How to Talk

After I got my job offer, I have done multiple mock interviews with different people. I guess I miss the feeling of being interviewed, as well as interviewing others. Throughout the interview experiences with others, I have somehow figured out a way of talking with people.

People you know

I love talking with people I know beforehand. It’s ususally a great experience to talk with them, since you know them well and you can avoid saying something stupid but you are unaware of. However, it also very challenging to tell them what they have done wrong in a proper way. I don’t want to be too blunt to talk, but sometimes you have to point those mistakes out. Or they might just stuck on the same place forever, and you cannot just let them to figure out the solution forever.

In my interview preparation, I was told to not ask for hint, which means you cannot solve the problem and thus you won’t get a good impression by your interviewer. It’s totally wrong (or at least I think it’s wrong). Talking is not just expressing your own thought, but more a cooperating interaction. If you don’t know something, then if I know, I could just tell you. This “I don’t want you hint” situation happened quite a lot in mocking interview with people I know, and at some point I have to interrupt and talk it out. To solve this, I d tell my interviewee before the interivew that it’s okay to ask question and hint, and I won’t think that’s a bad thing.

Strangers

I also talk with strangers from Pramp, which is an anonymous mocking interview platform. People tend to be extra-cautious when talking with stranger, and so do I. I would try not to judge people because they have done wrong, but I will praise them greatly if they have solve it.

I also encounter someone who is stuck on part of the problem and cannot solve it by himself. Different from my friends, he would ask for hint directly, since we are in a time limit. Solving the problem is our goal, and there is no reason to hide your weakness. In my opinion, what’s more important is how engaging you participate into the conversation. I remember when I interviewed with a company that the interviewer gave me a really hard problem, and I didn’t manage to solve it even with the help from him. But later I sent him a writeup of me solving it alone, and attached my code for reference. I didn’t expect he would reply me, but just to show the progress I had made. He was amazed and decided to give me a second chance to move on. I am definitely lucky enough to meet an interviewer who is such generous, but I might also do the same thing if I was the interviewer. After this anecdote, I realize interview is nothing else but a normal converation. The other guy will love to see you being engaged, although solving the problem could be a big plus, if you have done it right.