My First Ever In-Person Interview as a Full-Stack Developer

A Tier-3 college story about pressure, rejection, and lessons that actually matter I didn’t sleep the night before my first in-person interview. My projects weren’t fully ready. My DSA preparation was weak. And I was walking into a real office, to face real engineers, for a real Full-Stack Developer role. I didn’t get selected. But that interview changed everything. This is the honest story of my first face-to-face interview experience—no exaggeration, no shortcuts, just reality. Where I Come From I’m a final-year undergraduate student from a Tier-3 college, where placements were never something we felt confident about. For most of our college life, companies rarely visited, and expectations around campus placements were quite low. Everything changed when we entered our fourth year. Our entire placement department was revamped. A new, experienced team took charge—focused, proactive, and genuinely serious about bringing companies to campus. For the first time, placements felt structured and intentional. That change brought my first interview opportunity. How the Opportunity Came Through one of their contacts, a company opened a role for a Full-Stack Developer. During an initial information session, they asked who was interested. Many students raised their hands—including me. The next day, students were shortlisted based on academic marks and given a technical test related to the role. No one cleared it. Instead of ending the process, the placement team decided to give all interested students another chance. We were given a 24-hour assessment, with a one-hour time window to attempt it. I completed the test. A few days later, I got a call in the evening from my placement officer: “You’re shortlisted. Your interview is tomorrow morning. Be there by 9 AM.” No gap. No time to overthink. No second chance. The Night Before the Interview I was not prepared. My projects were messy and unpolished. The role focused on Python and FastAPI, while most of my experience was in Node.js and JavaScript. That night, I did whatever I could: Cleaned up my projects so I could at least explain them Revised Python fundamentals Learned enough FastAPI to understand what I was building I didn’t sleep. I barely ate. Anxiety took over completely. Interview Day: Walking into the Office I reached the office location early, had a coffee, and waited nearby. At exactly 9:00 AM, I walked inside. After registering my name, I was guided into a waiting room where other candidates were seated. Slowly, more people arrived. I didn’t talk much—I was just observing, processing, and trying to stay calm. Soon, the technical team arrived and explained the interview process. The Task Round We had to choose: A frontend task, or A backend task No AI tools were allowed. Only official documentation. I chose the backend task. The problem statement was to design a Library Management System using FastAPI, implementing full CRUD operations. Despite limited experience, I focused on: Writing clean and functional APIs Structuring the project properly Adding basic error handling It wasn’t perfect—but it worked. Technical Discussion & Shortlisting After the task, candidates were called one by one to explain what they had built. When my turn came, I explained my approach, design choices, and implementation details. The interview quickly turned into a broader technical discussion: Python fundamentals OOP concepts Basic React and Java questions Detailed discussion around my projects After some waiting, the shortlist was announced. My name was there. Then came the next round. The DSA Round (My Weakest Link) The final round was DSA, taken by the Tech Lead. I could confidently explain: The approach to the problem Why it was optimal But when asked to code it, I struggled. The logic was correct. The syntax wasn’t. The discussion still continued for 30–45 minutes, covering: System design scenarios Handling load and scalability How I used AI in my projects Data processing and cloud concepts After that, we were asked to wait again. The Result Later, we were informed that HR would communicate the results over call. Confused, I contacted my placement officer. After some time, he called back and said: “The second round didn’t go very well. You’re not shortlisted.” That moment hurt. But it was also the most honest feedback I had ever received. Lessons I Learned from My First In-Person Interview This interview taught me more than any online rejection ever could. 1. Marks Alone Don’t Decide Your Future Marks may help in shortlisting, but interviews test thinking, clarity, and real skills. 2. DSA Is Non-Negotiable No matter how good your projects are, weak DSA can end the interview. Ignoring it early was my biggest mistake. 3. Projects Must Be Interview-Ready Your projects don’t need to be perfect—but they must be: Clean Deployable Easy to explain If you can’t explain your own project, it’s a red flag. 4. Interviews Are Conversations, Not Interrogations Good interviewers want to understand how you think, not how much you memorize. 5. Rejection Gives Direction I didn’t get selected—but I walked away with clarity on exactly what I needed to improve. Advice to Students Preparing for Placements If you’re still in college or just starting your placement journey: Start DSA early, even if it feels slow Build 2–3 strong projects and understand them deeply Practice explaining your approach, not just final answers Don’t rely on last-minute preparation Treat every interview as a learning experience Your first interview might not be your breakthrough—but it will shape you. Final Thoughts This was my first face-to-face interview, inside a real office, with real engineers, for a real Full-Stack Developer role. I didn’t get the offer. But I walked out more prepared, more aware, and more determined than before. And that mattered more than selection. Follow on Medium- https://medium.com/@stranzer/my-first-ever-in-person-interview-as-a-full-stack-developer-43df0b5d19ad