Tech Interview Practice for Mandarin Speakers (US)
Practise the questions a software engineer interview actually asks, and see where your English is costing you marks before the real thing. Built for people who moved from China and Taiwan and are interviewing in United States.
What a software engineer interview asks
These recur across employers because they are what the decision turns on.
- Walk me through a system or feature you built. What did you decide, and why?
- Tell me about a technical trade-off you made and what it cost you.
- Describe a bug that took you a long time to find. How did you find it?
- Tell me about a time you disagreed with a technical decision on your team.
- How do you explain a technical problem to somebody who is not technical?
What Mandarin Chinese speakers commonly say in English
These are habits, not mistakes about intelligence — your first language works differently, and it shows through under interview pressure.
Tense aspect drift
Often said: Last year I'm working on it.
Instead: Last year I worked on it.
Article dropping
Often said: I managed project.
Instead: I managed the project.
Missing 'is/are'
Often said: I responsible for sales.
Instead: I am responsible for sales.
Number-noun agreement
Often said: Three year experience.
Instead: Three years of experience.
Hedging overuse
Often said: Maybe I think possibly we could.
Instead: I think we could.
How interviews run in United States
Talking about your own work
"Selling yourself" is expected. Confidence and enthusiasm are strengths.
What interviewers here tend to value
- Initiative
- Results-orientation
- Enthusiasm
- Leadership potential
- Cultural fit
What catches people out
- Being too modest
- Not sending thank-you email
- Not negotiating salary
- Underselling achievements
What is expected of your English
Native-like expected for most professional roles
High in diverse cities (NYC, SF, LA), lower in smaller markets
Mandarin → US tech
US tech interviews reward strong individual ownership language. The Mandarin convention of crediting the team ('我们做的' / 'we did it') reads as 'team player but not driver' to American interviewers — especially at FAANG, where Amazon Leadership Principles literally require 'Ownership.' You'll need to consciously translate group accomplishment into individual contribution.
Phrases that carry weight here
- I led the migration from X to Y, which reduced [specific metric] by [number].
- I owned the decision. The trade-off was Z, and we accepted it because Y.
- My specific contribution was X. The team supported, but the call was mine.
Where this pairing usually stumbles
- Saying 'we' when the question is 'what did YOU do' — interviewers will probe and your answer gets weaker
- Pronunciation of 'th' (the / through / month) — practice these specifically
- Apologising for English ('sorry, my English is not perfect') — never do this; it tags you as low-confidence before you've answered
Questions worth asking them
- What separates an engineer who's strong here from one who's just okay?
- What's the team's biggest technical debt right now, and how is it being addressed?
- How does promotion from [target level] to the next look here?
Reading about it only takes you so far
Answer a few of these out loud and you will find out, in about five minutes, which part of your English is costing you marks — and what to fix first. Free, and you do not need a card.