical person at the booth, try to find their hiring recruiter and engage in a small conversation. Usually a recruiter knows more about types of positions they have a huge need for. One company may have a lot of openings for machine learning, some may need more data scientists. If your profile matches their need, it counts more when you hand over your resume to that recruiter for that position. If you do not have your resume handy, it is always better if you customerize your resume more on what they are focusing!
Think Positively
You may be thinking it is the end of the world that you are facing your interviewer and you don't know a thing. Calm down. You are not the only one :-)
Think positively and engage a question-and-answer with the interviewer! Tell them what is blocking you. They would be more than happy to give you a hint and get you going in the interview instead of both sitting idle for the rest of the session! You want to be the one to initiate the engagement instead of being forced to engage. At work, it is you that need to solve a problem leveraging all the resource instead of sitting passively and let the problems get you.
Your positive attitude and your positive thinking could make a big difference! Finally, with all the hint you were given, you may find it becomes easier to crack the questions and it even may end up that you are the only person who had solved the problem for the day!
Be Appreciating
Interview takes just an hour, and you may just think that this isn't much of a deal for a company. But think about similar amount of effort has been made on the other side, and imagine recruiters went over tens of thousands of resumes to dig your resume out, then line up all the engineers, and arrange you for an interview. Never be shy to show your gratitude!
