We have more than two decades of experience interviewing and hiring candidates for a variety of different roles in technology, from entry-level software developers to late career changes and principal architects. We’ve even interviewed people for scrum master and product owner roles. Regardless of the job title or the position, here are the top 5 most important things that candidates should prepare ahead of an interview.

1. Expect technical questions. Most people expect at least some techy questions during the interview, but you’d be surprised how many aren’t able to articulate the basics in their field. For example, we might ask a data engineer to describe a star schema data structure. Or we might ask a full stack dev to walk us through how he or she would architect a made-up product, such as a website that sells shoes, to handle unpredictable volume. Or we might ask the basic questions about HTTP methods. It depends on the role we are are hiring for, but our questions are always based on what the candidate presents in his or her resume. Make sure that you can back up your written resume with evidence of your technical experience during the interview.
2. Expect behavioral questions. Every single company hiring software developers wants to place you on a team with other developers. You’ll also have to interact with a scrum master, a product owner, and experts from one or more business units. You have to be good at working with people to understand what they really mean when the provide requirements. To that end, we might ask candidates to describe a time when they had to negotiate some conflict at work. Or we might ask the last time they made a major mistake at work. Sometimes we even ask what is your biggest weakness. The point is to get a sense for how you will act as a teammate. Nobody wants to work with a jerk!
3. Use the STAR method to structure all your answers. It will help you build a narrative about your contributions. STAR means “situation, task, action and result.” It refers to the single best way that candidates package their responses to questions. Why? It makes it really easy for the interviewer to understand what you are talking about, and to ask follow-up questions.
4. Think about your virtual presence, such as your background and outfit. Depending on the role, some companies may want to meet you in person, but almost all tech companies will vet candidates through a Zoom call. This can work to your advantage as a candidate if you know what you are doing. Your background, what you wear, how you appear on the screen, the lighting, any background noise, your coffee — it is all within your control. Too often we see candidates who clearly haven’t taken the time to think through these things, leading to a clunky interview, which distracts from their answers to our questions. Invest the small amount of time it takes to control the environment in which you are sitting for the interview. After all, it counts as non-verbal communication.
5. Show your work. This is the single most important piece of advice. Do NOT share anything proprietary to your current company. But you CAN share a portfolio of your personal work, whether that’s a code repository like GitHub or a working product that you own as a side project. If you are a student, publish your course content online and link to it in your resume. You can also include a link in your follow-up thank-you email to your interviewers. This is a great way to leave a lasting impression as it’s another proof point that you would be a good hire.