Appendix F: Interview Checklist

A comprehensive checklist to maximize your performance in technical interviews.

Pre-Interview Checklist

1 Week Before

• Review the company’s interview format (number of rounds, duration, focus areas)
• Research the company’s products, culture, and recent news
• Review your resume thoroughly — be ready to discuss anything on it
• Prepare a 2-minute “tell me about yourself” pitch
• Review the most common DSA topics for this company (see Appendix M)
• Do 2-3 mock interviews with a friend or on platforms like Pramp/Interviewing.io
• Review your past projects and prepare STAR-format stories

1 Day Before

• Get a good night’s sleep (7-8 hours)
• Prepare your environment:
  • Quiet room with no distractions
  • Stable internet connection
  • Backup internet (phone hotspot)
  • Charged laptop
  • Pen and paper/whiteboard
  • Water bottle
• Review your cheat sheet (data structure operations, complexities)
• Do 1-2 easy problems to warm up (don’t try to learn new material)
• Prepare questions to ask the interviewer
• Set multiple alarms

Day of Interview

• Eat a proper meal (not too heavy)
• Arrive/log in 10-15 minutes early
• Have your ID ready (if in-person)
• Test your microphone and camera (if virtual)
• Close unnecessary applications
• Have a glass of water nearby
• Take a few deep breaths to calm nerves
• Review your “tell me about yourself” one last time

During-Interview Checklist

Phase 1: Problem Understanding (2-3 minutes)

• Listen carefully — don’t start coding immediately
• Take notes — write down the problem constraints
• Ask clarifying questions:
  • What are the input constraints? (size, range, type)
  • Can the input be empty?
  • Are there duplicate elements?
  • Is the array sorted?
  • What should I return if no solution exists?
  • Can I use extra space?
  • What’s the expected time complexity?
• Paraphrase the problem back to the interviewer
• Identify the problem type:
  • Array/String manipulation?
  • Tree/Graph traversal?
  • Dynamic programming?
  • Binary search?
  • Sliding window/Two pointers?
  • Stack/Queue?

Phase 2: Example and Edge Cases (1-2 minutes)

• Walk through 1-2 examples manually
• Identify edge cases:
  • Empty input (null, empty array, empty string)
  • Single element
  • Two elements
  • All same elements
  • Negative numbers
  • Very large numbers (overflow?)
  • Already sorted/reverse sorted
• Verify your understanding with the interviewer

Phase 3: Approach Discussion (3-5 minutes)

• Start with brute force — mention it explicitly
  • “The brute force approach would be O(n²) by checking all pairs…”
• Identify bottlenecks — why is brute force slow?
• Propose optimization:
  • “I notice we’re doing redundant work…”
  • “We can use a hash map to avoid the inner loop…”
  • “Since the array is sorted, we can use binary search…”
• Discuss trade-offs:
  • Time vs space complexity
  • Code complexity vs performance
• Get buy-in before coding:
  • “Does this approach sound reasonable?”
  • “I’m thinking of using a trie — does that make sense here?”

Phase 4: Coding (10-15 minutes)

• Write clean, readable code:
  • Meaningful variable names (not single letters except loop counters)
  • Consistent indentation
  • Comments for complex logic
• Talk while coding — explain your thought process
• Handle edge cases explicitly
• Use STL when appropriate (don’t reinvent the wheel)
• Common pitfalls to avoid:
  • Off-by-one errors
  • Integer overflow
  • Null pointer access
  • Missing visited array
  • Wrong comparator

Phase 5: Testing (3-5 minutes)

• Trace through your code with the examples
• Test edge cases:
  • Empty input
  • Single element
  • Maximum size input
• Check for bugs:
  • Are all variables initialized?
  • Are all loops bounded?
  • Are all pointers checked?
  • Is the return value correct?
• Fix any bugs you find — don’t panic

Phase 6: Complexity Analysis (1-2 minutes)

• State the time complexity and explain why
• State the space complexity and explain why
• Mention if there’s a better approach (if you know one)

Phase 7: Follow-up Questions

• Be ready for follow-ups:
  • “What if the input is too large to fit in memory?”
  • “What if we need to handle concurrent access?”
  • “Can you optimize further?”
  • “What if we need to support updates?”
• If you don’t know, say so honestly:
  • “I’m not sure about that, but my initial thought would be…”

Behavioral Questions

• Use the STAR method:
  • Situation: Set the context
  • Task: What was your responsibility?
  • Action: What did you do?
  • Result: What was the outcome?
• Prepare stories for:
  • A challenging technical problem you solved
  • A time you disagreed with a teammate
  • A time you failed and what you learned
  • A time you showed leadership
  • A project you’re proud of
• Be specific — use numbers and details
• Be honest — don’t exaggerate

Questions to Ask the Interviewer

Prepare 3-5 questions. Good ones include:

• “What does a typical day look like for someone in this role?”
• “What are the biggest challenges the team is facing right now?”
• “How do you measure success for this role?”
• “What’s the team culture like?”
• “What opportunities are there for growth and learning?”
• “What’s the tech stack?”
• “How does the team handle code reviews?”

Avoid asking about salary, benefits, or vacation in the technical round.

Post-Interview Checklist

Immediately After

• Write down the questions you were asked
• Write down your solutions and any follow-ups
• Note what went well and what could be improved
• Note any topics you need to review

Within 24 Hours

• Send a thank-you email to the recruiter (and interviewer if appropriate)
• Review the questions and solve them again if needed
• Update your study plan based on gaps you identified

If You Get an Offer

• Don’t accept immediately — take time to evaluate
• Research the compensation range for the role
• Consider the full package (base, bonus, equity, benefits)
• Negotiate — it’s expected and normal
• Ask for the offer in writing

If You Don’t Get an Offer

• Ask for feedback (politely)
• Don’t take it personally — interviews are partly luck
• Review what went wrong and improve
• Apply again in 6-12 months (most companies allow this)
• Keep practicing — every interview makes you better

Interview Day Mental Checklist

Before Each Question

• Take a breath
• Clear your mind
• Focus on the problem

When Stuck

• Don’t panic — it’s normal to get stuck
• Go back to examples
• Think about simpler versions of the problem
• Consider different data structures
• Ask the interviewer for a hint (it’s okay!)

Time Management

• Spend ~2 min understanding the problem
• Spend ~1-2 min on examples and edge cases
• Spend ~3-5 min discussing the approach
• Spend ~10-15 min coding
• Spend ~3-5 min testing
• Spend ~2 min on complexity analysis

Communication Tips

• Think out loud
• Explain your reasoning before coding
• If you’re stuck, say what you’re thinking
• Don’t go silent for more than 30 seconds
• It’s okay to say “let me think about this for a moment”
• Ask for clarification if anything is unclear

Red Flags to Avoid

• Jumping into code without understanding the problem
• Not asking any clarifying questions
• Going silent for long periods
• Refusing to consider hints from the interviewer
• Being defensive about your approach
• Not testing your code
• Giving up too easily
• Overcomplicating the solution
• Not knowing the basics of your language
• Lying about your experience or skills

Green Flags to Aim For

• Clear communication throughout
• Systematic problem-solving approach
• Considering multiple approaches
• Writing clean, readable code
• Testing thoroughly
• Handling edge cases
• Knowing the complexity of your solution
• Being open to feedback and hints
• Showing genuine enthusiasm for the problem
• Asking thoughtful questions

Print this checklist and review it before every interview. Over time, these habits will become second nature.