What did you do this past week?

This past week I took it pretty easy other than having my interview with USAA. The interview went okay, although I could have answered design questions in more depth, but at least there was not a technical question. Unfortunately, I did not get started as much as I wanted on the Allocator project, but at least I got the GitHub repo set up and connected to Travis CI. However, delaying my work on the project might work in my benefit since I now have a partner to work with, so the extra bonus points will be nice. Also, I have finally started catching up on the readings for this course. I actually really enjoy the textbook for this course, and I feel like I’m gaining a lot of solid knowledge about programming and design techniques from it.

What’s in your way?

I feel like recently a lot of knowledge has been going in one ear and out the other. I’m not sure what has changed, but it just doesn’t feel like I’m absorbing what I’m doing outside of school for interviews. For example, during my interview this week he asked me what I knew about the company. I had prepared many facts and traits about the company, but when he asked me I just blanked and said only a fraction of the things I prepared. I think something that may help me with interviews is prepping questions and preparing a sort of script that I can read over and over again until it has stuck in my brain.

What will you do next week?

This next week is spring break and I will be going to Tennessee with my family and my girlfriend to visit my step brother. While we are there we are also going to North Carolina to do some skiing. I’m excited for this because I love to ski, but the chances to go are few and far between. I will also be preparing some design for the upcoming Allocator project and continuing to read the textbook.

What’s my experience of the class?

It seems that the class is beginning to delve into more complex topics after the first exam. The Allocator project is the first one where we are required to make a class, but it seems simple enough to implement. However, lectures are covering a lot of material very quickly. I really do enjoy Downing’s lecture style of interacting with a specific student, creating a sort of conversation (although sometimes a one sided one). My only problem is that when he calls on me, I feel that I am not able to jot down my notes in as much detail, and this causes me to lack key information in my notes.

What’s my pick-of-the-week or tip-of-the-week?

My tip of the week is that you should prepare for interviews by asking your friends to give you mock interview questions. There are many example formats to come up with, such as “Design a system to do X.” These are common questions and having to answer them on the spot listing all of the high-level concepts and components needed can be tough if you are not ready.