Your Tech Interview Playbook: Preparation That Pays Off

Itay Sharfi
Jan 9
3 min read

Updated: Jan 13

Tech interviews aren’t about being the smartest person in the room—they’re about preparation. A good engineer who knows how to prepare is more likely to land a great job than a great engineer who doesn’t.

This playbook breaks down the types of questions you’ll face, how to prepare for them, and how to send the right signals to get hired. If you’d like to dive deeper into these strategies, the slides from my webinar, Master the Tech Interview, are a great place to start.

🔗 View the webinar slides here

What Interviews Are Really About

The biggest misconception is thinking doing the job is the same as getting the job. They’re not. Interviews are about demonstrating your ability to succeed by sending the right signals:

Problem-Solving: You can approach challenges logically and effectively.
Team Fit: You’ll work well with others and add value to the team.
Execution: You can deliver measurable results.

Your goal isn’t to share everything about your past—it’s to show you’re the best choice for the role by focusing on what the interviewer cares about.

The 4 Common Types of Interview Questions

Behavioral Questions

Behavioral questions are designed to predict how you’ll perform in the future based on how you’ve handled situations in the past.

How to Prepare:

Write 5–10 STAR stories that demonstrate leadership, problem-solving, and teamwork.
Focus on action and results, not unnecessary details.
Keep your answers concise—2 to 3 minutes max.

STAR Framework:

Situation: Set the context.
Task: Explain your role.
Action: Share what you did.
Result: Highlight measurable outcomes.

Example Question: "Tell me about a time you faced a tight deadline."

Situation: Vendor delayed delivery by two weeks.
Task: I had to ensure the project stayed on track.
Action: I created a contingency plan, adjusted resources, and updated stakeholders.
Result: Delivered on time and avoided penalties.

Technical Questions

Technical questions test your problem-solving skills and technical expertise. Even non-engineers may face technical assessments—for example, SQL is commonly tested for product managers at data-driven companies.

How to Prepare:

Practice coding or SQL on platforms such as LeetCode.
Research company-specific questions on Glassdoor.
Focus on clarity: Think aloud, handle edge cases, and explain trade-offs.

Example Question: "Write a function to find the duplicate number in an array."

Solve with hash maps or sorting.
Handle edge cases like empty arrays.
Discuss time and space complexity, even if it’s not explicitly asked.

System Design

System design questions test your ability to tackle large, complex problems.

How to Prepare for System Design:

Review key concepts: distributed systems, load balancing, and caching.
Study real-world systems like Netflix or X.
Practice designing systems like "a URL shortener" or "a mail spam blocker."

Example Question: "How would you design a mail spam blocker?"

Discuss filtering techniques like sender reputation, keywords, and user feedback.
Propose real-time updates for evolving spam trends.
Explain how you’d scale the system for millions of users.

Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions assess creativity and practical problem-solving.

How to Prepare for Open-Ended Questions:

Research the company’s products, services, and challenges—tailor your answers to their needs.
Be customer-focused: What do they want, and what are their pain points?
Focus on solving pain points creatively and practically.

Example Question:"How would you improve the onboarding process for new users of our app?"

Identify common frustrations (e.g., too many steps).
Propose solutions like guided tutorials or personalized flows.
Explain how this boosts retention and satisfaction while being easy to implement.

Checklist: Are You Ready?

Use this to evaluate your preparation:

Behavioral Questions: Do I have 5+ STAR stories with measurable results?
Technical Questions: Can I confidently solve problems and explain my process?
System Design: Can I design and explain scalable solutions clearly?
Mindset: Am I focused on signals, not just sharing my history?
Company Research: Do I understand the company’s mission, products, and challenges?
Communication: Do I stay on point when answering questions? Do I convey the right signals?

Pro-Tip 1: Use LLMs to practice your answers. Record your audio, transcribe it automatically, and ask the LLM to analyze if your response is clear, concise, and free of red flags. You can also provide a list of common questions for it to ask and evaluate your responses.

Pro-Tip 2: Use Amazon’s Leadership Principles as a benchmark for evaluating your soft skills—these are great for understanding strong hiring signals.

Take Action Now

Preparation is what sets you apart. If you want better opportunities, invest the time in preparing thoroughly. For more detailed strategies and examples, explore the full webinar slides: