During the 1990’s, the tech giant Microsoft lived famously for a signature step in their interview process where they asked the head scratching brain teaser, “Why are manhole covers round?”. The question was asked as a creative problem-solving question aimed at identifying how a person approaches an unexpected obstacle with creative thinking and adaptability.
Of course there is more than one possible answer. Manhole covers are round so that they never fall into the hole they are covering, so that they are easier to relocate by rolling, and so can be easily placed over a round hole without tedious repositioning.
In a similar sense, there is more than one way to crack the coding interview today.
It’s unlikely that a top FANG company in today’s market will decide your fate based on a simple brain teaser, but they are still searching for the same qualities in their interview process. Are you creative? Are you smart? How do you handle a problem that has seemingly infinite (or no) solutions?
The typical interview for a tech company can span the course of several weeks and includes many tiers:
Phone Screen
A typical technical interview will start with an initial phone screen. This is a low intensity conversation. You can expect questions that are behavioral in nature, or perhaps pertain to your work history. The interviewer is likely a recruiter that is feeling out your general experience before sending you on to the next step.
Technical Questions
This next step will be much more technical and will likely include a member or members of your potential team. There might not be any coding involved just yet, but you can expect the interviewer to ask you technical questions that will be relevant to the job at hand. Be prepared to discuss version control, life cycle development, and workflow management. Don’t be unnerved by these questions, trust your experience. If you find that you were unprepared, use this encounter as an opportunity to prepare for your next interview by asking informed questions aimed at learning. The interviewer will respect your honesty and can give you invaluable advice.
Coding Interview
If you make it past this round you can expect another interview that digs into your live problem solving ability. This may be structured using a whiteboard, live coding, or a take home project. This is probably the highest intensity chapter of your interview journey and the time you took to prepare for this round will be fully transparent. You should be able to articulate your thought process during the interview. Do this by dictating your actions as you complete them or vocalize your need to gather your thoughts. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, especially if you are not familiar with the language being used. Remember that this assessment is meant to gauge your problem solving ability and may not require 100% completion. Remember, just like the problem of the manhole cover, there may be more than one correct solution to the problem you are facing. Make sure your solution is creative, but not overly simplified.
Best Fit
If you’ve conquered these challenges then likely your employer will be making their selection based on best fit. They'll do this by scheduling peer interviews or 1:1 interviews with higher ups. Your honesty through the process up to this point will be your greatest weapon.
Be sure to never misrepresent yourself. The real you might be exactly what their team needs! If the company interviewing you finds that you are not the best fit, this isn’t your fault, the perfect role is right around the corner. All you have to do is be prepared to greet it.
The modern engineering interview is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes practice to master the individual chapters of each interview. Outco has helped ~2,600 engineers come closer to an average base salary increase of 37%. Join one of our info sessions to see if our tools can upgrade you skill set and take your interviewing skills to the next level!