Built in LA featured Convoso in their latest article, “How to prep for software engineering interview questions and coding tests.”

The key to demonstrating your strengths isn’t hiding behind a veil of flawless technical knowledge, but rather explaining what wisdom you’ve gathered from past mistakes. While every company takes a slightly different approach to software engineering interviews and coding tests, there are quite a few tools candidates can utilize to prepare themselves as best as possible.

Travis Glover, full-stack software developer at Convoso, comes to interviews prepared. Specifically, he recommends having a constantly updated portfolio of side-projects handy to reference over the course of a conversation. Proof of game or app development, he said, underlines your dedication to the work and, consequently, the role.

And if you get a technical question about a subject you’re unfamiliar with? Honesty is the best policy.

You’ve found a posting for your dream job and landed an interview. What steps would you take to prepare for the coding test?

First, I would think about what technology the company uses so I could focus on studying the languages and concepts that might be on the test. Then, I would search for free coding tests that cover these technologies. Hackerrank, leetcode and the like are a good source for common technical and algorithmic interview questions.

I would also make sure I had the algorithms fresh in my mind. It’s always a good idea to have a well-fleshed-out portfolio of side projects. This allows me to easily show off my ability to build an app or product from the ground up.

What are the toughest or most challenging interview questions that you’ve been asked, and how did you respond?

The toughest questions I’ve been asked have always related to subject matter where I have little expertise. Whenever this happens, I try to answer the question as accurately and honestly as possible.

In my experience, however, non-technical interview questions are not particularly difficult. The trick is remembering that honesty will always guide you to the best answer. Furthermore, hypothetical questions do not necessarily have a right and wrong answer and can offer room for thought leadership.