Read Time: 7.5 minutes

I remember getting ready for my first coding interview.

I called up a good friend

Gave him a list of questions to pick from

And we practiced whiteboard coding for a week

I sucked at it a lot.

I struggled to start solutions.

Got sidetracked on tangents.

And felt like I was screwed in the coding interview.

But I mustered up enough confidence to go on.

I tend to have a "f**k it, let's roll" attitude about things.

Here is how my first interview went:

Interview at Google 2019

I completely fumbled.

Struggled to find solutions.

Long and awkward silences.

Running out of time then switching to personal questions.

I went home and journaled about it. I remember thinking something felt off about the interview. An awkward tension. A bias I couldn't see.

Did not get the job.

_____

I believe humans are inherently biased creatures.

In Dotcom Secrets by Russell Brunson, I remember reading about a study he knew of. At MIT a class of 70 Economics students were told they had a substitute teacher that day.

Every student was handed a short bio about the substitute teacher.

"All the bios praised this teacher’s graduate work in economics and listed various fabulous accomplishments. Then half the bios described the professor as “a very warm person,” while the other half described him as “rather cold.” That was the only difference—one phrase... After the lecture, each student was asked to fill out a survey to see how they liked the teacher. The ones who received the “warm” bio said they loved him. They said he was good-natured, considerate of others, and sociable. The students who received the “cold” bio didn’t like him at all. They said he was self-centered, formal, irritable, and ruthless." - Russell Brunson, Dotcom Secrets

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The Preframe

First impressions matter.

We have all heard it 100 times. I think the importance has gotten diluted. Regardless I went into future interviews armed with this realization.

Interview at a Home Mortage company 2018 - No offer ❌

Interview at Amazon in 2018 - No Offer ❌

Interview at Google in 2019 - No Offer ❌

I have my realization ⬇️

Interview at a startup in 2021 - Offer ✅

Interview at Amazon in 2022 - Offer ✅

I went in to those last two interviews armed with something other than coding skills and I believe it made a world of difference in how the interviews went.

Here is my framework for laying out your pre-frame for coding interviews.

Nail Down Your Backstory

People love a good story

Some of the most influential teacher of all time — Socrates, Aristotle, Isaac Newton, and Jesus Christ.

All taught in anecdotes (stories)

If you can explain who you are with a short story people will empathize and relate much more. Arm yourself with this before you ever step foot in an interview. When somebody asks you a "bit about yourself" just fire it off.

Remember not to dive a recollection of your life:

I did this and then I did this and then I did this and then...

The difference between recollection and a story is the word but:

I did this and then I did this but then I hit an obstacle so then...

I like to use Justin Welsh's system for building a backstory:

• Your problem or challenge
• Internal struggles
• External struggles
• What was your change event
• What was the spark
• Who was your guide
• What was the result

In fact here is a picture of me constructing my backstory. This is straight from Justin Welsh's LinkedIn OS (his story is on the left). If you look in my LinkedIn bio about section you can see the backstory I use for LinkedIn. Tailor the backstory to your needs:

Dress Sharp

Normally I wear blue jeans and have 10 of the same t-shirt I wear every day.

Doesn't matter.

Throw on your sharpest fit. You wanna roll up to the interview baller status.

The best part is when you look good, you usually feel good. This will help keep the energy high for the interview.

Your goal should be to make sure the interviewer remembers the interview.

They are interviewing all day. It can be a drag. My friends who do interviews at Amazon are usually burnt out at lunchtime. They need a pick-me-up.

Up The Energy

Come in and lighten the mood.

The easiest way to do this is with a compliment.

Just keep your compliments appropriate.

Other ways I think work are:

Jokes

Something funny you heard

Common ground

"Nice Batman background. Were you a fan of Edward from Twilight playing Batman?"

In general, seek a Pattern Interrupt.

Anything that breaks the usual:

Hello...

How is your day...

Tell me about yourself...

"University, got a job, seeking new opportunities"...

Let's do the interview...

If you successfully disrupt this you will be remembered, and they will be more likely to lend help for the coding portion.

So let's talk about the coding portion quickly

The Coding Interview

The goal is to keep the interview moving forward. Interviewers are trained to help you when they can. You should help them help you.

Say “I don’t know”

If you don’t know then say so.

When you try to lie your way through the interviewer will know.

Don’t lose respect.

Keep the integrity.

Think Out Loud

The most important skill for the coding portion.

If you don’t think out loud:

They can’t help you

Keep the thoughts coming so they can nudge you in the right direction.

Ask What They Think

Sometimes you are on the wrong path.

If you ask what they think it gives them permission to nudge you.

They aren't going to lie to you.

The worst case is they say "I can't tell you"

_______________________________________

Obviously still practice LeetCode problems.

You still need to know how to code.

But these soft skills make a world of difference in how you are perceived.

And perceptions matter.

If any of you have an interview soon and want some pointers I still offer my free coaching sessions:

https://calendly.com/swdlodonnell/career-guidance

Or just shoot me an email at swdlodonnell@gmail.com.

Or reply to this email.

Either way, I hope you all have a great weekend, and crush your coding interviews.

Thank you for reading to the end. You all are great.

Talk to you next week ✌️