Interviews

Technical Interview

Coding Interview

System Design

Behavioral Interview

Interviewee Questions

• What does success look like for this position
  • How will I know if I am accomplishing what is expected of me?
• What is the last project you shipped?
  • What was the goal, how long did it take, what were the stumbling blocks, what tools did you use?
• What will my first 90 days in this role look like? First 180 days?
• Who will I report to and how many people report to that person?
  • Do they have regular 1:1 with their team members?
• Why did the last person who quit this team leave? The company?
• If a startup, how long is your runway? How are financial decisions made
• What would be my first project here?
  • Has someone already been working on this or is this in the aspirational stage?
• What is the current state of the data infrastructure?
  • How much work needs to be done on getting the infrastructure and pipeline into shape before we start analyzing that data?

Informational

• How much time do you spend of your day coding?
• How many meetings do you have on your calendar this week or today?
• How do you do project planning?
• What’s the ratio of developers to program managers on your team or in the company?

Insights

• I noticed you’re using X technology or approach, how do you handle shortcoming Y?
• Why did you choose to use X over Y? I know X has benefits A and B but it also has shortcomings C and D

Passion Questions

• I’m very interested in topic X, what opportunities are there to learn about it in the company?
• I’m not familiar with technology or approach X you mentioned, can you tell me more about it or how I can learn more?

Offers

Rejecting an offer

When you reject an offer, leave an open line of communication.

1. Offer an inarguable reason
2. Make it non-offensive

Handling Rejection

1. Thank your recruiter for their time
2. Explain that you’re disappointed but that you understand their position
3. Ask when you can reapply to the company
4. To get feedback you can ask how you can prepare better for future applications

Negotiation

1. Always negotiate
2. Have alternative offers and mention them to the recruiter
3. Ask for a specific extra amount, don’t just ask for more
4. Overshoot. Ask for more than what you want and hope they’ll meet you in the middle
5. Ask for non-salary items
   1. Signing bonus
   2. Relocation bonus
   3. Office setup budget
   4. Equipment budget
   5. Extra time off
   6. Remote work
   7. Bonus
   8. Performance compensation
   9. Equity
6. Do it over the phone if you can, but if that’s not possible or too much stress, use your best medium