Let me help you prepare for Level 2 of tech & startup interview questions. Once you master answering these questions, you’ll be ready to move to the next step.
I’ve put together a great list of questions that you can use to prepare: Level 2: Intro Tech & Startup Interview Questions.
For many of these questions, you will continue to use the STAR framework that we covered before, but your answers will start to become even more tech-specific. You will also start to see how some of these behavioral questions can morph into the hypothetical/scenario/case questions, where you are being asked to help solve a problem or make a recommendation, based on the scenario prompt you are provided. Really good tech interviewers know how to listen to your interview answers and develop interview scenario questions on the fly.
This all goes back to the main point: tech interviewers are trying to balance experience with potential. Past experience can help show that you will do well in tackling their current company challenges, but assessing your potential in how you might solve their future unknown challenges is the real goal. And it’s tricky as hell to assess potential.
BONUS 1: In the download, I’ve included info about my 2x2 Product Matrix, a framework trick that can help you to prepare for basic product/company questions, regardless of what role you are interviewing for. Tech companies expect candidates to have done some research in advance about the tech industry, and this matrix gives you a structured way to do that research.
Having worked with 100s of students & clients, I know that successful candidates practice often with this set of Level 2 questions before they move to custom role-specific ones.