Python Projects for Beginners a ten-Week Bootcamp Approach to Python Programming

Whiteboarding and Technical Questions

This section is a list of tips that you should consider using during the third stage of the interview process for both whiteboarding and technical questions:

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  Take Your Time
  
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    There’s absolutely no rush to solve a problem. Think through a proper solution first before answering the question. Often, you’ll think of two or three different solutions given time.
    
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  Speak Out Loud
  
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    Always talk through your thought process. It makes the interviewer feel more comfortable so that you’re both not sitting in a quiet room while you think.
    
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    It shows the interviewer your ability to problem-solve.
    
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    Even if you don’t give the correct answer, they can at least understand where you went wrong and offer some guidance.
    
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  Steps > Syntax
  
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    When whiteboarding, you’ll need to write out a function or some lines of code on the board in front of the interviewer. The most important thing to remember is that your thought process is more important than your actual code.
    
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    You can have syntactical bugs on a whiteboard and still pass the interview; however, having an incorrect algorithm or set of steps will cause you to fail.
    
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  Ask Questions
  
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    If you’re unsure, ask questions. It’s perfectly fine to ask questions when trying to solve a problem.
    
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    Keep in mind the questions you ask matter though. There’s a big difference in asking what a sort method does, compared to what type of sort method would you like me to use.
    
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  Algorithmic Complexity
  
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    Always keep in mind the complexity of an algorithm. You’ll generally be asked after you write your code if there is a way to improve the performance of it even further.
    
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    Know the Big O Notation category of the algorithm you just wrote.
    
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    Think about what data types or collections would work best for your scenario.
    
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  Be Honest
  
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    If you don’t know an answer, absolutely do not try and talk your way through it. The interviewer during this stage is a professional developer and can pick apart anything that doesn’t make sense.
    
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    Being honest and saying you’re not sure but are willing to learn the material will always prove to be a better method of answering questions you don’t know how to solve.