Master's in Data Science

  • Top Schools
    • 23 Great Schools with Master’s Programs in Data Science
    • 22 Top Schools with Master’s in Information Systems Degrees
    • 25 Top Schools with Master’s in Business Analytics Programs
  • Online Programs
    • Online Data Science Degree Programs
    • 2022 Guide to Online Bachelor’s in Computer Science Degree Programs
    • Online Masters in Business Analytics Programs
    • Online Masters in Information Systems Programs
    • Online Masters in Computer Engineering
    • Online Masters in Computer Science
    • Online Masters in Cybersecurity
    • Online Certificate Programs in Analytics
  • By State
    • Alabama
    • Arizona
    • Arkansas
    • California
    • Colorado
    • Connecticut
    • Delaware
    • Florida
    • Georgia
    • Hawaii
    • Idaho
    • Illinois
    • Indiana
    • Iowa
    • Kansas
    • Kentucky
    • Louisiana
    • Maine
    • Maryland
    • Massachusetts
    • Michigan
    • Minnesota
    • Mississippi
    • Missouri
    • Montana
    • Nebraska
    • Nevada
    • New Hampshire
    • New Jersey
    • New Mexico
    • New York
    • North Carolina
    • North Dakota
    • Ohio
    • Oklahoma
    • Oregon
    • Pennsylvania
    • Rhode Island
    • South Carolina
    • South Dakota
    • Tennessee
    • Texas
    • Utah
    • Vermont
    • Virginia
    • Washington
    • Washington, D.C.
    • West Virginia
    • Wisconsin
  • Related Degrees
    • Data Science Bachelor Degrees
    • Data Science Certificate Programs for 2022
    • Master’s in Accounting Analytics
    • Master’s in Applied Statistics
    • Master’s in Business Analytics
    • Master’s in Business Intelligence
    • Master’s in Geospatial Science & GIS
    • Master’s in Health Informatics
    • Master’s in Library Science
    • Master’s in Public Policy Data Analytics
    • MBA in Analytics/Data Science
    • PhD in Data Science Programs
    • Programs Outside the US
  • Careers
    • Business Analyst
    • Business Analyst Salary
    • Computer Engineer
    • Computer Scientist
    • Data Analyst
    • Data Analyst Salary Guide
    • Data Architect
    • Data Engineer
    • Data Mining Specialist
    • Data Scientist
    • Data Scientist Salary
    • Marketing Analyst
    • Quantitative Analyst
    • Financial Analyst
    • Information Security Analyst
    • Statistician
    • Digital Marketer
  • Online Courses
    • Your Guide for Online Data Science Courses in 2021
    • Online Data Analytics Courses
    • Machine Learning Courses
    • Blockchain Courses
    • Online Digital Marketing Courses
    • FinTech Courses
    • Financial Analysis Courses
    • Cybersecurity Courses
    • Business Analytics Courses
    • Artificial Intelligence Courses
    • UX/UI Courses
  • Bootcamps
    • Data Science Bootcamps
    • Data Analytics Bootcamps
    • Coding Bootcamps
    • Are Coding Bootcamps Worth it?
    • Cybersecurity Bootcamps
    • UX/UI Bootcamps
    • FinTech Bootcamps
    • Digital Marketing Bootcamps
  • Learning
    • What is Data Analytics?
    • What is Business Analytics?
    • What Is Cyber Security?
    • What is Computer Engineering?
    • What is Computer Science?
    • What is FinTech?
    • Best Programming Language to Learn
    • Is Computer Science a Good Major?
    • What Can You Do With a Computer Science Degree?
    • What Is a Neural Network?
    • What is an Information System?
    • Learn Data Science Online
    • Benefits of Business Intelligence Software
    • Computer Science vs. Computer Engineering
    • Cyber Security vs. Computer Science
    • Data Analyst vs Data Scientist
    • Data Analytics vs. Business Analytics
    • Data Science vs. Machine Learning
  • Resources
  • About 2U

Tech Interview Guide for 2022

April 7, 2020 Nicole Bennett

Image credit: Kika Fuenzalida | Mixkit

The average job opening receives hundreds of applicants, but only about 2% make it to the interview stage, according to a Glassdoor report (PDF, 281 KB). Making it to this point is an accomplishment in its own right, but how can you separate yourself from the final candidates?

Interviews can be stressful and long, and it’s tricky to guess how you did after the fact. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself and have realistic expectations to avoid surprises.

The following guide will help you understand what differentiates tech interviews from the rest.

What to Expect When You’re Interviewing

The purpose of an interview is to ask you questions. But often, the interviewee is also full of questions leading up to the meeting. For example, how long will the interview be? How many people will be interviewing you at once? What are their job titles and how would they relate to you in the team structure? Every company and hiring process is different but knowing the logistics of your interview ahead of time will help you prepare. Ask the hiring manager for more information about those details as soon as you schedule a time to meet.

Once you know the logistics of your interview, you can focus on preparing. Expect a few kinds of questions:

Behavioral questions:

Questions about how you responded in a previous situation. They’ll often start with “Tell me about a time when,” or “What did you do when …”

Hypothetical questions:

These cover how you would respond to a specific scenario. For example, “What would you do if a member of your team failed to provide materials to you on deadline?

Competency questions:

Questions to measure your skills and experience like, “What are some examples of times you’ve been a leader?” They are an opportunity to cite successes in your work history.

Technical questions:

These are straightforward—what is the answer to a problem or technical problem?

Outside-the-box questions:

You might get questions that seem to have nothing to do with the position, such as “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?” They’re designed to get you off script and see how you respond.

What is a Whiteboard Interview?

During a whiteboard interview, a candidate is asked to answer a technical problem or design code on the spot using a whiteboard. It’s a good measure of your problem-solving and communication skills, because interviewers see how you work in real-time. Whiteboard interviews are a low-cost, low-tech way to grasp someone’s understanding of code and algorithms.

However, this interview style can be stressful for potential hires. Performing in a high stakes’ environment, in front of strangers, is daunting. They also aren’t conducive to every job because they don’t allow the space, time or detail to test advanced algorithms and design.

There’s an element of chance in whiteboard interviews, too. You won’t be able to study every possible algorithm that exists, but if you think critically about the position and the employer’s needs, you can narrow down the options.

Ways to Prepare for a Whiteboard Interview

Below are some strategies to prepare for, execute, and look back on a whiteboard interview.

Before the Interview

Find practice questions.

There are a lot of resources online to prepare for technical interviews, and many have sections on whiteboard questions.

  • Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions, by Gayle Laakmann McDowell – The questions in this book cover everything from linked lists to object-oriented design. It even includes a section on brain teasers.
  • Project Euler – With more than 700 math problems and counting, Project Euler challenges users to use their programming skills to tackle a new question every week. You can check out the archive on their website, too.
  • LeetCode – A collection of tools and courses centered around tech interview preparation. There are some free ones, but for full access you need a paid subscription.
  • Geeks for Geeks – This portal compiled a list of interview prep tools specifically for software developers.
  • Interview Cake – An interview prep tool created by a former Google engineer. Paid subscribers can get access to a full course, but you can receive a free weekly question and the site is full of information.
  • Elements of Programming Interviews: The Insiders’ Guide, by Adnan Aziz, Tsung-Hsien Lee and Amit Prakash – This book has more than 250 practice problems with solutions based on interview questions from leading software companies. It includes tested programs and additional variants.

Watch examples.

Study how other people approach whiteboard interviews with video examples online. You will learn potential questions and ways of teaching and communicating to use during your interview.  Some examples to get you started:

  • How to: Work at Google – Example Coding/Engineering Interview from Life at Google
  • Amazon Coding Interview Question – Recursive Staircase Problem from CS Dojo
  • Whiteboard Interview with Arrays and Hash Maps – Whiteboard Wednesday from Irfan Baqui

Practice with an audience.

Recruit a friend, colleague or mentor to play the role of interviewer. Preferably, ask someone who is familiar enough with coding to be able to answer your questions and provide constructive feedback. Even someone with no knowledge of what you’re doing can be a useful audience because they will help you get used to the public speaking aspect of the interview.

During the interview

Restate the question.

A fundamental tactic in answering test questions should be applied here: start by repeating the prompt. Confirm with the interviewer that you understand the question and are headed in the right direction. Use this as an opportunity to establish any other parameters, check for test conditions, and clarify as much as possible up front.

Start with pseudocode.

Writing out pseudocode gives you the opportunity to solve the logic of the problem before focusing on technical language details. Once you’ve explained your approach, ask “Does this make sense?” to gauge the interviewer’s thoughts and initiate a conversation. Starting with pseudocode also proves you understand what needs to be done, even if there is a syntax error in your final code.

Talk through your process.

This is an evaluation of your communication skills as much as it is your coding skills. Even if this means conceding you’ve made a mistake and need to pedal back, use that as an opportunity to showcase your problem-solving. Seeing your approach to failure is useful—do you panic and freeze? Or do you address what happened and figure out a way to move forward?

After the Interview

Send a thank you.

Immediately send a note thanking individual interviewers for their time. Share something you learned that excited you about the position or company and include any additional information you want to follow up on. This could be an additional reference they requested, material from your portfolio you think exemplifies your skills, or an article you discussed during the meeting.

Follow-up about the position.

If you don’t hear back, reach out to confirm you are still interested in the position and look forward to their response. Include your full name, the exact job title you are applying for and the date of the interview.

Reflect on the experience.

What question did they ask you for the whiteboard section? What parts, if any, were most challenging? In hindsight, how could you have better prepared for the interview? It’s likely that you’ll have more than one interview in your job hunt; use each one as practice for the next.

Tech Interview Examples

Keep reading for examples of interview questions, desired skills, and practice resources for different types of tech interviews.

Computer Science Interviews

Skills and qualifications to highlight:

  • A master’s in computer science or software engineering.
  • Experience adapting theoretical principles to real-world situations.
  • Comfortable with advanced math skills like linear algebra and statistics.

Practice resources:

  • Most asked Computer Science Subjects Interview Questions in Amazon, Microsoft, Flipkart
  • 25 Essential Computer Science Interview Questions {Updated For 2022}
  • Computer Science Interview Questions from Glassdoor

Computer Engineer Interviews

Skills and qualifications to highlight:

  • A master’s in computer engineering or computer science.
  • Expert knowledge of algorithms and design analytics.
  • Attention to detail and able to spot errors in code.

Practice resources:

  • Computer Engineer Interview Questions
  • Computer Engineer Interview Questions from Glassdoor
  • Software Engineer Interview Questions

Cybersecurity Interviews

Skills and qualifications to highlight:

  • A master’s in cybersecurity or information systems.
  • Ethics and tech policy training.
  • Advanced knowledge of database management.

Practice resources:

  • 25 Cybersecurity Job Interview Questions
  • Top 50 Cybersecurity Interview Questions | Cybersecurity Training
  • 60 Cybersecurity Interview Questions [2019 Update]

Data Analyst Interviews

Skills and qualifications to highlight:

  • A master’s in data analysis or statistics.
  • Advanced knowledge of data structures.
  • Experience with machine learning.

Practice resources:

  • Top 30 Data Analyst Interview Questions & Answers
  • Top 65 Data Analyst Interview Questions And Answers For 2022
  • 7 Questions to Ask When Interviewing A Data Analyst Candidate

Data Scientist Interviews

Skills and qualifications to highlight:

  • A master’s in data science or data analysis.
  • Expertise in Python and object-oriented programming.
  • Data visualization.

Practice resources:

  • Top 30 Data Science Interview Questions
  • 21 Must-Know Data Science Interview Questions and Answers
  • Data Science Interview Questions
Share on Facebook Share
Share on TwitterTweet
Share on LinkedIn Share

Filed Under: Resources

SPONSORED DATA SCIENCE PROGRAMS

UC Berkeley - Master of Information and Data Science
Sponsored Program
Syracuse University - Master of Science in Applied Data Science
Sponsored Program

SPONSORED ANALYTICS PROGRAMS

American University - Master of Science in Analytics
Sponsored Program
Syracuse University - Master of Science in Business Analytics
Sponsored Program

Online Programs

  • Online Master’s in Data Science Programs
  • Online Master’s in Business Analytics
  • Master’s in Information Systems Online
  • Online Master’s in Computer Science
  • Online Master’s in Computer Engineering
  • Online Master’s in Cybersecurity
  • Graduate Certificates in Data Science Online

Career Profiles

  • Business Analyst
  • Data Analyst
  • Data Architect
  • Data Engineer
  • Data Scientist
  • Marketing Analyst
  • Information Security
  • Quantitative Analyst
  • Statistician

Bootcamps

  • Data Science Bootcamps
  • Data Analytics Bootcamps
  • Coding Bootcamps
  • Cybersecurity Bootcamps
  • UX/UI Bootcamps
  • Fintech Bootcamps
  • Digital Marketing Bootcamps

Online Courses

  • Online Data Science Courses
  • Online Data Analytics Courses
  • Online Machine Learning Courses
  • Online Blockchain Courses
  • Online Digital Marketing Courses
  • Online Financial Analysis Courses
  • Online Cybersecurity Courses
  • Online Business Analytics Courses
  • Online Artificial Intelligence Courses
  • Online UX/UI Courses

Industry Uses

  • Biotechnology
  • Energy
  • Finance
  • Gaming and Hospitality
  • Government
  • Health Care
  • Insurance
  • Internet
  • Manufacturing
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Retail
  • Telecommunications
  • Travel and Transportation
  • Utilities
  • Food

Data Science Technologies

  • R
  • Python
  • SQL
  • Hadoop
  • Tableau

MastersInDataScience.org is owned and operated by 2U, Inc.
© 2U, Inc. 2022

About 2U | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Resources