Shadowing Practice: I ask this question to every Backend Engineer I interview - Learn English Speaking with Video
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What's going on guys?
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My name is Hussain and I thought I'm gonna make a little bit of a lighter weight video for you guys today.
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Taking a break from the pre-search of back-end engineering, right?
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Those can exhaust your mind when you watch these videos and keep learning and learning and learning.
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So I thought I'd talk to you about my interviewing techniques.
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And by no means, it's not perfect.
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And I don't think there is a perfect interview question that you need to memorize to get any job you want.
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Those might be shortcuts where you learn certain thing and you know what the interviewer will ask.
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And based on that, you can guess or answer and memorize these things.
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But I don't think this is a good strategy in general.
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But that being said, my approach is instead of asking,
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oh, solve Dicestra algorithm or do a quick sort algorithm,
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which can be easily memorized if you think about it, right?
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and as a result, if you ask these kind of questions
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and the candidate just memorized them and happened to guys read or take these courses, right?
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These algorithm courses and come to an interview and nail the interview.
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Yeah, how do you know they are good?
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They might have been able to solve these algorithms, but it doesn't prove that they have the capability to think on themselves.
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They have the abilities to have analytical thinking.
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So that's the question I ask.
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I'm going to tell you in a minute, but it's a very open-winded question.
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And I tailor this question specifically to the back end,
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but I tweak it a little bit based on how the interview is going.
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And the reason I make it
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so open-minded is the candidate will not be able to kind of give one answer and this is the right answer.
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Because guess what?
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That question doesn't have an answer.
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It just has like multiple thousands of answers.
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And as a result, you can just gauge your interviewee.
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You can gauge your candidate skills.
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You can gauge how much they know.
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You can gauge how willing are they to be pragmatic on their solutions.
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All right.
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So three minutes and we didn't ask that question.
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The question is as the following.
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given an
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architectural system there is a database
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and there is a back end web application right the database
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could be postgres sql server could be mysql anything you want there is a database there is a web server
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that is consuming this database right at the backend could be node.js could be django java anything you prefer
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and there's in front of that there is a reverse proxy
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that does load balancing this thing and i don't specify details
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if you notice i just say very high level details right
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and then this reverse proxy could be nginx of hl proxy could be caddy i just give them examples right
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and then finally there is this application
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right this the client application could be a desktop application could be a web browser
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and the reason i don't say one thing is just to confuse them even more
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because there there are just
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if you pick a web versus desktop the branch first of
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all the candidate will go to the branch they are most comfortable
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which is something i want to know second thing is they
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if they go to the web that's not wrong it's just
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i would i want to know where they're going after that right it's just fascinating to have a discussion.
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So this is the stack, right?
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And I told them, I told the candidates, hey, you're responsible for the whole stack.
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I don't like the word full stack engineer,
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just because I don't think there is someone who can be adept in the whole stack.
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Yeah, you can know about the whole thing,
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but to be very well a master on certain thing, you have to pick one thing and dive deep into it.
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There's nothing wrong with being a full stack engineer.
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I'm just saying you will be a generalist at best, right?
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That's my idea, right?
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But yeah, so you're responsible for the whole stack.
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And now I just say, here's what happened.
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Here's the problem.
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My user has this application all the way here, and they're clicking on a button, right?
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And this button, the moment they click on this button,
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the application freezes for 60 seconds, exactly 60 seconds.
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And then the response comes back and a table is displayed with the results.
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So this button is responsible to display the results.
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So I say this is the question.
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Where where where what do you do to identify the performance problem in the whole stack
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and I just let them run with it obviously there is no right
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or wrong answer the problem right could be in the front-end
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application could be in the reverse proxy there's the reverse proxy could be choking on something
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that the web server could be processing this stuff
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and it could be that the database could be just a slow database query
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that doesn't have indexes or could be we're retrieving too much information
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or could be we're doing something any anything in this stack right
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and and based on
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that it is fascinating for the past 16 years from of
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my career the different answers i get on these questions
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and based on that i i have a gut feeling to okay let's hire this guy
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or gal it's just a gut feeling at the end of the day because
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oh all right you you will notice that
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if someone is is really interesting databases they will spend
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so much time here all their time
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so okay i might do this i might do this i
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might go do database tuning i might i might actually uh enable uh database tracing
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and see how the squares look like i i'm gonna see they've spent a lot of time and
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if they're they're really passionate about front-end engineering you will see most of their time spent on the front end
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and this is okay i'm gonna look at div top uh div tops div tools
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and i do all
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that stuff i'm gonna check all these networking i'm gonna check the javascript stack i'm gonna check the event loop
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and see if i'm doing something wrong and and
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and sometimes they say stuff i don't even know like uh i'm gonna check react components
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which i don't i don't know anything about right so so yeah it's just it's so
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and as they took through the stack i see their eyes light up in certain areas
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and this is where i know this guy
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or gal is really passionate about this area right
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because they're spending a lot of time just discussing this stuff right
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and if they gloss over this thing doesn't mean they are bad it's just they're not interested
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and that's absolutely fine right
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so some people spend a lot of time in the reverse proxy
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and my god i met one gal she was
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so good she broke down she spent almost like 25 minutes talking about the reverse proxy
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and how she can optimize it i was baffled she was
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so good yeah she ended up accepting another offer though
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but uh yeah
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so that's that's fascinating all this stuff is fascinating to me
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that's what's the question i ask guys in an interview again
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it doesn't give you it doesn't give you any it gives you some indication
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but i don't think there is a question
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that you can ask that's the gal i want
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or that's the guy i want i don't think they exist there's there is no way way to find
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if this person fits your job you can ask them technical
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question all all you want it's like oh what is
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and sometimes i do that's like
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if they they uh sometimes i like to make the candidate uncomfortable a little bit like
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if they spend a lot of time in their front end i know they don't know much about backing
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so i ask them very very stupid questions
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that i know they're not gonna answer
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but i just want them to feel a little bit at
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ease right it's just it's just an asshole move from me
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and it's like okay what what what is uh talk to
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me about repeatable read isolation level for example in databases and
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when we're going to use it obviously this is a little bit of a very technical question
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and specifically to the relational databases right but i like to ask this question
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but they if they didn't answer that does not mean they don't get the job
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or they are bad not at all right and most engineers that interview for a long time understand this thing
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there's there's no way it's always a gamble
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if we hire someone it's always about how you feel gut feeling
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and gary v actually says that sometimes says okay i
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if i look at someone he's even at the extreme end it's like he look at someone
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and say okay you're hired because he quickly fires someone
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if it doesn't if they they don't perform he doesn't have a problem with
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that right so this is his approach so he hire hire hire her and he doesn't have a problem with firing.
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So he doesn't have a problem with hiring.
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He doesn't have a problem.
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It's like he chose a trial based on his gut feeling, right?
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And yeah, so that's the idea of the interview.
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I hope it gives you some sort of idea.
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If you're interviewing for a job, just be yourself.
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And if you're truly to yourself, you're enjoying engineering, there is a job out there for you that just fits you and just be kind,
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be nice, be down to earth.
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And if you know something, if you don't know something, just say, I don't know.
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That's absolutely fine.
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It doesn't mean anything, right?
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If the interviewee, if the interviewer asking you difficult questions just for the sake of they showing their skills,
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then I don't think that's a good interviewer either.
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So it's a balance.
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I don't know.
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So I don't think there is a way to pass an interview, right?
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A sure thing way to pass an interview.
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Yeah, you can memorize all the algorithms you want, but I never ask any algorithm question in my job or even my previous job for that matter.
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But yeah, guys, that's a quick video today.
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I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.
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Today's Wednesday.
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And I'm going to see you in the next one.
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I had to head back to work it's around 6 in the morning
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just thought I'm gonna make a video for you guys I'll see you in the next one
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you guys stay awesome, goodbye
Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing your spoken English using video content like this one can significantly enhance your fluency and comprehension. Engaging with authentic materials allows you to hear natural speech patterns and contextual language use, making it easier for learners to pick up real-life conversation skills. By participating in a technique known as shadow speech, where you mimic the speaker’s pace and intonation, you improve not only your speaking abilities but also your listening comprehension. This method is particularly beneficial for IELTS speaking practice, as it helps refine your ability to respond spontaneously and clearly in high-pressure situations.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Throughout the video, the speaker employs several key grammatical structures and expressions that are valuable for English learners. Here are a few noteworthy examples:
- Present progressive tense: The use of "are learning" demonstrates actions that are currently happening. This tense is crucial for discussing ongoing practices, such as “I am practicing my speaking skills.”
- Conditional phrases: Phrases like "if you notice" indicate hypothetical scenarios, which can help learners understand how to express conditions and choices, e.g., “If you want to improve, practice often.”
- Question formation: The speaker frequently uses open-ended questions, such as "How do you know they are good?" This structure encourages learners to formulate their responses more dynamically, an essential skill for IELTS speaking practice.
- Modal verbs: Expressing ability, necessity, or possibility with modals like "can" and "might," allows learners to articulate potential outcomes and suggestions effectively, helping them become more versatile speakers.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When engaging with this video, learners may encounter various pronunciation challenges. Here are a few tricky words and phrases to pay attention to:
- "Dijkstra": This algorithm name can be difficult to pronounce for non-native speakers; focus on the 'D' sound at the beginning.
- "Postgres": The pronunciation can vary, so listening carefully to how it's articulated in context will help solidify your understanding.
- "Analytical": Make sure to emphasize the 'lyt' part to avoid mushing the syllables together.
- Technical terms: Words related to backend engineering, such as "database" and "server," require clear enunciation to ensure clarity in both conversations and explanations.
By incorporating the techniques discussed in this video and utilizing a shadowspeaks approach to enhance your practice, you'll be well on your way to achieving greater confidence and proficiency in your spoken English skills.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.