Cracking Technical Interviews

By
CRACKING TECHNICAL
INTERVIEWS
ALGORITHMS
OPERATING
SYSTEMS
MACHINE
LEARNING
DATA STRUCTURES
Huzzah!
You are one step closer to a Master’s education
in the US!
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Preparing For A Technical Interview
But Shivering At The Thought Of It?
It can be nerve-wracking to even think about finding a good internship while you’re
pursuing your masters in the USA as an international student. There isn’t an instruction
manual on what you should start with and what you need to show before you get the
interview call, and what you need to do in the interview itself!
This is a short guide to answer all your questions about preparing yourself for technical
interviews and giving you an insight into how and where you should look. These insights
have been provided by LevelUp Mentors, who are former international students and are
now professionals in well known companies, to help you navigate through the process
and get the internship/job of your dreams!
INSTRUCTION
MANUAL
By
By
Skills Employers Look For
Fundamental knowledge, such as data structures, algorithms, operating systems etc.
If you have a specialization, even better! Could be something like Machine Learning,
Data Science etc.
Expertise is always beneficial, in any of the above. E for expertise, E for edge.
Remember to have more experience of the technology required for the position/role
you seek. Make your resume heavy with relevant things.
If you don’t have much experience, the focus is on your academia!
Developing Skills:
What to Pick?
Evaluate your career goals and interests.

What is the intersection of the two?
If you want to go for a generalist

role or don’t know just yet what If you are aiming for a specific
you want, go with strengthening
OR role, take up the courses which
your fundamentals through the are relevant to it.
courses you pick.
By
Demonstrating Skills and Expertise
You’ve got the skills, great. It’s equally important to present those skills so that the recruiter
knows just what you’re capable of. You can show it through:
1 Side Projects
Put importance on the kind of technology you use.
What you have built with said technology.
Hackathon projects give you an edge. Participate in some hackathons if you can.
It should be relevant to the role you are seeking, and the kind of engineer you want
to be.
Build unique stuff you would use yourself! Avoid generic, easy and basic stuff.
2 Academic Projects
Research with a faculty to showcase your enthusiasm and curiosity.
Do relevant courses with project(s) which apply the learnings from the courses.
Display expertise and score brownie points through a research publication!
Build something which solves a problem, however mundane or complex that problem is. You
could also take an existing project of yours, build upon it and make it public!
By
How to Prepare for Interviews
1 Your problem solving and motivation are put to test in an interview.
When you don’t have experience, it isn’t specific entirely to the technological
2 aspect.
3 The most important question you need to show an answer to is, can you learn?
4 Demonstrate understanding, focus on the fundamentals and the problem

solving process. Know the nitty gritties of everything you claim to know.
5 Depending on your past experience, expectations are different for everyone.
Fresher Experienced
NOT VERY HIGH, you can ask DON’T EXPECT A LOT OF
questions and interact with the HANDHOLDING. If you already know a
recruiter while solving the prob- lot (which is shown by your
lem given to you. experience) then you should be able
to show that.
6 Practice with a friend on a whiteboard, communicate with them and walk

them through the problem solving process to assess just how well you know
your way around it.
7 Engage with the recruiter beforehand to know more about the company and
what is expected in the interview.
8 Where to practice?
Hiring Without
LeetCode HackerRank
Whiteboards.
By
Q1
What are green flags during an interview?
Communicating with the interviewer is the most important. As long as you are asking
them the right questions and moving in the right direction, it doesn’t necessarily matter
if you find the correct solution at the end. Engaging them is of utmost importance
because that shows your approach to problem solving.
Q2
Does the degree name matter during the selection process?
In a few companies where the ATS is used, some degrees might get a preference in
terms of the resume being cleared due to the keywords. Post that, your skills and
projects matter much more.
Q3
How to go about referrals, are they important?
They’re very important for internships, and a good referral can land you internships
faster. Start building a network if you are not interning currently. Find people in your
field of interest and get to know them through networking events, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.
By
Q4
What should I go for, research or an open-source project?
Open Source: Good for the resume, shows contribution outside academics and is good
for the project itself.
Research: Beneficial for deep tech roles and building your understanding. What you
choose depends on the role you seek.
Q5
How can I inculcate my side projects on my resume?
Select the best projects specific to each role you are applying for while customizing your
resume. Needless to say, you should have a different resume if the job description and
position name is different for the places you are applying to. Put your best work in there
but don’t forget to update your LinkedIn with all of your projects. Mention your LinkedIn
URL on the resume so that the recruiter can check out all your work there too.
Q6
How long does a typical internship interview last?
It can be around 3-5 hours on an average. Usually, 2 coding questions, 1 behavioural
question are asked but it could be more or less depending on the position and the
company. Some short interviews have 1-2 coding rounds, some may have more than that.
Q7
When should I start searching for internships and what should I do
while my search is on?
Focus on learning and understanding things you will be required to apply on the job and
do short projects as much as you can. Don’t overwhelm yourself and be as resourceful as
you can. Get an internship in the summer but remember to search for them between
August and November and not wait till January to start applying. Getting a headstart will
save you time and energy.
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LevelUp by Leap Finance

Join the community today! : https://ls.leapscholar.com/careers_community

Fundamental knowledge, such as data structures, algorithms, operating systems etc.

If you don’t have much experience, the focus is on your academia!

Evaluate your career goals and interests.

If you want to go for a generalist

4 Demonstrate understanding, focus on the fundamentals and the problem

5 Depending on your past experience, expectations are different for everyone.

6 Practice with a friend on a whiteboard, communicate with them and walk

Join our FREE Community for more

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