The Tech Interview Guide Podcast

An anonymous question came in asking whether the person should tell other recruiters that they're waiting for responses from other companies. I like transparency in communication, but how much you share is a personal preference. I was always willing to be open with recruiters as a show of goodwill whenever I had other interviews, offers, etc, to help coordinate things. You always want companies to think that they are your number one choice. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

An anonymous question came in Twitch Chat outlining a long list of programming languages and technologies they learned at a code school / bootcamp, and have not been able to find a job in the year since they graduated. I asked for more context in chat, and offered some general advice. I also asked that they contact me offline (we later connected on LinkedIn) to see if I can help them narrow down where they're having trouble. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A question that I was requested to answer on Quora mentioned that they cancelled an interview and got a very rude response from the recruiter. This is highly unprofesional of them, and I suggest giving the company some feedback. Here are some ideas how to approach this. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

Great question from our Discord community regarding my strong preference to having a demonstration link on your resume for project work. If you develop applications which are not browser-based, it's more difficult to let someone explore what you've built. Here are some suggestions for making demo links for mobile apps, desktop apps, programs that run in a terminal/shell, and APIs, etc.. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A user in Twitch chat asked my opinion on their employment situation. They're not currently paid to be a software developer, but built some software that makes the company more productive. They asked whether I thought they should turn that software into a freelance business where they adapt the software for other similar industry businesses, OR if I thought they should pursue a full-time development job. I weigh a lot of pros and cons and helped them think about some of the legal implications. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

We had an anonymous question come in on Discord from a person who is struggling to understand how to analyze leetcode problems to work out the algorithm type (the "pattern") and/or the data structure to use. They asked whether they can just memorize the syntax of other peoples' answers to fake like they know what they're doing when they get to an interview. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A user on Twitch asked for advice about getting a Master's degree as a full-time program, while wanting to keep their full-time role at the company. Communicating the value that it will bring to them will be very important. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A live chat user on Twitch asked a great question about Data Analysis roles and what I thought of the role. I can't recall the NPR story I listened to a few years ago recarding data analysis and "letting the data tell the story", but I believe it was about census data or something of that nature, and how one awesome lady decided she wasn't going to mold the data to fit a narrative that her public office wanted to tell. Instead, she held firm that they were going to let the data tell the story for them based on the data they had collected. I really wish I could recall the story, it was pretty fascinating. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A question from Twitch chat came in asking my thoughts on why a company would be asking interview candidates to submit a personality test as part of their interview process. While it feels "clinical" to score an applicant based on personality assessments like this, there is SOME value to see how well you fit in on the team since many of these personality tests help gauge "soft skills" and teamwork. Third-party companies who run those personality tests do some pretty interesting correlation in their reports back to the company where you're interviewing to let them know how well you'll work with other people on the team, skill overlaps, and so on. While it's not a replacement for a more humanized interview to see if you'll fit in on the team, it's still a useful tool for companies who are still working out their interview process. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

We had more conversation about the kinds of questions that companies ask, and how other companies tend to (not not always) follow the major tech firms like FAANG companies, often copying their interview process. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A student from Turing.edu asked my advice on how to handle a situation where they were asked to make yet another take-home assignment. The student was tired of making so many one-off projects that get discarded after the interview, and asked for my advice. Communicate with the company with this example message, and see what happens. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

An anonymous question from Discord asked about whether tech industry candidates should be paid for their time to work on take-home assignments. Some companies will not entertain the idea, but there are some out there who could be convinced. If you are an entry level developer, it will be much harder to convince them, but the worst they'll say is "no" so why not ask anyway? -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

Another great question in Disord. This question was asking my perspective, as a hiring manager, whether it was better to be more likeable in an interview, or to have technical skill. There's definitely a balance, but also depends on the role and what you're expected to know. I share a story about my interviews at Yahoo a long time ago (2007, I had to look it up!) -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

Live question from a Twitch user, asking what kinds of projects I like to see on a tech resume. Everything you show on a resume should make it easy and clear what value you bring to my company, whether it's your skills, your background, or your project work. I list three kinds of projects I hope to see on your resume. You can view a sample here https://tig.fyi/resumesample -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

Wait, what?? Yes, you read that correctly -- you CAN (and should) start the negotiation process as early as possible in the interview stages with a company. You can negotiate things right off the top with the company recruiter to flip the script a little. Don't be TOO aggressive with it, but let them know that you understand your value in the industry, and what your expectations are before even starting the interviews. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

Another Twitch streamer (https://twitch.tv/strager) asked in chat whether I'm strict on tech industry resumes being only one page. If I can find value in what you present, a second page CAN be okay, but the most eye-catching details need to be clear, concise, and easy to find, otherwise even a one page resume will not help you. You can view a resume sample at https://tig.fyi/resumesample -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

We had another question in Discord about whether I knew of any FAANG software development roles that were "easier" to get through the interviews than other kinds of roles. My thought is that any team who needs software developers would be using the same interview process and training and screenings, so likely not, but here are my thoughts. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A question from live Twitch chat mentioned that they were getting a certificate from an online program and whether it would look good on a resume. My thought was that training is good, proving the VALUE of that training is better. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

We had an anonymous question logged in Discord asking why technical interviews keep asking about data structures and algorithms that are rarely used on the job. In my own 26-year career, I've only needed to implement recursion twice, and I made one "trie" (aka "prefix tree") one time in a production setting. Yet we're asked to demonstrate these skills over and over in interviews. Simple -- our interview process is flawed, and companies need to do better about asking us to demonstrate the actual, tangible skills we'll use on a daily basis. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs

A user on Twitch claimed they interviewed at a FAANG company and that they were asked a "brain teaser" question about duck-sized horses or a horse-sized duck. While I'm dubious that this actually happened, FAANG company employees are very well trained on how to conduct interviews, and if this question was indeed asked, it was likely meant as an ice-breaker, to start conversation, which some interviewer will do to help alleviate nervousness. -- This episode came from a live-stream event. Drop by any time and ask questions, or message me privately to ask questions anonymously. https://techinterview.guide/streaming Check out all of my free content at https://techinterview.guide and the full archive of videos on YouTube, https://youtube.com/iandouglas . If you'd like to subscribe to an audio-only podcast, check out https://techinterview.guide/podcast for more information. Subscribe to the free Daily Email series -- 6-weeks of hiring perspectives in the tech industry from a manager's point of view, https://tig.fyi/newsletters If you'd like a free resume review, you can submit it here: https://techinterview.guide/resumereview. Private resume reviews are available. We have a growing Discord community where you can ask questions, https://tig.fyi/discord Connect with me on LinkedIn, https://linkedin.com/in/iandouglas736 and use this link to see how my network can benefit your job search: https://tig.fyi/ intros #interviewprep #careers #techishiring #100devs