Interview Prep - What should I study and how?
Given my 10 years in the tech industry with 8 years in Android development I have never had to study for algorithm type questions or even system design.
I am planning on looking for a new job here in the next few months and I anticipate that these will be a necessity to learn.
I am a self taught developer where my foundation began with mobile development basically from the start. I do want to learn the lower level languages and concepts but I am also extremely nervous because my retention is horrible!
I have 3 young kids as well which right now in this season also is a stressor with making the time to study.
My question comes down to what should I be studying and what are some ways of studying that are proven to help retain?
![Senior Software Engineer [E5] at Meta company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fmeta.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3Da7a5bcc0-e178-4b5b-b71e-09bf6c6aefae&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
![Entry-Level Software Engineer [L3] at Google company logo](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffirebasestorage.googleapis.com%2Fv0%2Fb%2Ftech-career-growth.appspot.com%2Fo%2Fcompany_logos%252Fgoogle.jpeg%3Falt%3Dmedia%26token%3D780356ef-3efc-4728-9eb4-d909b75bb4a6&w=48&q=75){kind=small}
Discussion
(3 comments)- 0
3 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course HeroI recommend starting with the overall job searching course: [Course] Ace Your Tech Interview And Get A Job As A Software Engineer
Another thing to figure out is what sort of role you want next:
- Early stage startup?
- Big Tech?
- Something in between (scale-up)?
This will influence what you need to study as different companies will ask different types of questions.
In general, I recommend following these basic steps (the job searching course covers all of this in more detail):
- Tidy up your resume: [Course] Get More Interviews: Write A Stellar Resume As A Software Engineer
- Start applying to a bunch of jobs
- Track what interview opportunities you're getting and study accordingly
One interview type that is universal though is behavioral interviews. So if you do want to start some studying now, you should take this: [Course] Master The Behavioral Interview As A Software Engineer
- 13 months agoSenior Software Engineer [OP]Taro Community
I actually have been going through the interview course. 32% of the way finished. I ended up applying for a scale-up Android role for Clubhouse actually. Depending on how far this goes I have to decide if relocating the family is a solid move or if remote is the only option or taking a giant pay cut if remote positions aren't out there.
I did follow the resume course as well!! Thanks for those!
- 03 months agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero
Oh wow Clubhouse - I remember that name from 2021 when they popped off during covid. Best of luck! They have good engineers there.
For each interview, make sure to ask the recruiter (don't be afraid to be a bit aggressive) for details on what the round is like: https://www.jointaro.com/course/ace-your-tech-interview-and-get-a-job-as-a-software-engineer/talk-to-your-recruiter/
Scale-up interviews can be unpredictable as they can weave together aspects of Big Tech interviews and startup interviews. I've generally found for mobile engineers that there will be practical coding type rounds (e.g. build a small Android app live) if the company isn't massive.
