[darek9576]

I have absolutely no idea whether im going to get anything out of you guys since my question is very ambigous but its worth a shot.

Im applying to one company for a job and was lucky enough to get through the first round of the interviews. One part of it was a "technical test". Before the interview i was told that there will be one and that it was not tailored towards any particular programming language. When i found out this fact, then i thought they will be either testing us and letting us use our favourite programming language, pseudocode or the test will have nothing to do with programming - i.e. math questions.

So, the test turnoud to be a mixture of pseducode and math. The idea was: you are given a scenario and then have to answer 5 questions. i.e given the scenario what datastructure would you use to hold this piece of data or write a program or pseudocode so that it counts these green bananas using your datastructre etc.

Now, on the companys website it is written that the second round of interviews will also involve a technical test. However, i have no additional information about it (i.e. whether any programming language is required) since they did not send me any details yet.

So my question is: in what best possible way can i prepare for it. I mean, i am just tired of implementing datastructures or sorting algorithms as my practice because before every interview i had i was doing it, and they never showed up.

I know, it's a pretty vague question but what would you do in my situation. Pick a random problem, write pseudocode of it and implement it? I know that you either know how to code or not but there are always things you can brush upon before the interview like Comparable vs Comparator or other different stuff.

This post has been edited by darek9576: 16 January 2012 - 07:14 PM

[macosxnerd101]

If you're talking about Comparable vs. Comparator, then can I assume that you are applying for a Java job? You might find it helpful to brush up on the specifics of the job you are applying for. What technologies does it list? Brush up so you are able to speak intelligently. You might look for sample interview questions geared technically regarding the technologies.

Hope this helps some! Good luck with the interview!

[darek9576]

That's the point. It's not a Java job, .NET job, Clojure job. It's a Software Developer job - they dont list technologies. Comparable vs Comparator was an example.

[macosxnerd101]

I would then make sure you can talk about more than the basics of the technologies you want/are able to work in, and then brush up on your basic CS theory.

[no2pencil]

I would assume if it's that general then they are removing syntax or language specific structure from the interview process, & want to see how you logically deal with an automated processes. I believe more thought process shows through on psedudocode than on language specific code.

[darek9576]

Thanks for the input.

[JackOfAllTrades]

You just never know on those kinds of tests. I took one that used a made-up language rather than a specific one (a long, LONG time ago...before I got my first job), so you were expected to learn the made-up language as well as answer the questions regarding the language and its logic. It was administered and corrected by a secretary. I did not get past her (came up one question short).

What a miserable day...my heels were bleeding from walking the streets of Boston...