Master your Technical interview (How To Prepare For An Interview In Under 10 Minutes)!

The technical interview can be a very daunting task, especially for someone who has no experience in the IT world or has never taken an interview before. In these interviews, you’ll be asked a lot of questions related to specific technologies—not just any questions, but highly technical ones. The goal is to assess your experience using certain tools and solving particular problems, which can make the process even more intimidating.

In this article, I’ll share with you five tips that can help you master the technical interview;

1. Stay Calm and Confident

One of the most common mistakes people make in technical interviews is losing their composure. Many candidates think that explaining concepts quickly or listing numerous technologies will impress the recruiter, but this often backfires.

Instead, stay calm and confident. Walk the recruiter or interviewer gently through your thought process. Explain why you believe a particular solution is the best one, how you’ve used it to solve problems in the past, and how you would apply it in a new use case.

For example, if you’re asked which tool you would use to store container images but have no experience with Docker Hub, you can share your experience using Amazon Elastic Container Registry (ECR). This demonstrates your knowledge of a similar tool and your ability to adapt.

Avoid rushing through answers or name-dropping technologies you’re not familiar with, as this will likely lead to follow-up questions that you can’t confidently address.

2. Know Your Basics

You cannot succeed in a technical interview without a strong foundation in the basics. Many candidates fail by trying to sound advanced but stumbling over simple questions. For instance, someone might boast about creating Kubernetes clusters and writing Terraform scripts but struggle to answer a basic question like, “How do you make a subnet public?”

To avoid such pitfalls, make sure you fully understand the foundational services of your chosen cloud platform—be it AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. Key areas to focus on include:

• Access Management
• Storage
• Compute
• Databases
• Networking and Routing
• Content Delivery (e.g., Route 53)
• Configuration Management
• Confidence in these basics will leave a strong impression on your interviewer and show that you truly know what you’re talking about.

3. Master the STAR Approach

The STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is an excellent framework for answering technical interview questions. It helps you structure your responses in a clear and logical manner.

Here’s how to use it:

• Situation: Describe the context of the problem (e.g., setting up a load balancer that wasn’t passing health checks).
• Task: Explain what you needed to accomplish (e.g., ensuring proper auto-scaling in your environment).
• Action: Detail the steps you took to address the issue (e.g., creating target groups, configuring rules, or setting up YAML files).
• Result: Share the outcome of your actions (e.g., successfully implemented the solution and improved performance).

The STAR method not only demonstrates your problem-solving skills but also highlights your ability to communicate complex ideas effectively.

4. Learn from Failures

Interviewing is a skill that improves with practice. If you don’t get the job after an interview, take it as an opportunity to learn.

Whenever possible, request feedback from the recruiter about why you weren’t selected. If that’s not an option, try to record your interviews (if allowed) to review the questions you were asked and identify areas for improvement.

Keep a repository of common interview questions and continuously work on mastering them. Each interview, successful or not, helps you prepare for the next one. Remember, confidence comes with practice.

5. Mindset Matters

Your mindset going into the interview can make a huge difference. If you doubt yourself—thinking, “I can’t get this DevOps job” or “This technical interview is too hard”—you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Approach every interview with a positive attitude. Understand the job description, align your skills with the requirements, and showcase your strengths.

When asked questions, walk the interviewer through your thought process. Show your design skills, infrastructure knowledge, and solution-architecting abilities. By maintaining a positive mindset, you’re more likely to perform well and leave a good impression.

Mastering technical interviews requires practice, preparation, and the right mindset. To recap, here are the five tips:

1. Stay calm and confident.
2. Know your basics.
3. Use the STAR approach.
4. Learn from failures.
5. Cultivate a positive mindset.

Put these tips into practice, and you’ll be well on your way to landing your next role.