Morshed How do you answer tell me about yourself in a coding interview?
The dreaded question!
So, you’re going to a coding interview, and the interviewer asks, “tell me about yourself.”
What do you say?
You can’t just answer with your life story, or they’ll start looking for the exit.
So here’s what not to say:
“I’m from New York originally, but I’ve been in California since college. I love hiking and traveling when I have time off from work. In my free time, I like watching Netflix and reading Reddit.”
You might as well use that time to ask if there are any other open positions because this is not going well…
The best way to answer “tell me about yourself” in an interview is by showing off your skillsets.
Consider the following:
1. How long have you been coding?
2. Why are you applying to this company/position?
3. What do you think is the most challenging aspect of programming or debugging a program?
4. Tell me about when you’ve had to debug a code error, and what was the outcome?
5. Have you ever worked with any languages other than Python, Java, C++, etc.? If so, which ones are they, and why did you choose them over these languages
Key Takeaway
If you’re like me, the idea of an interview can be stressful.
However, it’s important to remember that interviews are a two-way street.
Of course, you want to make sure they represent your best self and get the job offer; but more importantly, you want them to think highly enough of you, so they don’t pass on hiring someone with all these excellent skills!
So take some time before your following coding interview (or any other for that matter) and do some research about how to answer questions in ways that will impress recruiters while also making yourself seem relatable.
