The best interview advice I received

• The most important interview tip: Be yourself.
• Have a positive attitude, don't be nervous, don't be fake.
• Think of the interview as an opportunity for the interviewer and you to know each other. This is mutually beneficial: the interviewer will learn whether you are fit for the job, and you will get a feel of what life in that company is like.
• Do not try to hide your feelings about the company or the job; they will show anyway. If you feel uncomfortable during the interview, one of two things will happen: 1. You won't get the job, or 2. You will feel just as uncomfortable while doing it. I don't know which one is worse..
• Have fun! The interview should be a fun, interesting experience for both of you. Show them that you'd be proud to work there, and make them feel proud to have you.
• As sockpuppet said below, your inquisitive mind, problem solving abilities and desire to learn new things matter more than your actual knowledge. The interviewer would prefer someone who gives an "I don't know, but it sounds interesting! I want to learn!" answer to someone who tries to cover up his ignorance or lack of understanding.
• Surprise the interviewer. Be it with your knowledge, your wit, your personality, your open mind. This is how you make sure you'll stand out.

This may sound like a truism...Be yourself

dwyn: Right on. As someone who conducts interviews quite a bit, let me state this another way to really drive it home: Do not try to be the candidate you think the interviewer wants you to be.

Over and over again I see people who have obviously crammed C++, OOP concepts, databases or aspects of our business in order to look more like their idea of the ideal candidate. Know this: The fact that you have done this becomes evident almost instantly to a good interviewer, and it is the kiss of death. Why? Because I need to know how well you understand what you have learned. If you say that you know something, and turn out to have only a surface understanding when I ask you to explain how it works, it casts into doubt everything you claim to know. This is the worst single thing that can happen to you in an interview.

During an interview, I am interested in only a few things:

• Whether you are bright, intellectually curious, and can solve hard problems
• Whether you would fit in and be happy here (us with you and you with us)
• Whether you know the stuff you already claim to understand, and know it very well

That's it. If you don't know shit about relational databases, don't beat around the bush or make something up about it. Whatever you do, don't start spouting stuff about normal forms unless you can give me some examples from real life. Tell me "actually, I don't know shit about relational databases", or perhaps "We learned about normal forms in college, but I've never had the opportunity to use an RDBMS in a nontrivial way." If you are bright and motivated, I know that I can give you a book, an espresso machine and a generous supply of grind, and tomorrow you will understand relational databases.

The only reason I care about what you know is to determine how deep it goes. If you've been doing object-oriented programming for 5 years now, you better know it inside out. If you don't, or you've only really dabbled in it here and there over the course of several years, say that.

In sum, I am looking for quality. For potential. If you've got it, don't worry...you're golden. If not, well, we're still humming along at 4% unemployment. Somebody will hire you...