Here are 5 tips on taking a technical interview:
1. Bring a copy of your Resume and be prepared to answer questions about it.
Interviewers like to make questions about your resume. It is something the candidate already has experience on and helps the transition from a regular to a more technical talk. Often you are asked about past projects and what you liked or disliked about them. Review your resume and make sure you can give details on the topics you mentioned.
2. Read the job requirements
Most of the times the recruiter has a particular profile to fill and they pass on the details to the technical interviewer. Expect questions about the technologies in the requirements and about how you have applied them in the past.
3. Practice coding on paper
It is expected that the candidate can write some code. After all, this is a technical interview. It is common that interviewers ask you to solve problems on the whiteboard while they follow. This particular part can be really stressful, but can be dealt with practice. It is not expected for a candidate to know every exact detail, so you can ask for some help from the interviewer, but the less help you get the better.
4. Know the basics
Basic concepts such as object oriented programming and data structures are common questions. Depending on the job profile, it can also require knowledge about algorithms and big-O notation. While the interviewer may not ask about concepts directly, it may be expected that you can use this knowledge to solve problems.
5. Be on time
Technical interviewers normally have responsibilities on their own and are collaborating with recruiters. By arriving on time you show interest and your interviewer will appreciate that.
*Bonus: if the interview is on-site, you can look around and see what the working environment is like.