I did great in my first interview for my first job as a programmer temp. Then they started asking questions about exactly how a database control statement was written. I had written the crazy things, but I couldn’t remember exactly how it had to go. I was forced to admit I just couldn’t remember.
That was the answer they were looking for.
A lot of interviewers start asking picky technical questions, not just to see what you know, but to see if you will admit you don’t know everything. The most common technique is “drilling down”. They start on a subject you know, and then they drill down to a level of detail you don’t know.
Any job can have a technical interview: accounting, computers, sales, management, assembly line, or forklift operator. You need to prepare for the interview by going over some likely technical questions. You also need to admit at some point that you do not know everything.
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Later: Technical questions
Resume blasting
Certifications – gold and lead
Recruiter motivation