How I aced all my interviews? — A fresher’s guide

How I aced all my interviews? — A fresher’s guide

Till date I had the experience of three interviews with varying scenarios that I aced and got the offer!

So let’s get started. Happy learning folks!

Hoping my experiences would definitely throw a light on your interview preparation during this placement season.

Interview 1: My first job interview (August 2019)

Finally the day arrived when I was called at another city in their office for my interview for the position of a Software Developer. Hundreds of fellow interviewees gathered around their office on the D-day morning. The atmosphere was tense and restless, so was I. After waiting for about an hour I was called to a room where both my technical and HR interviews was to be held.

Yes, I was nervous but was determined to speak up and give my best on the spot. There were three interviewers and one of them had a weird disinterested and sarcastic body language and facial expression. I was asked to brief an intro about myself that I readily answered, well everyone prepares that right! But to speak up at that point of time is really challenging trust me.

I was then asked a few technical questions related to Database and Operating Systems which were easy enough. Next up, that weird guy shot me a question with which OS do I use — my answer was MacOS. He backfired my answer asking the latest version of MacOS and it’s release date. I answered about the version and honestly conveyed that I don’t know the exact date about the latter part of the question. Remember to answer honestly and to the point because you can’t outsmart them giving fake answers.

Moving forward, I was asked to write Minesweeper algorithm on a piece of paper. I explained the whole thing in a subtle way without much depth. Next up the HR asked a situational question about an emergency client delivery and emergency with my family at the same moment. This question was really challenging as the HR could imply two plausible perspective of my answer. I again answered honestly that family commitment is more important for me than my client’s on-time delivery. If I’m not available for my family in critical times, I can’t input the same dedication and effort to your organisation.

With this, there were a few more HR questions on ease of night shifts and place of joining. Remember to be optimistic in answering these questions! Finally my first ever interview was done.

Post a month, I got the offer letter via mail and cracked the job!

Interview 2: My second job interview (Sept 2019)

I was interviewing for the position of Software Developer through my college campus. My interview was scheduled at about 10:00 PM, yes at night! Even though it wasn’t my first time facing an interview panel, I had chills down my spine as I heard from my fellow mates throughout the entire day about their rejections in technical round and also that Room no. 7 was simply a rejection panel!

Finally I was called for my tech interview in Room no. 9 and the interviewer was very kind and friendly. He asked me a line or two about me and my hobbies and gave me a plain sheet of paper. Much to my surprise, he gave me just two coding questions — Pascal’s triangle and Fibonacci Series to write on that paper in C language. I was filled with joy seeing those two questions which can be considered as a school-level exercise! Remember to be calm enough and not to make any silly mistakes in a hurry.

Within 2–3 minutes I submitted my paper and was told to wait for the results. Within 15 minutes I was called again, now for my HR interview. The HR was much calm and composed that made the ambience of the room soothing. I readily answered his basic questions with confidence and signed some formalities regarding my place of joining choices.

He also asked about my plans regarding higher studies. Well, honestly this question can be really tricky as the interviewer might address your future education plans as a backdrop for his organisation. My idea would be to not deny the fact completely even if you have such a plan, as me. I answered honestly that I’m looking forward to it but not for a couple of years presently. To which the HR highlighted some benefits of classroom teaching for such aspirants being done in their organisation itself. Isn’t that amazing!

Before ending the interview, he asked me if I had any further questions. Remember to ask something or the other even if you don’t have any queries as such. Your questions will instill a sense to the interviewer that you are truly interested in their company and would be happy to be a part of it. I had asked about DevOps and how the company is transforming for the next-gen demands. Oh snap! It was around 11:30 PM and I had to look afresh till the end.

The next day, I got the offer letter in hand. It was a wonderful moment and I’ll never forget the date — 4th September, 2019.

Interview 3: My third interview for a US based internship (June 2020)

This offer was through LinkedIn Jobs that I applied by sharing my resume for the position of a Technical Writer. An in-mail arrived asking me to book my interview slot that was based on eastern timings that meant almost midnight here in India. I booked my slot and the day arrived, rather the night!

It was 11:40 PM and I had to look fresh and active. Anyway, being a night owl that wasn’t a big deal. There were two interviewers of which one of them was an American. She was the HR and asked a bit about myself. Then she asked me about my strengths and weaknesses. Ah! This particular question is my favourite.

I promptly answered that my answer to both is ‘Multitasking’. Multitasking works as a strength for me managing all my pending chores simultaneously and is currently working in my favour. At the same time, some stuff do require full attention and should be completed before jumping onto next! She was pretty impressed with this and then she switched me over for my tech interview.

The tech interview was pretty easy as I explained some of my projects and my interest in front-end and deep learning concepts. The interviewer also asked me that why am I looking to intern as a Tech writer when I already have an offer for a full-time developer position. My answer was simple — Passion to learn more.

With this my 15 minutes interview on MS Teams came to an end. Received the offer letter the next day and their diverse work culture is amazing!

Always remember, YOU GOT THIS!

Hope this article was of much help. Feel free to contact for any queries or help. Chandrika Deb - Technical Writer - iSmileTechnologies | LinkedIn View Chandrika Deb's profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. Chandrika has 10 jobs listed on…linkedin.com

Thank you!