Mock Interviews
Technical Interview Prep
Coding Dojo Inc.
Logistics
Agenda
Mock interviews and interview prep: information for students and
instructors, protocol, tips, and common problem points.
Intro for the student
Tips for Students
Tips for Instructors
Content protocol
Logistics
● Students get into groups of 4
● One person in the group starts out as an interviewee.
● The rest of the group acts as a panel of interviewers and takes turn asking
questions
● That person gets to answer as many questions as they can within a 5min period,
at which point they will rotate a new person from the same group into the
interviewee position.
● After each person has been interviewed once, break for feedback. Each person
should get 2min each allotted to hear feedback from the group.
● There should be time for 1-2 more rounds.
Intro for the Students
Don’t Sweat It If You Don’t Know The Answer
● Interviewers will ask progressively more difficult questions until they find one you don’t know the answer
to. They want to see you keep your cool.
● First let the interviewer know that you don’t know the answer. Follow up with something along the lines
of: “if I had to make an educated guess…”, or, “based on what I already know about x, I think the answer
to y might be…”
● As an interviewer, if it is clear to you that the interviewee doesn’t know the answer, let them struggle a
bit, but it’s also ok to ask follow-ups to see if they know some of the foundational concepts behind the
question.
● Answering questions you do know the answer to is easy. Knowing how to deal with questions where you
don’t know the answer is where you will communicate the most your value to a potential employer.
● Ask yourself what do I know that relates to the question.
● If I break the question in to parts, what parts do I know the answer to?
● If I were to ask an instructor or peer for help in this question, what would I ask/.
● What are the resources I use most to answer or research technical questions?
Intro for the student
Roleplay
● You will get the most benefit from this exercise by simulating a real life situation as closely as possible.
● Please do not discuss answers with the group. This breaks down the feeling of pressure and does little
to teach you how to perform
● If you are the one being interviewed, be professional. When you are going to answer a question, or ask
for clarity on a question, ask yourself how you would talk to a stranger who is interviewing you.
● Follow the same general guidelines if you are the one interviewing. Don’t guess at potential answers to
questions. You can help the interviewee by attempting to clarify the question or nudge them in the right
direction.
Intro for the student
Practice with your friends
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Just like everything else in life, you get out what you put in.
More time == more reward.
It’s impossible to improve without practice.
Better to practice now than at a real interview.
Even if, without practice, you might get the job, the more polished you are in your interview, the more
you are worth to the company. Practice may result in a better offer financially, or even a better job
title/role.
Tips for Instructors
● The primary goal of the mock interviews is to teach confidence in the face of the unknown.
● The students will try to steer the conversation toward learning answers to the questions. Don’t let them.
The goal is to teach them how to answer questions they don’t know the answer to.
● Let the students drive the interviews
● Wait to give input until the debrief session
● After each debrief, review with the group some common mistakes you heard during the session
● Don’t single out individuals, but make teaching moments of any mistakes you might have overheard
● Listen for language that communicates lack of confidence
● Watch for body language that does the same
● Encourage/enforce video recording, this will be the single hardest thing to promote and the single most
useful.
● Reiterate points, even if some students present have heard it before
● Be a cheerleader.
● The ultimate endpoint of the sessions should be producing students who feel confident enough to start
applying for jobs right away.
Content Protocol
● When possible, interview questions should be collected from alumni interview experience or other reliable
resources
● Questions should be written on 3x5 index cards, printed vs. handwritten preferred.
● It is acceptable to provide hints and follow-up questions on the index cards, but answers should never be
provided.
● A list of questions can be sent out to students after each session, but students should be encouraged to
practice using questions they find on their own. Glass Door and Quora are great resources.