Tech Prep - Review Your Projects

When I put my foot forward and begin to apply for jobs, the rejection wasn’t what I feared most. It was actually getting an interview. That may seem odd but to me, I expected interviews where solving Leetcode level problems were only the beginning. I expected the interviews to be hordes of people judging my code and criticizing what I did wrong.

It was not like that.

They simply wanted to talk about my projects. I was confused because the horror stories I’ve read all began and ended with Leetcode. When I begin to talk about the previous projects I had done, I had stumbled. My pre-interview prep was mostly spent on trying to solve difficult coding challenges.

And that is where I went wrong. Sure, a lot of companies will having those marathon type coding challenges to prove you are worthy but a lot more simply want to gage your experience.

They asked, me about,

“The challenges I faced building the project?”

“What framework I used and what were some of the components that helped you build your project?”

“Why I chose this method over that one?”

And I could only speak vaguely about my projects because I hadn’t looked at them in a while. I vowed to never be that unaware about my own projects and begin to review them in detail.

Here is what I learned:

1. Try to determine what your most difficult problem was in this project

• Your potential employer doesn’t want to know how you react when things are going great. Because most people would assume you would be happy. They want to know how you deal with adversity. They want to know how you dealt with a difficult situation and what you did to overcome it.

2. Know the ends and outs of your projects

• Anything that you put on your resume or portfolio is free to discuss. Make sure you know those skills. For example, I had used React for my projects. They wanted to know if I knew what useState was. They want to know if I knew useEffect and what it meant to lift state up. Employers want to know if you are skilled in the areas you say you are. They want to know you didn’t just copy and paste.

Grinding on Leetcode may seem like the end all be all to your problems but don’t overlook the small things. Review your projects and discuss them with others. You never know what an interview could bring!