15 Minutes of Awkward Interview Silence Made Me Consider Quitting Software Development
Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash
I’m currently interviewing for positions, and I think this is as good a time as any to reflect on my previous interview experiences.
Some of my interview experiences have been positive (usually where I’ve managed to achieve a job offer), and some less so.
Today I’m thinking about a time when the interview got so awkward for such a prolonged time that I considered quitting software engineering altogether.
Here is my experience, and what I think needs to change.
Implement a Heap
The Interview
I managed to get an interview with a large company in my city through a referral (from an employee who I met a single time at a meetup).
It was towards the beginning of my software development career, and I’d already spent a great deal of time practicing data structures and algorithms, and thought I’d have a fair chance at getting an offer.
So, I went into the interview with a positive attitude and did OK for the first couple of questions — the typical LeetCode easy/medium questions you might get asked.
The Question
The final question was something like Find the k-th largest element in an array — where I’d practiced the heap solution and realized I could regurgitate this without too many issues.
I went to work.
The Issue
I always found the exact details of the implementation difficult to remember, specifically trivia associated with heaps (left child = 2i +1, right child = 2i + 2, parent = (index — 1) / 2 escapes me in particular).
I panicked as I couldn’t how to construct the heap
I hoped the interviewers would give me some hints, as I wasn’t making any progress with the question at all. They declined to do anything apart from sit in silence. So, we sat in silence. For 15 minutes.
I’m Still Confused
I don’t know why they didn’t send me home, as I simply couldn’t answer the question. They could have given me some tips, as at this point there was no chance of me getting an offer and the situation was simply painful.
I now wish I’d have walked out of the interview to maintain some dignity, but I was in such need for a job I felt I should stay. They might overlook the most difficult question and give me a job offer, after all. They didn’t.
The Mental Toll of Technical Interviews
The experience wasn’t just awkward — it was mentally draining. The pressure to recall specific algorithms and data structures on the spot can be overwhelming.
I’m sure I’m not the only person to freeze in an interview, but in my particular case the interviewer’s refusal to provide hints of guidance feels cruel. I didn’t handle the stress and pressure well, but that should not be part of the test at a competent company,
Sitting in silence for 15 minutes, knowing that your performance is quite frankly embarrassing impacted my mental health.
This pressure can exacerbate feelings of anxiety and self-doubt, and it was no doubt futile for all involved.
A Call for Change in Interview Practices
Technical interviews often fail to represent the type of work expected if a candidate progresses to employment. They also fail to consider the mental well-being of candidates.
Interviews are high-pressure and high-stakes events requiring a candidate to have near-prefect recall of academic knowledge while the interviewer has sight of the question and solution before the interview process begins.
We should either change the interview process entirely or at least consider how we might make these interviewers more palatable for the candidates.
remove the memory test component of interviews
provide hints to give candidates a nudge
allow candidates to pick from a selection of questions
In a real-world job scenario, developers have access to resources and colleagues to help solve problems. Why should an interview be any different?
Moving Forward
This experience is now a few years old. I realize this experience is more about how companies assess potential employees rather than any commentary on my quality as a developer.
Honestly, at this time I couldn’t use GitHub correctly as I’d never worked in a team as a software developer. There is no way I’d have been a productive employee at this point in a large team, but the interview as is, did not seek to gather this information.
I suggest a focus on problem-solving skills, collaboration, and practical knowledge rather than the ability to recall specific trivia under pressure. Or just revamp the whole thing as I’ve previously suggested.
Conclusion
For those currently navigating the job market, remember that an interview is as much about finding the right fit for you as it is about proving your worth to a company.
If an interview process leaves you feeling mentally exhausted and undervalued, it might be a sign that the company culture isn’t the right fit for you and move on.
You’ll get there in the end, I’ve faith in you.