A brief introduction, my name is Gregory Amaefule an Electronic & Computer Engineering major at FUTO pursuing expertise in Cloud and Software Engineering.
I started applying for internships because I felt I have gotten enough of the basics and needed projects to test and improve my creative ability in knitting together these basics when solving real-life problems. I listed out all the internships available I felt were intensive enough to help me develop my problem-solving ability. HNG, MLH, Goldmann Sachs, InterSwitch, SystemSpecs, and Microsoft were all my targets but they all had application cycles far away at that time.
I stumbled upon DevCareer Internship on Twitter and quickly began to apply. I scaled through the application essay phase and critical and technical test phase. I was excited to be invited for the interview. Little did I know that the battle was not over yet.
The interview day came and journeyed from Owerri to PH city. On reaching the interview location with the help of Google Maps, we were briefed and encouraged to be as chill as possible as the interview was only to get to know us and didn't involve any code writing. That felt comforting to me.
It was now my turn to be interviewed and I went into the hot seat(not literally). Looking back now it seems every interview begins with "tell us about yourself". My first mistake I guess was not being ready for that question. It is easy to answer it of course but I feel our answer to that question should be unique enough that it separates us from every other person, that should have been a good start for me.
I also noted that these interviews are always or most times planned to find out certain things about us to figure out if we were particular "FIT" for a position or the "Most FIT". This interview was particularly focused on: 1) My experience working on a team 2) My experience working on projects 3) My Tools 4) Communication abilities 5) My Availability
If I had done my research ahead of time and prepared to communicate these things about myself properly, I feel I could have stood out.
In conclusion, the lessons learned from a failed interview include:
1) Doing enough research about the company's culture, needs, the position. 2) Preparing on time to effectively communicate that I am the best fit for these positions 3) Developing these areas ahead of time, would give you a lot to talk about.
I hope this helps you in your preparation. Good luck! Thanks for your time.