From Robots to CEOs: Discovering Interview Secrets

3 min readAug 13, 2023

Yesterday, I was talking with my Armenian friend about resumes and interviews. We discussed interview strategies and we eventually arrived at a concise summary for interview success.

Section One: The Robot

In the initial stage, robots review resumes. If they don’t find the right keywords or if something is amiss, the game is over before it even starts. For instance, if a job requires “+3 years of experience” and you have 2 years and 11 months, it means you don’t qualify. So, pay close attention to the dates.

The resume’s content must resonate with that opportunity. Three solutions:

Sometimes, I strategically place keywords in the text! This method doesn’t always work!
This solution always works!! Write the key aspects of each job position in white in a corner. This way, human resources don’t see it, but the robot identifies you as a suitable candidate. 😁
The third solution: The ResumeWorded website checks the compatibility between your resume and the opportunity. Aim for a score above 50.

Section Two: Human Resources

Human Resources verifies that you are the same person you claimed to be in the resume. So, be cautious about resume claims! Go prepared so you won’t be caught off guard.

Never utter the toxic phrase “I don’t know”!

Usually, Human Resources quickly skims through a page. Then, they discuss the resume. If you mention hobbies and interests somewhere, the conversation’s seriousness will be beautifully broken. It might touch on chess and cooking in the middle, then return to the main path! Thus, including personal interests (hobbies) in the resume is effective!

Make sure you have some information about the company and its products so you can ask questions at the right time.

When you’re about to ask questions, always ask something!

Section Three: Advanced Human Resources

This stage is a bit more technical but still within the realm of Human Resources. Questions may be asked about skills, strengths, and weaknesses.

Another common inquiry revolves around achievements and professional challenges. Be mindful that HR personnel may lack technical expertise! They want to assess your personality and background.

Some companies inquire about the individual’s future and career path. In this case, start by asking: “For how long?” Craft your response carefully to avoid causing any insecurity in HR.

Finally, about the salary! Don’t discuss exact amounts, but if necessary, provide a range. This way, if resumes are filtered based on salary, you have a safe margin! 😊

Section Four: Technical Interview

Here, there could be multiple stages as well. First and foremost, there’s an interview with experts for a technical knowledge assessment.

In the next stage, they introduce an exercise or challenge. Some companies place the challenge on HackerRank and allocate a specific time for solving it. In this case, only the answer matters. However, generally, aside from the answer, code quality is also important.

Section Five: Problem Solving

Regarding projects, prioritize in the following manner:

1. Project Structure: Even if your code isn’t perfect, adhere to the proper project structure.
2. Writing Tests for the Project: Test writing is essential for optimizing memory. Be a master of Test Driven Development (TDD), especially for large companies.
3. Mastery of Tool Utilization: Understand why you’re using specific tools.
4. Utilizing Design Patterns
5. Managing Resources and Memory through Your Code
6. Proficiency in Docker: Understand Docker thoroughly. Try to have some projects on your GitHub.

Sometimes, coding exercises are done online in real-time, which can be quite challenging! Everything happens at the moment, requiring a strong grasp of the subject matter.

Section Six: Interview with the Boss

When everything is progressing well, some companies arrange an interview with the CEO. This interview is often formal. They set the stage for how you should enter the game.