Interview Strategies

Interviewing is a skill of its own, separate from solving the problem. This course is the checklist for that skill.

Use it two ways. Read it before an interview so the moves are fresh. Read it again right after, while the interview is still sharp in your memory, and check what you did against it. You get few real interviews, so each one is worth a lot. Use each interview to generate as much feedback for yourself as possible.

What it covers

• Treating each interview as data, and debriefing it within the hour to build the feedback loop.
• Asking the interviewer for information and direction, and why asking raises your score.
• Making your reasoning legible by thinking out loud.
• What is actually graded: disciplined reasoning and clear articulation, more than a finished answer.
• Clarifying and scoping the problem in the first five minutes.
• Structuring behavioral answers with STAR.
• Researching the rubric a company grades against, from Amazon's Leadership Principles to Google's attributes.
• Building rapport and coming across as a future coworker.