The semester is fresh and Berkeley is slowly waking up from its winter stasis. The streets are packed and loud with students looking for a place to party.
The more time I spend in college the further removed I feel from that mindset. I certainly had it as a freshman. As someone who's always preferred a night relaxing with my buddies (or even on my own) than raging, I really wonder why I felt that way. How many of these freshman trying to get into my fraternity's party really want to be here?
I think nobody will need convincing that this comes from the popular image of college life, which we see in movies, TV shows, songs, liquor commercials, etc. At the end of the day watching a raging college party is way more entertaining than seeing a few friends study in the library, even though the latter is probably a more accurate representation.
As is typical for the pop-culture industry, it's also about selling you something: an image. An image which you have to live up to if you want to "do college right", and which you may have to buy a few brand-name liquors and albums to achieve.
First things first. There is nothing wrong with participating in the party culture. Seriously. Tons of people genuinely enjoy it and that's fantastic. If you're one of those people: party on.
Unfortunately, I'm not. While I had a lot of fun pledging my fraternity, my biggest regret in college is forsaking my studies that semester and permanently dropping my GPA 0.5 points. It's closed a lot of doors. I'd wager that a great deal of college students are also not willing participants of the college party culture and are facing an enormous amount of pressure to conform to it.
The irony is that college is about the complete opposite of what the party culture promotes: individual development. Not just academically, but development of every aspect of your persona.
I've found that there are four critical rules to maximizing your time at college: study hard, socialize, be physically healthy, and enjoy life. Do these however you want, but do them.
This is where party culture becomes damaging. Will partying help you be social? Definitely. But what about the rest? Studying? Definitely not. Physically healthy? Hard to say, but given the calorie intake of liquor we'll go with 'probably not'. Enjoyable? Entirely depends on you. If you're like me: not really.
College party culture promotes a lifestyle that is not only not universally enjoyed by those that are pressured to participate, but also damaging to the college experience in general. When I look back at how I've spent my time in college, I value the nights gaming or watching movie with my few, close friends far higher than partying at my fraternity. I've skipped tons of nights on frat row to spend it in San Francisco with my girlfriend and I've never regretted it once.
College is about becoming your own person. Don't let anybody or any body dictate how you should do it.
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Friday, January 10, 2014
How to Interview for an Intership
These past few months I've been interviewing for an internship. For a lot of people, there's nothing special about this. Most of my close friends have done dozens of interviews already, but the experience was brand new to me. In fact, before November I had only ever done 2 interviews in my lifetime: one for Stanford, and one for my part-time job. I found the internship interview process very stressful, likely as a result of having such little experience with it all. You always want to know as much as possible about something you're getting into, but the nature of interviews seems to make this impossible.
This post is for the me of two months ago. Or at least, people like the me of two months ago. I want to share some of the nuggets of wisdom I gained by going through the motions, and ways you can prepare yourself. First off, I could end this post by deferring you to two books: Cracking the Coding Interview and The Google Resume. Both are by the same author, and both are great. If you have the time to make your way through these books, I highly recommend you do. You'll be mega prepared.
Preparation
This step seems obvious, but you should be aware that resumes in the tech biz differ a lot from resumes you've probably made before. Things like work experience are generally weighed less heavily than things like coding projects. Academic achievements are fine, but recruiters are going to be more impressed with your interaction and contributions to the "real world".
One of the main concerns I encountered while perusing interview advice was the impression that you haven't "done" anything, or that you haven't learned enough to be able to offer anything in particular. I have several friends who didn't even try because they thought they were so unqualified that they would just be wasting their time; that their resume would be tossed out immediately.
First off, this is almost definitely false. If you know basic algorithms and data structures (the second programming class I ever took), you're ready to interview. A close friend of mine will be interning for Facebook without a single college project on his resume (his GPA is stellar to be fair). At the very least, there's no harm in trying. Companies aren't like colleges. They won't hold it against you if you apply and get rejected. In fact, you're usually encouraged to try again, as they know you have the potential to grow as a coder.
If you really want to beef up your resume, try to work on something outside of the classroom. There's nothing wrong with putting class projects on your resume (as an intern you aren't expected to have tons of experience), but independent projects usually take precedence. One way to beef up your list is to take a project you've done in school and expand on it in your own time. I've had to program several games throughout my time in college, and it would be pretty simple to go back and add my own features, or implement a GUI, etc.
Another thing you can do is get involved with open source projects. You can find tons of these with a quick Google session, and there are almost always opportunities to contribute for all skill levels. Check out VLC Media Player for a good starting point.
The best thing you can do it think of a project you'll be passionate about and just do it. Not only for your resume, but to enjoy the process and learn as much as you can. I spent 3 intense weeks coding a game idea I had (Tetrocity), and it eventually became a main talking point of a lot of interviews. Even when it wasn't, a lot of the concepts and nuances I had learned in the process of making it came up.
This subreddit was also a great resource for me when I was working out the kinks of my resume. There's a ton of examples and experienced people willing to help out.
This step is not so obvious, but is a harsh reality of the process. I once heard a quote along the lines of "apply for 30, interview for 7, get an offer from 1". The numbers will obviously vary based on your abilities, but the main point is that you need to prepare for rejection. In fact, you need to prepare for a lot of it. I was fortunate enough to get an offer from my favorite company, but I was rejected quite a few times elsewhere. If you aren't ready for it, it can be pretty disheartening.
First things first, a rejection does not always mean you "failed". Sometimes it does, and you should see those as opportunities for improvement, but a lot of the time the decision will simply be out of your control. I've interviewed for positions I didn't have the experience for, done well, and then been rejected because I didn't have the right experience. Oh well. I've been rejected because I wrote a code base that the company didn't take the time to read properly. Oh well.
I'm not saying you shouldn't take responsibility for negative outcomes. I could have made that code base more readable. The point is that rejections aren't the end of the world. They're an opportunity to learn and be better prepared for the next time. Say "oh well", learn from your mistake, and move on.
A direct consequence of all of this is that you need to apply to a lot of companies. A LOT. The competition is fierce and unless you're a rock star you don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket. It doesn't even matter if you aren't really qualified. Just apply anyway.
This is one of those areas that I don't agree with, but it's how things go. The best piece of advice I can give in this regard is to avoid applying online. You're chances are simply much better if you can give your resume directly to a recruiter. If you go to college, attend your info sessions and career fairs. If not, look for events put on by companies and attend them. Try to find connections to the company. If you have a friend who has a friend that works at a company you like, ask to be put in contact. A lot of employees of tech companies are actually rewarded for referring a candidate, so they'll be more than happy to help you out.
If you can't do any of that, it isn't the end of the world. I found and applied to the fantastic company that I will be interning for on an online job listing website. In this case the idea of applying to as many companies as possible is even more important. Your chances are less, so increase your sample size!
There really isn't a faster way to disappoint your interviewer than not knowing what their company does. It's in both your and the company's best interest if you are applying not just because you want a job, but because you find their work particularly interesting. Companies usually have tons of information online, so take the time before an interview to learn as much as possible. This will also help you ask intelligent questions and really get a feel for what the company is like. It's important that you'll be happy there!
I found that there are three main types of interviews: who-you-are, do-you-know, and can-you-do. You'll usually have many interviews per company (anywhere between 3 and 12), and how many of each type you get completely depends on the company. In any case, try to do your best to prepare for each.
Who-you-are interviews (aka "behavioral") are conversations about you as a human being. You'll be asked about your life, background, hobbies, experience, goals, interests, etc ("what kind of software do you like to write?"). These are meant to form a picture of who you are and if you'll fit into the company. There's no better advice for these interviews than to simply be honest. Acting like someone you're not just so the company will like you is only going to hurt everyone in the long run.
Other than that, simply be prepared to talk about everything on your resume (this shouldn't be too hard). Mock interviews are great for this.
Do-you-know interviews are akin to a game of programming trivia. You'll be asked a good deal of relatively factual questions ("what does the Java finalize() method do?"). While a lot of these questions will be 'you either know it or you don't', there's nothing wrong with making an educated guess if you're stumped. Sometimes deducing the correct answer is even more impressive than simply knowing it.
The subject of these questions is pretty dependent on the job qualifications. I've found that a lot of "general" internship programs will include questions about Object Oriented design, and language-specific questions for Python, Java, and C. To best prepare for these, make sure you're very familiar with your favorite language and don't claim to know something you don't on your resume. Brush up on your data structures and algorithms (including implementation features such as Java's HashSet load factor) and know their complexities. Also, pay attention in class!
Can-you-do interviews are harder to prepare for. They usually follow the do-you-know interview and involve you solving a problem on the spot. These questions can range designing an entire program to developing a single algorithm ("how can you check if a player has won a game of tic-tac-toe?"). The best way to prepare for these is to simply practice with as many of them as possible. Check out the two books at the beginning of this post for some great sources of practice problems. I made it my mission 3 months before my first interview to do 2 practice coding questions a day, and it helped immensely. CareerCup is another great source of questions and active discussion. Remember to try and do these with pen and paper or a bare-bones text editor. You won't have Google or Eclipse auto-complete in an interview.
The Interview
My friends seem to vary wildly on how nervous they get for an interview. Some freak out, some don't seem phased at all. I'm certainly closer the freak out side, so I have extensive experience in dealing with nerves.
The first thing you need to do is understand that even if the interview goes terribly, you will still be proud of yourself for trying. It's like getting rejected by your crush. Hey, at least you tried. You can't get an internship if you don't interview, so overcoming your nerves and going through with it is doing yourself a huge favor.
My second piece of advice is go into it with zero expectations. When I was younger I used to try and prepare for every possible outcome of a stressful situation so I could be prepared for anything. This is bad. Don't plan what you're going to say or how you're going to act. This will make it incredibly hard to act naturally and 'lose yourself' in the moment. Just be yourself. You're great!
Something that helped me immensely is to try and connect with your interviewer on a casual level before the technical portion begins. They're people too, and usually incredibly kind and fun to talk to. Spend the first few minutes making small talk if you can (some interviewers jump right into it, so don't force it). It'll help you be more comfortable with your interviewer and the process will seem less daunting. This also has the added benefit of giving you insight into the company's culture, and can entirely change how you perceive a them. Do you really want to spend your internship working with people who aren't friendly?
Above all else, the nervousness will diminish with experience. It's like taking an exam in college. The first time is mortifying, but loses virtually all stress over time.
When you're asked a do-you-know kind of question, it's almost guaranteed that you won't know how to do it immediately. Don't panic. The point is to see how you think through the problem. Keep your interviewer informed with what you're doing. Saying things like "my first thought is this...", "I'm not sure if this will work out, but I'm going to try this...", or "I don't see a solution right now, but I'm going to work through this example to figuring something out..." are a fantastic way to do this. At the very least, your interviewer can't help you if they don't know what you're doing!
I should say that there is a fine line here. Don't babble and talk for the sake of talking. Long periods of silence are absolutely fine. Do what you need to do to think clearly and figure it out.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I thought I did terribly, but I got the offer!". It's really easy to walk away from an interview thinking you failed if you didn't answer everything. This is totally false. If the question is hard, then the chances are most other people didn't it either. The point is to see how far you got, or what your process was before you got stuck. A hint isn't the end of the world. If you can't figure something out, don't worry. Just stay calm and tell your interviewer that you're stuck. They'll want to help and will usually guide you in the right direction.
You're being evaluated relative to everyone else, so think of it like a curved test. A 60% may still be an A+.
Once the technical portion is over, you'll usually have the opportunity to ask the interviewer anything you want. I usually have a few questions I ask every company ("what is the coolest thing you've worked on?", "what's something an intern has made that is still being used today?"), and then a few specific to that company. This is your opportunity to interview them and get to know the company better. It may also help to assert your value. After all, you are incredibly desired in the industry and it's their job to convince you just as much as it is yours to convince them. However, make sure you're respectful. Adobe won't be impressed by you asking about their security leak.
At the end of the day remember to enjoy the experience. Even if you don't land an internship, which a lot of people don't, it's great experience for when you apply to a full-time position and will give you a huge edge over people who didn't try. I won't say that internships aren't important, but it isn't the end of the world if you don't get one.
Good luck and don't worry! After awhile you'll have interviews mastered and they'll simply be part of your daily routine.
This post is for the me of two months ago. Or at least, people like the me of two months ago. I want to share some of the nuggets of wisdom I gained by going through the motions, and ways you can prepare yourself. First off, I could end this post by deferring you to two books: Cracking the Coding Interview and The Google Resume. Both are by the same author, and both are great. If you have the time to make your way through these books, I highly recommend you do. You'll be mega prepared.
Preparation
Perfect your resume
This step seems obvious, but you should be aware that resumes in the tech biz differ a lot from resumes you've probably made before. Things like work experience are generally weighed less heavily than things like coding projects. Academic achievements are fine, but recruiters are going to be more impressed with your interaction and contributions to the "real world".
One of the main concerns I encountered while perusing interview advice was the impression that you haven't "done" anything, or that you haven't learned enough to be able to offer anything in particular. I have several friends who didn't even try because they thought they were so unqualified that they would just be wasting their time; that their resume would be tossed out immediately.
First off, this is almost definitely false. If you know basic algorithms and data structures (the second programming class I ever took), you're ready to interview. A close friend of mine will be interning for Facebook without a single college project on his resume (his GPA is stellar to be fair). At the very least, there's no harm in trying. Companies aren't like colleges. They won't hold it against you if you apply and get rejected. In fact, you're usually encouraged to try again, as they know you have the potential to grow as a coder.
If you really want to beef up your resume, try to work on something outside of the classroom. There's nothing wrong with putting class projects on your resume (as an intern you aren't expected to have tons of experience), but independent projects usually take precedence. One way to beef up your list is to take a project you've done in school and expand on it in your own time. I've had to program several games throughout my time in college, and it would be pretty simple to go back and add my own features, or implement a GUI, etc.
Another thing you can do is get involved with open source projects. You can find tons of these with a quick Google session, and there are almost always opportunities to contribute for all skill levels. Check out VLC Media Player for a good starting point.
The best thing you can do it think of a project you'll be passionate about and just do it. Not only for your resume, but to enjoy the process and learn as much as you can. I spent 3 intense weeks coding a game idea I had (Tetrocity), and it eventually became a main talking point of a lot of interviews. Even when it wasn't, a lot of the concepts and nuances I had learned in the process of making it came up.
This subreddit was also a great resource for me when I was working out the kinks of my resume. There's a ton of examples and experienced people willing to help out.
Prepare your expectations
This step is not so obvious, but is a harsh reality of the process. I once heard a quote along the lines of "apply for 30, interview for 7, get an offer from 1". The numbers will obviously vary based on your abilities, but the main point is that you need to prepare for rejection. In fact, you need to prepare for a lot of it. I was fortunate enough to get an offer from my favorite company, but I was rejected quite a few times elsewhere. If you aren't ready for it, it can be pretty disheartening.
First things first, a rejection does not always mean you "failed". Sometimes it does, and you should see those as opportunities for improvement, but a lot of the time the decision will simply be out of your control. I've interviewed for positions I didn't have the experience for, done well, and then been rejected because I didn't have the right experience. Oh well. I've been rejected because I wrote a code base that the company didn't take the time to read properly. Oh well.
I'm not saying you shouldn't take responsibility for negative outcomes. I could have made that code base more readable. The point is that rejections aren't the end of the world. They're an opportunity to learn and be better prepared for the next time. Say "oh well", learn from your mistake, and move on.
A direct consequence of all of this is that you need to apply to a lot of companies. A LOT. The competition is fierce and unless you're a rock star you don't want to put all of your eggs in one basket. It doesn't even matter if you aren't really qualified. Just apply anyway.
Apply correctly
This is one of those areas that I don't agree with, but it's how things go. The best piece of advice I can give in this regard is to avoid applying online. You're chances are simply much better if you can give your resume directly to a recruiter. If you go to college, attend your info sessions and career fairs. If not, look for events put on by companies and attend them. Try to find connections to the company. If you have a friend who has a friend that works at a company you like, ask to be put in contact. A lot of employees of tech companies are actually rewarded for referring a candidate, so they'll be more than happy to help you out.
If you can't do any of that, it isn't the end of the world. I found and applied to the fantastic company that I will be interning for on an online job listing website. In this case the idea of applying to as many companies as possible is even more important. Your chances are less, so increase your sample size!
Know the company
There really isn't a faster way to disappoint your interviewer than not knowing what their company does. It's in both your and the company's best interest if you are applying not just because you want a job, but because you find their work particularly interesting. Companies usually have tons of information online, so take the time before an interview to learn as much as possible. This will also help you ask intelligent questions and really get a feel for what the company is like. It's important that you'll be happy there!
Practice practice practice
I found that there are three main types of interviews: who-you-are, do-you-know, and can-you-do. You'll usually have many interviews per company (anywhere between 3 and 12), and how many of each type you get completely depends on the company. In any case, try to do your best to prepare for each.
Who-you-are interviews (aka "behavioral") are conversations about you as a human being. You'll be asked about your life, background, hobbies, experience, goals, interests, etc ("what kind of software do you like to write?"). These are meant to form a picture of who you are and if you'll fit into the company. There's no better advice for these interviews than to simply be honest. Acting like someone you're not just so the company will like you is only going to hurt everyone in the long run.
Other than that, simply be prepared to talk about everything on your resume (this shouldn't be too hard). Mock interviews are great for this.
Do-you-know interviews are akin to a game of programming trivia. You'll be asked a good deal of relatively factual questions ("what does the Java finalize() method do?"). While a lot of these questions will be 'you either know it or you don't', there's nothing wrong with making an educated guess if you're stumped. Sometimes deducing the correct answer is even more impressive than simply knowing it.
The subject of these questions is pretty dependent on the job qualifications. I've found that a lot of "general" internship programs will include questions about Object Oriented design, and language-specific questions for Python, Java, and C. To best prepare for these, make sure you're very familiar with your favorite language and don't claim to know something you don't on your resume. Brush up on your data structures and algorithms (including implementation features such as Java's HashSet load factor) and know their complexities. Also, pay attention in class!
Can-you-do interviews are harder to prepare for. They usually follow the do-you-know interview and involve you solving a problem on the spot. These questions can range designing an entire program to developing a single algorithm ("how can you check if a player has won a game of tic-tac-toe?"). The best way to prepare for these is to simply practice with as many of them as possible. Check out the two books at the beginning of this post for some great sources of practice problems. I made it my mission 3 months before my first interview to do 2 practice coding questions a day, and it helped immensely. CareerCup is another great source of questions and active discussion. Remember to try and do these with pen and paper or a bare-bones text editor. You won't have Google or Eclipse auto-complete in an interview.
The Interview
Deal with nervousness
My friends seem to vary wildly on how nervous they get for an interview. Some freak out, some don't seem phased at all. I'm certainly closer the freak out side, so I have extensive experience in dealing with nerves.
The first thing you need to do is understand that even if the interview goes terribly, you will still be proud of yourself for trying. It's like getting rejected by your crush. Hey, at least you tried. You can't get an internship if you don't interview, so overcoming your nerves and going through with it is doing yourself a huge favor.
My second piece of advice is go into it with zero expectations. When I was younger I used to try and prepare for every possible outcome of a stressful situation so I could be prepared for anything. This is bad. Don't plan what you're going to say or how you're going to act. This will make it incredibly hard to act naturally and 'lose yourself' in the moment. Just be yourself. You're great!
Something that helped me immensely is to try and connect with your interviewer on a casual level before the technical portion begins. They're people too, and usually incredibly kind and fun to talk to. Spend the first few minutes making small talk if you can (some interviewers jump right into it, so don't force it). It'll help you be more comfortable with your interviewer and the process will seem less daunting. This also has the added benefit of giving you insight into the company's culture, and can entirely change how you perceive a them. Do you really want to spend your internship working with people who aren't friendly?
Above all else, the nervousness will diminish with experience. It's like taking an exam in college. The first time is mortifying, but loses virtually all stress over time.
Think out loud
When you're asked a do-you-know kind of question, it's almost guaranteed that you won't know how to do it immediately. Don't panic. The point is to see how you think through the problem. Keep your interviewer informed with what you're doing. Saying things like "my first thought is this...", "I'm not sure if this will work out, but I'm going to try this...", or "I don't see a solution right now, but I'm going to work through this example to figuring something out..." are a fantastic way to do this. At the very least, your interviewer can't help you if they don't know what you're doing!
I should say that there is a fine line here. Don't babble and talk for the sake of talking. Long periods of silence are absolutely fine. Do what you need to do to think clearly and figure it out.
Don't panic
I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I thought I did terribly, but I got the offer!". It's really easy to walk away from an interview thinking you failed if you didn't answer everything. This is totally false. If the question is hard, then the chances are most other people didn't it either. The point is to see how far you got, or what your process was before you got stuck. A hint isn't the end of the world. If you can't figure something out, don't worry. Just stay calm and tell your interviewer that you're stuck. They'll want to help and will usually guide you in the right direction.
You're being evaluated relative to everyone else, so think of it like a curved test. A 60% may still be an A+.
Ask questions
Once the technical portion is over, you'll usually have the opportunity to ask the interviewer anything you want. I usually have a few questions I ask every company ("what is the coolest thing you've worked on?", "what's something an intern has made that is still being used today?"), and then a few specific to that company. This is your opportunity to interview them and get to know the company better. It may also help to assert your value. After all, you are incredibly desired in the industry and it's their job to convince you just as much as it is yours to convince them. However, make sure you're respectful. Adobe won't be impressed by you asking about their security leak.
---
At the end of the day remember to enjoy the experience. Even if you don't land an internship, which a lot of people don't, it's great experience for when you apply to a full-time position and will give you a huge edge over people who didn't try. I won't say that internships aren't important, but it isn't the end of the world if you don't get one.
Good luck and don't worry! After awhile you'll have interviews mastered and they'll simply be part of your daily routine.
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