Interview Tips Nobody Gave Me as a Junior Developer
I've been on both sides of the interview table now. Did around 50 interviews as a candidate over the years, and now I help interview engineers at my company. The gap between what actually matters and what most candidates focus on is wild.
Here's the stuff I wish someone told me back when I was starting out. Would've saved me a lot of failed interviews and anxiety.
The Coding Round: What We're Actually Looking For
When I'm interviewing someone, I honestly don't care if they get the optimal solution. What I'm looking for:
Do they think before coding?
The best candidates spend 5 minutes understanding the problem before writing anything. The worst start typing immediately.
Can they explain their thinking?
Silent coding is a red flag. I want to hear "I'm trying X because Y. If that doesn't work, I'll try Z."
Do they handle being stuck gracefully?
Everyone gets stuck. Good candidates say "I'm stuck on X, can you give me a hint?" Bad ones panic or pretend they're not stuck.
Do they test their code?
"Okay it's done" without running through a test case = red flag. Walk through your code with an example.
Pro Tip: The First 5 Minutes Matter Most
I've pretty much made up my mind about a candidate in the first 5 minutes. How do they approach the problem? Do they ask clarifying questions? Do they seem organized? This matters more than the final solution.
System Design: How to Not Sound Like a Tutorial Video
So many candidates have clearly watched the same YouTube videos and regurgitate the same memorized answers. "We'll use a load balancer, then Redis for caching, then..." Stop. Please.
What works better:
Start with requirements, not architecture
"Before I dive in, let me clarify - are we optimizing for reads or writes? What's the expected scale?" Shows you think about trade-offs.
Admit what you don't know
"I've used Redis but never at this scale, so I'd want to validate these assumptions with the team." Way better than pretending.
Draw and explain as you go
Don't draw the whole diagram then explain. Draw each component, explain why it's there, then move to the next.
Talk about what could go wrong
"The obvious risk here is single point of failure at X. We could solve that with Y." Proactively addressing issues is impressive.
Behavioral Questions: The Part Most Engineers Hate
I get it. You became an engineer to code, not to talk about "a time when you dealt with conflict." But these questions matter because working with other humans is 50% of the job.
The STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result) works but feels robotic. Here's what I do instead:
The Story Formula
- 1. The Setup (10 seconds) - "I was on a team building X..."
- 2. The Conflict (20 seconds) - "The problem was Y, which was causing Z..."
- 3. What I Did (30 seconds) - Specific actions, not vague stuff
- 4. What Happened (15 seconds) - Actual results, ideally with numbers
- 5. What I Learned (10 seconds) - Brief reflection
Have 3-4 stories ready that you can adapt to different questions. One about conflict, one about a technical challenge, one about leading/mentoring, one about failure/learning.
Using AI Tools in Interviews: My Honest Take
Okay, I'll just say it: I've used AI tools in interviews. Before you judge, hear me out.
Interviews are artificial performance tests. In real work, I Google syntax constantly. I use Copilot. I ask teammates questions. Interviews pretend none of that exists.
Using an AI tool that helps with syntax when I blank out? That feels like correcting an artificial handicap. It's not giving me knowledge I don't have - it's helping me access knowledge I do have under pressure.
What AI Tools Actually Help With
- • Syntax brain freezes (is it .length or .size()?)
- • Edge case reminders (empty array, null inputs)
- • Approach suggestions when stuck
- • Structuring behavioral answers
What they don't help with: understanding concepts, explaining your thinking, answering follow-up questions. You still have to know your stuff.
I use LastRound AI now. 15 free credits monthly for mock interviews and practice sessions. It helps me identify weak areas and practice the small stuff that trips me up under pressure. Not a replacement for prep, but a great way to simulate real interview conditions.
Quick Hits: Random Tips That Helped Me
- Test your setup the day before. Camera, mic, internet, screen share. Nothing worse than technical issues eating into your interview time.
- Have water ready. You'll be talking a lot. Dry mouth makes you sound nervous.
- Write down the interviewer's name. Using it once or twice feels natural and personable.
- If you don't understand a question, ask. "Just to make sure I understand correctly..." is always okay.
- It's okay to take 30 seconds to think. Say "Let me think about that for a moment" so they know you're not frozen.
- Ask questions at the end. "What's the biggest challenge the team is facing?" shows you actually care.
After the Interview
Send a thank you email. Brief, not sycophantic. "Thanks for taking the time. I enjoyed discussing [specific thing]. Looking forward to next steps."
If you don't hear back in a week, one follow-up is fine. More than that is annoying.
If you don't get the job, ask for feedback. Some companies give it, some don't. When they do, it's gold for improving.
Final Thought
Interviews are a skill that's learnable. It's not about being the smartest person in the room. It's about communicating clearly, staying calm under pressure, and showing you can work through problems.
Practice that, have your tools ready, and you'll be fine.
Last updated: January 2025