5 Most Common Technical Interview Mistakes

I have a large interest in the interviewing process, have conducted interviews for 6+ years, and agree with 4 of the 5 items listed. (The 5th, about rambling to fill dead time, is a valid concern but my experience is that the opposite problem (uninterpretable silence) remains dramatically more common)

I teach as a side-gig, and the advice I give regarding interviews tends to be:

1) Expect problems - humans havent figured out how to assess other well yet, and what little we have figured out isnt well known (most of us are programmers who do interviews, not professional interviewers). We also demand work experience before considering people, dont offer truly entry level positions, and then complain that we have a hard time finding people with work experience.

2) Expect failures in every interview - rare is the interview that isnt pushing to find your boundaries, or that refuses to accept any one mistake. Dont get so rattled you flunk the rest of the interview.

3) Practice saying "I dont know". Make it reflexive so that you can turn it into an advantage and aren't flustered. Take headlines from sites like HN and imagine being asked about it. Being honest about what you dont know is better than bluffing poorly, and dropping hints on what you do know that is related or showing (honest) interest while admitting your ignorance is surprisingly effective.

4) Communicate. This is the advice the author complained about, but they agreed on what I'm trying to say - interviewers need to know what you are thinking at a high level, particularly if you are stuck or going down the wrong path. The goal is not to babble, but to help them evaluate and guide you.

5) Listen. (Most) Everyone wants to find a match and wants you to be that match. They will signal before the interview what the topics will be. Their job postings will signal the topics that will get higher priority. The interviewer will steer you towards their desired answers. But you have to give them the openings to do so and use what you get. That this happens is probably bad - we optimize for skills that are not the most optimum for the job (helpful, but not the most important) but we nonetheless do it, so it makes sense to capitalize.

I may well revise this ever evolving list based on the article. Props to author for having exactly what the headline promised, in a nice clean delivery. Particularly nice and sadly uncommon to see interview advice that isnt delivered in a smug, it-is-obvious-why-are-you-too-dumb-to-see tone.