How To Prepare For A Coding Interview

It is important to note that preparing for a coding interview will have to start months before the interview itself.

When it comes to coding, you will need to have the right experience, you will also have to spend some of your own time building and creating coding projects – and you will need to attempt to find internships too.

Doing all these things will really help you to build your experience and also advance your understanding of coding and how it works.

When it comes to interviews within the tech industry, then this is something that you will need to prepare for. However, it can be really daunting and really difficult to know where to start.

If this applies to you then fear not, you have come to the right place. Here we are going to go through exactly what we recommend that you do in order to prepare for a coding interview.

First Thing’s First

You need to get your resume in order. This is ultimately your gateway to passing any kind of initial screening process.

It is important that your resume has all the relevant and important information, and does not include information that is not going to be relevant to the coding role that you are applying for.

Here’s the thing, no matter how much we want to deny this, employers will spend merely a few seconds skimming over your resume. This is because of the volume of applicants that will come in for a job in coding.

Also, you should bear in mind that your employment history might be great but you will not know what your employer is looking for.

This is where reviewing the job description for your coding job is especially important. You need to focus on the responsibilities that have been outlined along with the skills and also the qualifications that are required.

When you have reviewed the job description you will then be able to compile a resume that contains all the right information that will make you the perfect candidate to be interviewed.

Your Resume Structure

It is important that you really refine the structure of your resume. You need to make sure that the experience section within your resume comes above all of the other sections.

This section should come above the education section. This is so that when an employer skims over your resume your experience stands out above everything else, and this is key for working in coding.

You should also consider adding a project section to your resume, especially if you are a college student or if you are a recent graduate.

You really need to take some time and consideration before you create your projects section – this is because a lot of people will make the mistake of including projects that are either small or just not very impressive.

It is important to prioritise quality over quantity here, so include the projects that are really impressive and that show off your coding skills.

You need to outline the successes of your projects and also any improvements that you would consider making to these projects.

You need to outline as much as you can about these bprojects, the good and the bad. You need to discuss any problems that you encountered and also how you solved them, and how long it took you to resolve these problems. 

Talk About Programming Languages In Your Resume

It is really important that you spend some time not only learning, but talking about different programming languages that you know how to use within your resume.

Here’s the thing, you do only need one programming language to be able to clear any coding round of interviews, but when it comes to an in-person interview it will be really impressive for you to talk about all of the different coding languages that you know.

The longer the time frame that you have spent coding then the longer the time that you will have built things for. In this time you will inevitably have learned a lot of different coding languages.

So, if you are someone who is too committed to and too focused on one particular coding program then this might end up causing you problems as interviewers won’t view you as a skilled coder. 

The difference between being a coder and being a skilled coder is being able to adapt to a variety of different coding languages. This will make you the perfect candidate for dealing with problems, and for being flexible and for being able to learn and adapt to new softwares.

Standing Out In The Application Process

You will find that in the coding interview process that a lot of the processes are made up of the same components.

You should find that your interview process will generally involve coding with a focus upon data structures and algorithms and this should be the biggest part of the interview process, you will also encounter object-oriented design and also system design.

You may also encounter a behavioral interview and also your knowledge on key subjects might also be tested.

In your coding round you will find that interviewers will assess you on your performance in elements where your analytical skills are showcased. Naturally, in this element you will be evaluated on your coding skills and you will also be evaluated on your technical skills.

In Conclusion

Overall, there are a few different ways that you can make sure that you are as prepared as possible for your coding interview. You can do this by refining your resume and by giving it a solid and organised structure.

You can also do this by pushing your coding knowledge as much as possible, after all, you will want to stand out in the interview process and be a candidate who an employer simply can’t say no to. 

The best way that you can prepare for a coding interview is to build your confidence in yourself and your coding abilities a few months before your coding interview. That’s right, preparation is key here.

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