College Series: Applying to Companies & Preparing for Interviews
Writing as — Someone who interviewed at various multi-national companies like Google, Amazon, Bloomberg etc.
“Don’t think, just apply.”
I can’t even recall the companies I applied to and the number of online assessments I gave in college. I don’t think if I am the right fit or wrong while applying. Let’s keep that task for the company.
Afraid (Under Confident) To Apply?
IMO, getting rejected after applying is better than not applying at all. What is there to lose? Sometimes unexpected things happen which can define your future.
“Don’t wait, just apply.”
In my previous article in College Series, I talked about how people get afraid before applying. They think they are not ready and want to prepare more. This thought leads to no application at all or a very late application.
As soon as you find a role, just apply. If you feel you are not prepared, just prepare after you get a successful email. Don’t just skip opportunities thinking you are not ready yet. No one is fully ready.
This article is about applying effectively and preparing for the interviews, but in the previous article in College Series, I shared how to find the internships/jobs that lead to these interviews. Finding the role is the first step.
Effective Application
When you find a role, make sure you share the best about yourself. You should highlight your experience even if you don’t have any. Your experience as a student matters as well. Maybe you are in a society or club, add that.
Keep the resume crisp and short of just one page. Use bullets, a simple font style and a black-white template. Remember recruiters don’t have enough time to spend on your resume. The screen resumes in seconds.
So, make sure the content of your resume can successfully portrait who you are. Do not share links of empty GitHub, StackOverflow, LeetCode or other profiles. They won’t help instead waste the time in which the recruiter might have read something else on your resume.
Tackling Online Assessments
When you get an email regarding giving an online assessment, start revising DSA, search for questions previously asked by the company. Practise questions on LeetCode or any other platform and keep track of your time.
“Online Assessments require time management skills before DSA.”
It doesn’t matter if you know the solution or if you could do it, what matters is if you can solve the questions in the defined period. Practise coding and mimicking the same high-pressure situation by running a timer beside you. This will be enough.
Parameters of judgement in OAs are different for every company. Some just focus on running all the test cases. Some focus on code clarity and writing technique or time of completion. To be on the safer side, you should focus on all.
TBH, the result of OAs can’t be predicted. You might pass, even if you did bad or you might fail, even if you did well. But anyhow, you will always learn from them. If you get stuck, later on, you can learn the concept and do better next time.
Knock Down Interviews
Whatever company you try, if you reach the interview stage, you are special. There are thousands of applicants and everyone doesn’t reach the stage where you are. But life get’s tough from here. If it doesn’t, make it.
“Don’t take interviews casually.”
Stop any extra, unnecessary, useless thing going on in life. All that time plus the other free time has to go into interview preparation. Everyone has 24 hours in a day. So, how do select candidates stand out from the rest?
The only difference between a selected and unselected candidate is how well you were prepared before getting the interview email and how well you utilised the time after you got the interview email.
If your dream to get into the company is big enough then you will be easily able to keep every distraction aside. This isolation period is not at all required for people who had prepared in advance. If you are late, then a couple of weeks before the interview must be only for preparation.
Time Management & Planning
While preparing for an interview, you might feel that you have less time. Create a plan for yourself from the current day till the day before your interview. Keep the final day just for the interview and not for any preparation.
“Make a plan for everything.”
Plan when you will wake up, what tasks you have to do like classes, keep a buffer time for any unexpected tasks like assignments, plan when you will practice coding and when you will revise the theory.
It is best to practise coding at the same time as you will code on interview day. IMO, if you practise that, your brain adjusts to perform optimally in that duration. You adjust to thinking fast in that duration.
Usually, revise the theory portion after practising coding. When your brain is tired of thinking logic, you can utilise it to learn the theory. If you feel like watching any interview experience videos, do that at night.
Do not waste your morning on things that do not require the computational ability of your brain. In the plan, add what topics you have to learn or revise on what days and stick to that.
“Do the research.”
Give some time and learn about the interview experience, things commonly asked and any syllabus or list for the interview. You will rarely find the last one but it is still worth searching. Create your plan accordingly.
Take a longer time to create the plan once so that you do not keep on changing it every day. Constant changing will create unnecessary confusion and build stress. Every day you will find something new and you know you have limited time.
There are hundreds of resources available on the internet. If you have explored the resources in past it is good but if you haven’t try to find 1–2 resources and stick to them.
Final Tips & Motivation
Avoid getting confused and wasting time on selecting the right resource to prepare. I have found GeeksForGeeks a good resource for everything. If needed, you can watch some topic-specific videos on YouTube as well.
“Eat & Sleep carefully.”
Your only goal should be to clear the interview and sleep should be a luxury. You can sleep a little more when you are closer to the interview just to keep your mind relaxed. But in the early phase of preparation, long sleep is a waste of time. Avoid foods that make you sleepy during the day.
If you have enough time, you can sleep and eat well. It is not that if you eat and sleep you will fail. My statement is just for people who feel they have less time to prepare for the interview.
“A week’s hard work will not burn you.”
People start with energy and follow the plan but towards the end feel that they got burned and need rest. I think you don’t. But if you feel like it, no one can’t stop you. IMO, it is just that you have started to train your mind and you are feeling tired. You will get used to it and that’s the main reason behind following the plan.
1–2 days before the interview can be chill if you had more time earlier to prepare. Just revise and try to keep your brain charged. Be calm and confident that you can do it. If you lose confidence before the interview you lose half of the battle.
On the interview day, try to relax. I know it is tough to do. Try to give your best and come out of the interview with no regrets. No one can be completely prepared, so act smartly if something is asked out of your domain.
You reached this stage. You are special. You can do it.
“Good Interviews or Bad Interviews, both are always a learning.”
Liked the article? Clap, Follow & Read Other Articles in College Series.
Disclaimer: The goal behind writing these articles is to share my experience and thoughts. Anyone else might have different thoughts and I respect that.
