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7/28/2019 WISE Altera Acing Technical Interviews
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Acing the Technical Interview
October 19, 2012 University of Toronto
Inmar Givoni, Terry Borer,Scott Brissenden, Adrian Ludwin,
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
a ano arara a
Altera Corp.
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About Altera
Leader in FGPA industry Modular hardware that can be programmed to implement diverse
applications on the same hardware device Our products are used in medical equipment, cars, wireless network
switches,
Toronto Technology Centre
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
Software & Hardware Place & Route - algorithmic heart of the CAD tool (Quartus II)
Future architecture exploration
Device modeling (timing, power)
OpenCL c like hardware programming language
Hiring full time, PEY, interns (TO & San-Jose) Competitive salaries, medical benefits, downtown office,
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Interviewing is a learnable skill
You can (and should) become good at it
By doing your homework:
On the order of hours
Close to the interview time
1. Understand the process and what is expected
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
2. Recognize your weak spots and work on them3. Practice, practice, practice
Interviews In general
Technical interviews Coding problems
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Doing your homework - research
Eliminate uncertainty
Ask around dont be shy!
Find people whove interviewed, ask them about the process, thedetails, what material to know, will they require you to code? onpaper, on whiteboard, on desktop? Do they ask brain-teasers? Howmany interviews? How long? One person? Panel?
You can also ask the company! They would usually just tell you
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
Refresh your knowledge! Go over basic class notes - data-structures, algorithms, write some
code if you arent doing it regularly.
Books / online resources
Find questions, practice answering them
Find blogs/posts about how to interview candidates!
Use university resources Career center, MITACS workshops, etc
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Some resources:
1. Books1. Programming Interviews Exposed; Secrets to landing your next
job by John Monagan and Noah Suojanen2. Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell
2. Algorithms / data structures :
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
. .tutorials&d2=alg_index
3. Wesbites: http://www.careercup.com/
4. Lots more, do your homework!
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Doing your homework - preparations
Be ready for a dialogue this is not just aboutanswering the question but communicating,discussing your thought process and your approach.
Be prepared to talk about what youve done Be able to talk about every point in your resume
Shows your communications skills,
Be able to summarize but also delve into details, as appropriate
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
What the company did (project goal) + what I did (personal contribution) If the company conducts behavioral interviews,
prepare for that (I dont know much about it) Research the company, product, values
Bring pen, paper, clipboard, Prepare questions
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Do your homework practice!
Go on interviews for practice
Ask friends and family members to interview you
Often harder than interviewing with a stranger
Similar setting room with whiteboard, question you haventheard
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
s r en s an am y mem ers o oo ormannerisms you can fix
Ask and answer questions aloud by yourself
Answers in your head go a lot smoother than in reality In front of a mirror
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The Interview
Introductions Technical evaluation
Problem solving and analytical skills
Coding
Programming depth, technical breadth
Communications & teamwork skills
About the com an
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
Your questions make sure you have some
What would you like to know? Imagine your day to day work there
You are also interviewing the company
After the interview you can email and ask forfeedback! The worst that can happen is theyll say they dont provide feedback
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Other types of interviews
Phone interviews Make sure you have a good landline/reliable connection
Prepare pen+paper
Try to keep your hands free
Talking is even more important
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
Prepare a few interesting tidbits about yourself, practice 3-5 times
Example: Instead of showing you are a hard worker, show itthrough story
Show interest, enthusiasm, but not overly so
If you are from a different cultural background, this may requiresome preparation!
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What does the interviewer want?
Coding: Sure, theyd like to see the right solution
The problem solving process
Thought process, approach
To see you succeed!
If you share the thinking process, the issues, etc., they will likely give youa hint / lead you in the right direction!
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
s s w y t s mportant to eep on t e scuss on even you on tknow the answer!
And in general: A pleasant interaction
Energy, enthusiasm, passion for technology, intellectual curiosity,
someone theyd enjoy working with Confidence
This is not the same as knowing the solution!
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Recipe for technical code question1. Make sure you understand the question
Repeat the question and ensure you understand it
Draw/create an example if none was given
Write the function prototype
2. Think out loud how to solve the problem Share bad solutions! Share why you think they are bad
3. Once you have a good idea - write your code Explain what you are doing, motivation for your choices
Deal with corner cases (empty/illegal input)
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Deal with boring code (sometimes comments are enough!)
Comments
4. Check by running through the example
5. Ask - is there a more efficient way of doing it?
Always: think out loud
Whenever in doubt: ask questions, assert assumptions, share issues
Dont worry too much about the syntax, and syntax errors.
As you practice, review your answer against this checklist11
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Mock Interview
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Thank You
2012 Altera CorporationPublic
ALTERA, ARRIA, CYCLONE, HARDCOPY, MAX, MEGACORE, NIOS, QUARTUS and STRATIX words and logos are trademarks of Altera Corporation and registered in the U.S. Patent andTrademark Office and in other countries. All other words and logos identified as trademarks or service marks are the property of their respective holders as described at www.altera.com/legal.13