I had a mock interview with Casey that consisted of 30 minutes of conceptual questions followed by a 30 minute technical challenge. I think I did alright but there are always ways to improve.
I like to think of the interviewer as someone who doesn't know anything about programming. It takes some of the pressure off and it pushes me to explain every step that I take in a detailed manner. This is useful because it gives them confidence that I can explain technical topics to people from different backgrounds and it allows them to see how well I actually understand something instead of having to make assumptions.
From the feedback I got, I did really well with communicating during the technical challenge. I was able to explain how I was going to approach the problem and I was able to explain my decisions and my thought process as I started going through it.
I'll keep working on technical challenges to keep myself sharp but I'm going to start devoting more time to behavioral and conceptual questions.
I realized that I've been focusing on the technical aspect of the interview too much. Although I've reached the point at which I feel comfortable taking on any challenge, my questions to behavioral, conceptual, and personal questions could really use some work. I know most of the concepts wells but to ensure that it comes across that way I have to practice and refine my answers a little bit.