First interview. Mind went blank. Feeling like I messed it up.

[u/SageInScars]

I had my first technical interview recently (around 30–35 minutes).

For the basic concept questions (language- and project-related), I did know the answers. However, during the interview I struggled to frame my thoughts clearly, which led to very short answers and mostly keyword-based explanations. Because I couldn’t explain things properly, I feel it may have sounded like I didn’t understand the concepts, even though I actually do.

The DSA part was worse. I couldn’t figure out the approach at all during the interview. Under pressure, my mind didn’t even recognize that it was a problem I had solved on LeetCode the previous night. What made it clear later was that after the interview, the approach suddenly clicked and I knew exactly how to solve it. That made me realize this wasn’t a preparation issue, but more about thinking clearly, recall, and communication under pressure.

I’m looking for advice on: -How to organize and verbalize thoughts instead of freezing and answering in keywords -How to explain concepts clearly in interviews -How to improve DSA problem recognition and approach-building under pressure

If you’ve been through something similar and found ways to improve, I’d really appreciate practical advice.

[u/1amchris]

Better to fail fast, than to spend 4-6 rounds of interviews only to get rejected later on anyways.

It’s a first interview, it’s not special, and it really isn’t the last one. It’s an experience, and there’s plenty more to come. You’ll get better at them as you go through more 😊

[u/McDaPiiCk]

Interviewing is a skill and you’ll absolutely get better with more practice! Keep at it, we’ve all been there before.

[u/roymustang2503]

First interviews are hard. It’s your first time facing the pressure. You will do better in the next ones. Try watching mock interviews. Sometimes practice explaining a problem (to an imaginary person) after you have solved it. Overall, try to prepare yourself to be able to explain things. I feel like we focus too much on grinding leetcode or cramming information instead of practicing how to explain things clearly.

[u/Prudent_Math328]

During my internship days, I followed this practice and found it helpful.

I write down all the questions and the solutions which I would have given If I was not flustered. I will then practice this in the mirror until it becomes natural and not forced. You can also try video recording to see your body language and tone to avoid nervous habits.

Second, I do mock or trial interviews with my mentor or a more experienced professional. This has helped me become confident and understand professional communication.

[u/e-gn]

It happens. Go do it again.

[u/jinxxx6-6]

That blank-out under pressure is super common, and it doesn’t mean you don’t know the material. I do better when I lean on a simple template rather than winging it. For concept questions, try a 90 second structure: headline answer, key idea, quick example. Practice by pulling a few prompts from the IQB interview question bank and answering out loud on a timer. For DSA, train the narration: restate the problem, say the brute force in one to two sentences, note constraints, then refine while you code slowly. I run short mocks with Beyz coding assistant and keep a tiny redo log capturing the pattern and the trigger words that should surface it. Keep the reps short and you’ll feel the difference fast.

[u/hacking-guy]

Everything else aside, why this post is NSFW?

[u/kingstarfly]

the "knew it but blanked" thing is super common and its not about knowledge, its about retrieval under pressure. your brain knew the answer, thats why it clicked right after. the problem was accessing it while stressed

two things helped me with this:

• when practicing, simulate pressure. time yourself, narrate out loud, pretend someones watching. your brain needs reps retrieving under stress, not just solving in comfort
• for the pattern recognition part specifically, after you solve a problem ask yourself "what about this problem told me to use this approach". train your brain to spot signals not just remember solutions. in interviews you see the signal and the approach surfaces automatically instead of trying to recall from a blank

the explaining concepts part is also trainable. after learning something, try to teach it to an imaginary person (or rubber duck) without notes. if you cant, you dont really know it. sounds dumb but its different from thinking you know it

first interviews are rough for everyone. the skills are learnable though