1. Simulate interview training with the same tools and time constraints.

Both Google and Microsoft will let candidates answer programming questions manually on the whiteboard, but usually most candidates are used to using programming tools to write programs on computers. Therefore, during the interview, some candidates left the familiar computer cursor and stood in front of the whiteboard and didn't know how to start. Or they are not used to being watched while programming, which will make them feel nervous and unable to think normally.

In real life, if you want to swim across the English Channel, you can't always practice in the indoor swimming pool. You must throw yourself into the sea, train in the waves and prepare for the interview.

Before the interview, you'd better ask the employer about the interview form and interview questions. If the employer asks you to take the exam in a room and only provides an editor without an assembler, you can practice at home according to this scene. If the recruitment company asks you to answer questions on the whiteboard and will arrange the examiner to supervise, then you can find a software engineer to play the examiner and practice with you. It doesn't matter if the examiner you are looking for is not as experienced as you. They can still help you eliminate the tension caused by making mistakes in front of others, and let you adapt to the interview atmosphere where others stare at you.

If you happen to know me and want me to contact you, then my condition is that you must invite me to dinner: if you are already working, have a Japanese sushi dinner; If you are still a student, you can eat pizza.

Don't worry about small mistakes in the interview.

I have encountered this situation more than once in the interview process: when the candidates know the programming problems, they immediately think of the best scheme, determine the boundary conditions, and then start writing programs. However, in the process of writing, the applicant made some minor mistakes that have nothing to do with the overall situation, such as checking whether the operation sequence is wrong or forgetting to set variables. When I pointed out his mistake, the candidate immediately became very nervous, which affected his normal play in the later links.

In fact, this kind of worry is completely unnecessary. It is normal for a good programmer to make mistakes in programming, just as a violinist occasionally makes mistakes when playing a difficult Bach symphony. The audience of the concert may be aware of these mistakes, but the audience will never regard the excellent violinist as a layman because of such a small mistake.

Even if the candidate completely screws up a programming problem, the interviewer may ask different questions and tolerate the candidate's mistakes on a certain issue. To say the least, even if one interview fails completely, you will have a chance to remedy it in other interviews.

A colleague of mine (technical director of a project) recently interviewed someone. At the beginning of the interview, he felt that there was something wrong with the interviewer's communication style, so he began to act unfriendly. But after the whole interview process, the interviewer proved his ability, and my colleague became the interviewer's staunchest supporter. In the past year, I have never seen this colleague support an interviewer so strongly.

So, don't give up even if the interview doesn't go well.