Okay, real talk. Just a few months back, I got through a software engineer interview. Two tech screens, one HR. And I walked away with the saying, “I am selected.”
But here’s the thing they don’t tell you in those “Cracking the Coding Interview” books. It wasn’t my flawless code that did it. Honestly, my code was kinda messy in one round.The real reason? It was my headspace. Let me explain, because this might help you.
Stop Chasing Perfection
I used to think I needed to have the perfect, most optimized answer in three seconds flat. It paralyzed me. This time? Different story. They hit me with a question and my brain… nothing. Blank screen. Instead of the internal panic I usually feel, I just started talking. “Huh, okay.
My first instinct is wrong, I can feel it. Let’s just throw this idea at the wall and see if it sticks. If it doesn’t, we’ll know why.” I basically made the interviewer my rubber duck. And they loved it. They don’t need a genius. They need someone who won’t shut down when they hit a wall.
The Wierd Trick
I dress up. Yeah, even for a Zoom call. I’m talking a clean shirt, I’ll even put on shoes. Sounds crazy, right? But it does something to your psychology. You’re not just “hanging out.” You’re showing up. You feel more professional, so you act more professional. It’s a simple hack that tells your brain, “Game time.”
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Being a social mirror
Pay attention to the person on the other side. Are they serious and focused? Match that tone. Are they relaxed or casual? Adjust accordingly. During my HR round, I asked my interviewer at the end how I did. He responded politely and positively, saying it went well.
Keeping the conversation genuine and responsive helped me build a comfortable connection. It wasn’t an interview; it was a conversation. People hire people they like.
Owning the Mistakes
I totally bombed a coding question. My initial idea was way overcomplicated. So I just said, “Yep, I’m over-engineering this. Let me backtrack. What if we start with something stupidly simple and scale from there?”
I showed them I could course-correct in real-time. That I wasn’t married to my bad ideas. That’s what they want. Someone who can learn, not just someone who already knows.
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To sum it up, here’s the truth.
You can grind LeetCode all day. And you should. But that just gets you a ticket to the show. To actually win the part, you gotta be human. Be the person they can imagine being stuck in a virtual room with at 2 AM trying to fix a production bug. Be resilient, be adaptable, be real.
The tech got me in the door. But being a calm, confident human is what closed the deal.
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