Every interview is a mix of three things: what you have done, how you think, and how you get along with people. Prepare for all three and the individual round becomes a formality.
The week before: the four things to lock down
- Re-read the job description and pick 5 phrases you can talk about with examples.
- Prepare a 90-second elevator pitch and rehearse it out loud twice.
- Line up 5 stories using the STAR framework (Situation / Task / Action / Result).
- Research the company: latest product, latest funding, latest press release.
Behavioural rounds: the story bank you must own
A story bank is a set of 5 to 7 short stories from your work that show ownership, disagreement, failure, delivery under pressure, and leadership. Almost every behavioural question can be answered by one of them.
- A time you owned an outcome no one else wanted.
- A time you disagreed with a manager and how it resolved.
- A time you missed a deadline and what you changed.
- A time you shipped under pressure.
- A time you led without formal authority.
Technical rounds: preparing without burning out
For engineering interviews, split the last week: 40% coding practice on medium-hard problems, 30% system design, 20% CS fundamentals, 10% mock interview with a friend. Real interviews are 45 minutes; practice at that clock.
System design: the five-step frame
- Clarify requirements and scale.
- Define APIs and data model.
- Sketch the high-level architecture.
- Pick storage and reason about consistency.
- Talk about failure modes and monitoring.
The last 24 hours
Sleep. Print your resume. Test your camera and mic if it is remote. Pick clothes the night before. Arrive or log in 10 minutes early. Water, not coffee, before the round.
Frequently asked questions
How many hours should I prepare for a coding interview?
For a mid-level engineering role, 40–60 hours of focused practice over 3–4 weeks is enough if you already know the language and data structures.
What should I ask the interviewer at the end?
Ask one question about the team, one about the product roadmap, and one about how success is measured in the first 90 days.
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