A Short Guide to Technical Interviews at the Build Carolina Apprenticeship
Written by Build Carolina’s Instructional Team with our Apprenticeship Interview Process in mind.
In the technology industry, there's a wide variety of methods for conducting technical interviews when assessing candidates. These range from theoretical discussions focusing on topics like algorithmic complexity, to pair programming exercises or code reviews, to pseudocode exercises on a whiteboard, and even sometimes include a take-home project. Some hiring managers like to use apps like LeetCode to test interviewees' knowledge, and there are lists of typical questions like the "Blind 75". Often, job seekers study for their interviews, and there are even whole courses built to help candidates prepare for technical interviews - some are tailored for interviewing with one specific company!
There are pros and cons to each of those methods. Preparing for every possibility is exhausting and can be a source of stress and anxiety for jobseekers, worried that being under-prepared for a technical interview could cost them the job. In some cases, interview prep methods can feel like "studying to the test", encouraging rote memorization instead of deep understanding. Many of the folks who apply to our apprenticeship have already seen a variety of technical interview styles and perhaps been confused by some. Take a deep breath, applicants! You can rest assured that our interview process won't put you through a gauntlet of obscure trivia questions or hold you to some elite standard on a coding challenge.
When we do technical interviews for the apprenticeship program at Build Carolina, we are looking for one key aspect above all else: we want to see our applicants' abilities to learn and grow. After all, that's what our program is all about. Our technical interview process supports our collaborative, flexible approach to learning, so it's designed to help you feel comfortable so you can show us your best stuff. To that end, we use a standardized set of questions and coding challenges to help reduce interviewer bias so everyone has a fair shot. We don't expect you to know everything! We're not going to ask highly academic questions or hold you to a strict standard of earning some arbitrary rating on a coding challenge.
Instead, we present interviewees with questions that don't have one "right" answer, and a coding challenge that has multiple valid solutions. For this challenge, we allow our candidates to work in whichever language they choose using a simple collaborative coding environment so both interviewer and interviewee can see each others' typing in real time. Then, we talk through the problem together, answering questions and providing clarification as needed. As you work on solving the challenge, you aren't restricted from using reference materials or other tools that you would use in your typical workflow. We want to hear you talk through your coding process. How will your solution work? What are you unsure about? What do you want to look up? What alternatives might there be? All of this helps us to understand your learning process, which is a major factor in determining if you're ready for the apprenticeship program.
We hope this guide has helped you to get a better picture of what to expect from the technical interview for the Build Carolina Apprenticeship. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to follow up with us via email! We look forward to talking with you, and wish you the best of success in your journey here and beyond!
