Well that was a long minute... Sorry I didn't get back two days ago! I ended up preparing and writing answers all that day, in between getting my stomach out of my throat.
So, the interview is over... aaaaaaaanddd...
It went well! It's all almost a blur at this point, but going in I was hugely nervous from the build-up. The same day as my last post, I found out it was a joint interview with five people, including the CEO and President.
But the president put me immediately at ease. They started the interview by describing their company and history, and he was an amicable guy, so it was a great relaxing start. Also, the CEO wasn't there and wasn't going to be there for most of the interview!! So a big weight off right up front. It let me be myself and confident.
Two biggest pieces of advice that I got which worked amazingly:
1. Make three key talking points that you know the company wants in that position. And the amazing part is that you don't even have to guess what those are, the company will tell you themselves! Before the interview, ask the H.R. person or whoever you're in contact with, what are the three key things needed to be successful for this position. Think about how you can provide those three key things, fill it out with examples, and focus on those. So if you get thrown a curveball that you're not sure how to answer, you can always work it back into your talking points. Kind of like politicians do. Very effective.
2. In the same email with the H.R. person, ask who will be involved in the interview. Then do as much research as you can on them. I wasn't a big fan of LinkedIn before this interview, but I am now. They specifically said they were impressed that I knew quite a lot about each of them and how they got to their position. The best part for me is that it simply brought these guys with big titles back to earth, because I found ways I could relate to them. It turns out the President started as an intern at the company in college, and worked his way up from there. That is pretty much exactly how my career has gone, so I had an immediate connection.
So, I'm hopeful about my chances, but there were certainly some things I could have answered better or done slightly better in the pseudo-code test. I'm supposed to find out in a week or two....