One thing I've noticed lately among candidates I've interviewed is that some candidates don't demonstrate particularly strong interest or knowledge in the company or role they're applying for. If I ask "Why are you applying for this job at ", I'll occasionally hear some vague answer like "I like (company X)", or "It seemed interesting".

Candidates who really demonstrate some clear interest in the role can distinguish themselves from the rest of the pack. For many tech companies this is relatively easy to do, since a lot of their technology is described in detail on their website, and even sometimes open-sourced in some form.

One example was a recent candidate who was particularly interested in a somewhat niche SDK the company made. Prior to applying, he spent a year working with the SDK, helping others who used the SDK (on our dev forums), and blogging about how he solved tricky problems with the SDK. When he came to interview, not only did he already have relevant expertise, but he was able to clearly demonstrate interest in the role.

Another way I like to think about it is pretending you're already working at the company. Before applying to company X, see if you can find enough information and resources to actually work on company X's technology on your own. You'll get relevant experience you can discuss at the interview, and give yourself a very rough idea of whether or not you'd be interested in working on company X's tech on a day-to-day basis.