I've Conducted 200+ Technical Interviews. Here's What Actually Gets You Hired.

After 200+ interviews as the interviewer, I can tell within the first 10 minutes whether a candidate will get an offer. Not because I'm psychic — because the signals are incredibly consistent. Here's what I'm actually evaluating, and what most candidates get wrong. The First 10 Minutes: Communication I'm not evaluating your technical skill yet. I'm evaluating: can I work with this person 8 hours a day? Signals of a strong candidate: Asks clarifying questions before jumping in ("When you say 'scale,' are we talking 1,000 users or 1,000,000?") Thinks out loud ("My first instinct is X, but I'm considering Y because...") Admits what they don't know ("I haven't worked with Kubernetes in production, but I understand the concepts") Is curious, not performative ("Oh interesting, I hadn't considered that constraint") Signals of a weak candidate (regardless of skill): Starts coding immediately without understanding the problem Goes silent for 3+ minutes (I have no idea what they're thinking) Pre