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Confidence

Most new developers don't have nearly enough confidence in themselves during a coding interview, and it shows. I know it's not helpful to just tell you to be confident, but it is something that you can improve on with some effort and preparation.

Recognize How Far You've Come

Boot.dev is all about learning to code the long way. We don't take shortcuts. If you've made it this far and built all those projects, you've learned a lot. You've probably learned more about the practical skills used in development than most 4-year CS graduates, and more about computer science theory than Bootcamp grads and other self-taught developers.

Companies Don't Hire People, People Hire People

Companies don't think for themselves. Companies are made up of people, and the people in a company don't belong to a singular hive mind. They don't do exactly what's in the company's best interest at all times. The people in a company are loosely aligned in their mission to make the company money, but each person has their own wants, needs, pains and incentives.

People hire people who solve their problems. They're not always looking for the absolute best developer, they're looking for a coworker that will make their job and life easier. They want someone who will:

Save them time
Make them look good
Build out their team, giving them more authority and influence
Deliver the project that will secure their next promotion
Be fun to be around

Your interviewer will wonder:

Will I have to hold your hand constantly?
Will you learn the codebase and be able to contribute quickly?
Do you bring new skills to the team?
Will you be able to quickly learn the things you need to know?
Will hiring you make me look good?

Don't Be a Charity Case

Avoid any sob stories or self-deprecating comments. I've conducted interviews where the candidate said things like:

I'm not very good at algorithms, I didn't have money for college

I've been applying for 2 years and I haven't gotten any offers yet

My best guess is that these candidates thought that we would feel sorry and pity-offer them a job. That's not going to happen. It's not because we don't care, or because we're ruthless, but it would simply be unethical to hire the less qualified person because they had the sadder (and impossible to verify) story.

You need to show off that you can solve problems and that you're enjoyable to work with. That does not mean you need to know everything, but it does mean you should present the best possible version of yourself.