Lessons Learned from A Failed Interview?

It is a failure story mix of my past technical interviews. I hope you will like reading it.

When you face failures in tech interviews, always believe that you did something out of the box (yes, really), are over/under-educated/experienced, or did something inferior for that interview. Believe me; it's just a failure of the interview, not a life failure btw!!! 😊 Actually, failures give us the value of success!

I know what it feels when you face rejection in a face-to-face technical interview or via email of the job you want. But, the challenging part here is finding what went wrong, and you may get confused about it. Failure makes us more robust, and we can take lots of things to learn from it, especially in tech interviews.

Sometimes a job interview has a promising beginning but gradually worsens. A candidate doesn't have the talents listed on their résumé or cover letter. The hiring manager can lose interest. Excessive fidgeting, insulting your supervisor, or avoiding inquiries are other deal-breakers.

However, there are several things I learned from a failed technical interview. Here are the top points you should note before you go for any technical interview.

Basics Basics Basics: Its Blood of The Code

During the technical interview at a firm, I was asked the basic questions that are fundamentals of being a DEV! Like components of an essential website, how to make it responsive, what's good about react, What CSS is, the benefit of the array, and more. A good amount of people failed here, including me was failed one time. So, I learned that preparing basics is the first key to cracking a junior-level technical interview.

Know What's Under the Hood

Before appearing in any technical interview, I must say, you must prepare for more profound concepts, connections, and relations. It helps clear technical discussions and will support you with development speed. I learned this from an internship interview failure.

Internships Are Best Teachers

Make the most of your summer vacation/breaks by attending as many internships as possible. You will gain industry experience from it that neither college nor other online courses can provide. Additionally, internships will enhance your communication abilities and teach you how to collaborate with others. Not only this, but it also helps you to crack the next job. As I appeared in the technical round of interviews, I was asked where I did my internship and experience. Believe it or not but internships help a lot to pass interviews.

Examine The Home Assignment Code More Carefully

I devoted far too much time to brush up on JavaScript. I ought to have reviewed my code more thoroughly than I did. Even if I authored it, you still need to check it once a few weeks have passed between the time you wrote it and the interview. I regret not spending more effort on this instead of complex JavaScript problems.

Practice Real-World Javascript Assignments (forget books for some time)

Before the interview, I completed a lot of theoretical work. I now regret not investing more effort or, at the very least, incorporating practical assignments. Use Hackerrank or Code Wars to solve algorithms. Alternately, create standard front-end elements like a sorted list, drop-down menus, pagination, etc.

What Other Things did I learn In a Failed Technical Interview?

• Practice more for the interview. You can interview with a company you don't care about.
• Write down all the questions you were asked immediately after the interview. Rerun the code exercises you were given. Review your actions and consider how they could have been improved.
• Practice answering the questions under time constraints, with a watchful eye while thinking of immediate methods to improve the algorithm, etc.
• Make use of the Pomodoro method. I was able to take my study of data structures and algorithms seriously after learning this technique. I managed to go from answering 50 to 100 questions on Leetcode by staying alert and concentrated.
• You would also need to prepare for the position by studying, depending on the software engineering profession you're applying for. For instance, front-end positions will quiz you on AJAX, the DOM tree, etc., and iOS positions will question you on Swift and Objective C.

Other Non-Tech Things I Learned from The Failed Interview

Authenticity is Key

Being authentic has no downside. Instead of concentrating on trying to be someone the corporation desires, be true to who you are. Most recruiters and employers are astute enough to determine whether or not you would be a decent fit for the spot and whether you would be honestly interested. Moreover, recruiters find the confidence to be an exquisite quality. You must first have trust in yourself before a company trusts your ability. Put the best in the interview without being anxious; that single interview will not decide your whole life.

It's Never Too Late to Get Better

Horrible criticism and learning lessons the hard way. They will help you improve your interviewing skills. So, when you're fortunate enough to get the hiring manager's response and learn why you weren't selected. Take some time to consider how you may better the next time.

Failure is part of success, not a downfall. It means you are trying.

Consistently Seek Input

When I faced failures in interviews, I forgot to ask what went wrong. Here, we make a silly mistake and move forward and face another loss instead of correcting that previous mistake. So, it's better always to ask "QUESTIONS." It may be wise time judge when a hiring manager gives you invaluable tips. But don't get it in your head and keep asking questions.

Don't Make Silly Mistakes

Just think that you are in an interview, have been asked a question about what their company does, and are clueless about it. Well, in this fundamental question, lots of talented people have failed. So it's always good to know what the company does before appearing in any interview.

A Few Wise Words

Regardless of the outcome, any experience is valuable. Instead of feeling dejected, try to learn from those job interviews so you won't make the same mistakes again. I hope this experience will help you learn from my mistakes and prepare better for your following job interview.