Video Link

Credit to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFOw_m5zNCs by Gergely from Pragmatic Engineer.

Takeaways

00:25 - 1. Recruiter experience is not (always) indicative of the working experience

The Engineers you talk with on the interviews are more representative of the culture.

02:31 - 2. The recruiter is on your side

Recruiters will be your biggest advocates.

• Recruiters are given a number to reach every month so it's in their interest for you to do well.
• You can take advantage from this by asking the reruiter for advice on how to succeed in the interview. You can be honest with them.
  • ask for preparation resources
  • ask for advice on where do people usually struggle in the process
  • have you seen areas where you think it might make sense to focus on

04:55 - 3. Preparation advice for Big Tech interviews

08:00 - 4. Mindset before, during and after the interview

Treat every interview as a learning opportunity. Focus on the learning not the outcome.

• It's not a exam, or a test for you to pass, it's an opportunity to work with several engineers in that company to learn something and solve problems.
• Being curious is the key, when you are stuck, with above mindset, you will natually ask "do you have any idea where I could go" or "do you have any idea on what I might have missed" instead of stressing out. So you are now turning a conversation into more of a curious.

  • when coming into the interview, think "I'm excited to learn" not "I really need to succeed".

• Ask questions during the interview, NOT at the end of the interview.

  • Because interview is not to find a person who can solve the problem, it's to find a person who can communicate, who can team work.

  • By asking questions and talking you give (far) more signals to the interviewers!

  • Before the interview, tell the interviewer that you are super excited to learn

  • After the interview, you can ask the interviewer the same question from them and try to learn what they gonna do. BE CURIOUS!

  • Hiring managers love curious people.

11:53 - 5. Be fully present

Always remember, understand, clarify the question and focus on the question.

having examples (for behavior questions) is good. But don't go on a monologue, reciting these. Have a conversation!

• Make the behavior interview as a conversation, less template answer.
• "Q: talk about what's your thought on testing?" - "A: . BTW, can you tell me how do you do testing, what is your take on testing?" -> Show your curiosity.

16:23 - 6. Interviews are a two-way street

You are also interviewing the company. So, ask questions in this only opportunity for you to gather information. And, be curious!

• Feel free to ask anything honestly. One example Gergely gave is, when Uber at 2017 did not have a good press, someone asked him straight on "is the culture as rotten as it seems and what do you think why are you still here if the culture is like this". To Gergely, this was a fair question, it was honest and it showed the curiosity.

17:31 - 7. The interview experience can represent what a tough day at work is like

18:48 - 8. It's not time wasted: it's experience gained

AT least it was a free mock for following interviews ;)