2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Technical interviews are undeniably a vital element when it comes to the successful employment of new grads and can be attributed to the disparity of employment of computer science (CS) majors. Due to a variety of factors, the preparation and the general importance of technical interviews tend not to be emphasized in many CS curricula and academic institutions at large. For this reason, many CS majors are unfamiliar with the technical interview process, which could decrease their success during official interviews.

Some CS departments and institutions have identified the need to educate and prepare their students for technical interviews. Yet, there exists a greater disparity for awareness and preparation when observing many other CS departments and institutions. This disparity represents an opportunity to promote the importance and need for technical interview preparation and awareness across the CS spectrum and academy.

The nature of this article is to provide a survey of literature reflecting current efforts pertaining to technical interview preparation initiatives and overall awareness in CS curriculums, CS departments, and institutions at large. Key findings reveal that more institutions are beginning to implement technical interview practices into the classroom as assignments, group projects, warm-ups, class exercises, and dedicating a class to the topic. For instance, literature shows that exposing students to technical interview exercises in their Data Structure course(s) is one of the most effective methods. One reason being that students are exposed to the process early on but it becomes natural for them to think as interviewees based on the construct of these particular courses. Likewise, literature suggests that introducing the technical interview process early in a student’s computational development could better gauge the overall effectiveness of this employed initiative. Yet, the number of studies that reflect such exposure at earlier stages in the CS pipeline are minimal.

This survey-based article will also discuss potential opportunities to enhance the overall impact and awareness of the technical interview process in academic settings. One example opportunity being the provision of systematic studies to assess the overall impacts of technical interview preparation initiatives in academic settings. Another example reflects the employment of longitudinal studies on CS majors as they matriculate through a curriculum to gauge the impacts of such initiatives as they approach graduation. Moreover, infusing initiatives to increase faculty awareness and engagement with the technical interview process so they can effectively assist in the students’ interview preparation would be impactful.