It has come to a clear understanding of what an interview is all about. An Interview is a procedure of acquiring information from a person by an oral response to an oral inquiry. An interview is more or less a questionnaire process to access credibility.
Some firms or industries make moves towards a technical interview process. It has been discovered that many individuals find it hard to distinguish between an interview and a Technical Interview.
This article, readily compiled by our team of professionals, would provide clarity on what a technical interview is all about and how to get prepare for one.
Table of contents
What Is A Technical Interview?
A Technical interview is an interview that accesses one’s technical ability for a certain role I.e. answering complex questions, brainteasers, and numerical reasoning problems.
An interviewer asks these sorts of questions to get an idea of how candidates approach solving problems and the way they think about different aspects of problem-solving.
Asides from the fact that this interview accesses problem-solving skills, it works great on one’s communication skills and ability to think under pressure.
This interview finds out which individuals can think critically and spontaneously at work.
This kind of interview is usually implemented in industries and research companies when hiring engineers, data analysts, and all other sophisticated jobs that
require an advanced cognitive state.
A Technical Interview can occur in several formats which are:
Online assessment
Some firms make use of an online test of basic knowledge to narrow down a field of applicants. This may happen before or after an initial phone screening.
Phone Interview
This could be a series of questions that are displayed on the phone screen. There may also be a technical component of the interview.
Some companies may have multiple rounds of phone interviews. Clarify the format of the interview ahead of time.
Phone interviews has its own tricks for success. Discover: 30 Phone Interview Tips that Will Help you Get Hired
On-site Interview
What turns out to be technical about this part of the interview is the questions asked based of knowledge about certain technical questions about a problem or task. One may be asked to outline the solution to a problem on a whiteboard or to make a presentation to a team.
Before diving into how one could get prepared for a technical interview, it’s important to know likely technical interview questions that could be most likely asked. Some of these questions are :
1. Describe your major design project in 3 minutes or less.
2. Describe a difficult engineering problem you recently solved.
3. Explain the different losses that occur in a transformer.
4. Procedure to deign the touch interface for a device?
5. Describe the differences between symmetric and asymmetric encryption, and scenarios where one is more appropriate than the other.
6. How does the strength to weight ratio compare for aluminum vs. steel?
7. How does an hybrid vehicle operates?
8. Describe Quick sort.
9. What is your favorite mobile app, and do you have any suggestions for improving it?
10. How would you make a product more biodegradable?
11. Write some pseudo-code to convert a decimal to binary.
12. Can you give an example of when you gained a technical skill and converted it into a practical application?
Some of these questions are the most likely questions that may be asked during a technical interview and one must note each and every one of them.
How To Prepare For A Technical Interview
Preparation for a Technical Interview is really a serious task and requires proper guidance to pull it off, be it a preparation for an Internship or a job. Below is a thorough breakdown on ways one can ace a technical interview effectively.
1. Study for the interview
Getting ready and prepared for a technical interview is very important because one cannot defend a motion or even share an idea backed up with technical facts if no study was made. Companies use the technical interview as a standard interview process to access the individual’s technical ability.
One is required to do some practice for online interviewing skills to perform better in the actual interview. Ideally, the problems one encounters in technical interviews are the requirements involved In the job.
The technical interview spring up mind-stressing questions (brain teasers) that could really demand an open learned mind to unravel. One could use various online resources that will help him or her to practice interview questions over an online interview environment, which could create the confidence needed in an actual interview.
There are several sources and tools that can really help to crack these interviews, e.g. A book (Cracking the coding interview). Leetcode software (relays technical questions that could help one get himself prepared).
2. Study for the specific technology
If the interview is meant for a specific role or technology as stated in the job description, then it’s of great necessity that studies the concepts associated with that technology or stack. It’s a cheat code that already has a clear idea about the field that questions would be most likely thrown from. Then why not settle down and get studying.
The foremost thing that must be done while preparing for an Online Interview is to get familiar with the required technology and equipment for Online Interviews. It will make you feel comfortable with the tech resources during the online interview.
Moreover, it’s a terrible experience when one realizes that his system and devices aren’t properly
functioning, hence you ensure that your computer internet connection works properly and compatible with the software that’ll be used for the online interview.
Meanwhile, you’re also recommended to create a distraction-free environment for the
interview with lighting, etc.
3. Review projects in your resume
Interviewers ask questions a lot about projects done, as stated in the resume provided. It’s important that the purpose of the project was outlined and a clear walk-through on how the project was done.
Don’t bore them with a lot of technical details, only basics will be enough. If they ask, precisely go into the details. You must be thorough in whatever you have written in your resume, as not being able to defend them leaves a terrible impression.
Its a complete failure if what has been terrible stated in the resume cannot be defended. This only shows deceit and incompetence in character.
A great resume would capture and project the right information about you. Discover: How To Write A Professional Resume Summary + Examples
The projects started in a resume is a claim of experience and professionalism, it shows that as an applicant, you have a vast knowledge and understanding about what you do. When this phase is done without fault, it built the chances of success spikes and a sense of trust and confidence in the interviewer’s mind.
4. Dress like a professional
Whether or not your attendance is not in-person, you must dress up as it may be if it were to be a in-person type of interview. So many candidates makes such a mess of themselves by failing to dress properly and this sometimes negatively affects their chances of selection. You can do some research as well on general dress codes for online interviews.
Moreover, you’re required to do well with your body language such as posture, hand movement, etc. and remember one thing that the first impression always counts. Also, make proper eye contact with the interviewer as it will let him know that you’re focusing
on the interview.
5. Listen Carefully and Speak Clearly
In an Online technical Interview, you’re required to listen to the interviewer attentively. Although, if unable to get what the interviewer is saying in one go, you can ask for clarification or can request to repeat it.
Also, you are strongly recommended to not interrupt the interviewer when he is talking, Instead, let him complete his statement first and then ask or say accordingly.
During online interviews, your communication skills represent a major part of your entire personality hence you need to speak clearly & concisely and avoid mumbling or long pauses makes a positive impact.
The ability to ease of talking and listen more during a technical interview specifically is powerful because it grants one the ability to have sound reasoning and think a lot deeper about the question asked before just jumping in with words and blowing the chance of getting an ace in the interview.
6. Organize resume and needed devices on the desk
It becomes so sad when during an interview, there is a request for a certain document and you as a candidate cannot reach out to your documents swiftly because of failure in the organization of files on the desk. This minor factor alone stands the chance of preventing one from passing his or her technical interview.
This interview is a type that makes so much reference to the resume, personal documents, electronic devices, and several gadgets or equipment essential for the technical interview process.
To this context, it’s important that during the interview, all of these things should be organized on the desk for easy reach once needed.
When one can act up so fast and responsive towards every request made by the interviewer, it speaks more about how punctual and focused the individual can be in work if employed.
7. Prepare several questions and relate them properly
Beyond just having the knowledge and technical know-how of things and sound experience in the field, being able to communicate with people professionally is of utmost importance.
Doing things like communicating with colleagues, providing solutions to various technical problems, and arriving at your interview prepared to ask questions can make a big difference.
To better prepare for the conversation, have a few questions you’d like to ask the interviewer ready.
This will likely require additional research on your part. It’s important to review the day-to-day tasks and engagements of the firm or industry, their downsides, challenges, various ongoing events, and takedown questions that arise.
It’s also customary for candidates to hold their questions for the end of the interview, crucial as not to interrupt the interviewer or just throw a question out of the context.
These are a few that one can hang onto to ace a Technical Interview. It’s not usually the toughest for those who take their time to settle down and engage themselves in the practice tests.
Those who are ready to get the tools, books, and gadgets that can help them get prepared are on their way to getting their internship set or dream job.
It’s like a university course, one shouldn’t believe it’s just some pep-talk but should know it’s more or less an Oral examination based on a test of knowledge, confidence, and expertise in a certain field to attain assurance of good service by the firm being applied for.
Conclusion
Coming to the end of this article, laying out the several questions that could be asked and how one could get himself prepared to tackle such questions, Our team has a rest of mind that this should be able to help anyone who is reaching out for an internship position or job in any company they wish to work in. E.g. Google, Facebook, Apple e.t.c.
With all being stated, please do reach back to us if any questions remain unanswered.
References
- Technical Interviews – NorthEasternEdu
- Best tips to prepare for online interview jobs – GeeksforGeeks.org
- Technical Interview – Indeed.com
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