My First Job Interview

I'm recording this so that when I read it in the future, I can remind myself of this moment.

Why I Applied

After finishing my military service, I wanted to work at a company where I could use English, aiming to study abroad in the US by 2027.

So I applied to a foreign company that combines mechanical engineering with AI. I thought I could leverage both my mechanical engineering background and my AI knowledge. But that turned out to be a big miscalculation.

The Interview Process

Technical Issues

When I entered the interview, I had prepared a PPT to introduce myself. But due to Mac settings, Teams (which I had just installed) couldn't share my screen. First mental breakdown.

They asked me to just explain in English instead. But my English wasn't perfect, and trying to summarize my PPT on the spot was incredibly difficult. I felt my lack of English proficiency acutely.

Next time, make sure to check all system settings beforehand.

Technical Interview

I somehow got through the basic questions, but I couldn't answer anything in the technical interview. Even though I graduated in mechanical engineering, understanding questions in English was too difficult.

And about AI — I said I had studied it, but thinking about it, with all the "click-and-done" AI tools these days, I had to reflect on whether I actually knew anything.

For example, they asked about Adam. It was a really basic question. I knew it was basic too, but all I could answer was "it's optimization theory with acceleration added."

There was another technical question that we were supposed to solve together. But I couldn't think of the answer at all, and I wasn't even sure if I understood the question correctly. I tried my best to answer, but it seemed like that wasn't the right answer. The interviewer kept trying to give me hints, but I couldn't pick up on them at all.

Despite everything, the interviewer kept giving hints and explaining things to me. It felt like being a student with a professor. I felt terrible for wasting their time, but they were so kind — they wanted me to understand, so they explained the answer thoroughly until the very end.

At that moment, I was so embarrassed. My mind went blank. I just wanted it to end quickly.

After the Interview

As it ended, I apologized and honestly told them: "I recently finished military service and wanted to try applying to an English-speaking company. I feel my English is really lacking today."

The interviewer said:

"Your English isn't lacking. You can communicate with me, right? I don't know what the result will be, but you're young."

What I Learned

It was incredibly lucky to meet such a good interviewer at the first company I applied to, and to gain so much experience from it. Their respectful attitude until the very end was something worth emulating.

I realized I need to study the fundamentals more.

To-do:

• Study algorithms
• Study optimizers

To My Future Self

You took on a big challenge today. There will be many difficulties ahead, but always live a life of respect. You'll have more knowledge than you do now, so you'll be cooler, and live a life of helping others.

The PPT I Couldn't Use