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77 lines
3.4 KiB
77 lines
3.4 KiB
---
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id: interviewer-cheatsheet
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title: Cheatsheet (Interviewer)
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---
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This is a straight-to-the-point, distilled list of technical interview Do's and Don'ts **for interviewers**, mainly for algorithmic interviews. Some of these may apply to only phone screens or whiteboard interviews, but most will apply to both. I revise this list before each of my interviews as an interviewer to remind myself of them and eventually internalized all of them to the point I do not have to rely on it anymore.
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**If you are a candidate you probably do not need to know this section well. You may read this to get a better sense of what an interviewer is supposed to do during an interview.**
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#### Legend
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- ✅ = Do
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- ❌ = Don't
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- ⚠️ = Situational
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### Before interview
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| | Things |
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| --- | --- |
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| ✅ | Make sure your surroundings are well-lit. |
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| ✅ | Find a quiet environment with good Internet connection. |
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| ✅ | Ensure webcam and audio are working. Test that your VC app is working well. |
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| ✅ | Prepare two to three questions and be familiar with the different approaches for solving the questions. |
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| ✅ | Familiarize yourself with the coding environment (CoderPad/CodePen). Set up the coding shortcuts, turn on autocompletion, tab spacing, etc. |
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### Introduction
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| | Things |
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| --- | --- |
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| ✅ | Check if candidate wants to use the restroom or take a break. |
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| ✅ | Give an overview of the interview format (introduction, duration, programming languages available, 5 min at the end for Q&A). |
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| ✅ | Do a self-introduction and get the candidate to introduce themselves. |
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| ✅ | Explain to candidate that they do not have to finish all questions and you might interrupt them abruptly. |
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| ❌ | Allow the candidate to spend too long introducing themselves. |
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### Upon delivering the question
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| | Things |
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| --- | --- |
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| ✅ | Ask if the candidate has seen the question before. |
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| ✅ | Give a small example for the question and the desired output. |
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| ✅ | Get the candidate to talk through the solution first before diving into coding. |
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| ✅ | Provide hints where appropriate. |
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| ✅ | If candidate is still stuck after providing hints, provide the solution and move to coding so that you can get coding signals. |
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### During coding
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| | Things |
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| --- | --- |
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| ✅ | If whiteboard interview, stand alongside candidate but also giving them space, instead of being distant, e.g seated down. |
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| ✅ | Take note of all the positive and negative signals. |
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| ❌ | Check the time in an overly-obvious manner. |
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### After coding
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| | Things |
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| --- | --- |
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| ✅ | Ask for candidate to provide test cases and run through the code with them. |
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| ✅ | Point out edge cases candidate missed and ask the candidate to address them. |
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| ✅ | Take note of the duration TC spent on each question to include in the feedback. |
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| ✅ | Ask for time complexity and space analysis. |
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| ✅ | Preserve the code somewhere - take a picture or copy the code out. |
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| ✅ | Stop the candidate when there is 5 minutes left. e.g. ("I'll stop you here and let's go to the next section") |
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### Wrap up
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| | Things |
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| --- | --- |
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| ✅ | Allow candidate to ask questions and answer them to the best of your ability. |
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| ✅ | Thank the candidate and wish them all the best. |
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### Post interview
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| | Things |
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| --- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
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| ✅ | Write feedback as soon as possible to not forget details. |
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