[Credibility: Offers from Google and Amazon, rejected by the other 2 companies I interviewed with]

There is such a heavy emphasis on the technical portion of the SWE interview, that often times people forget about the interpersonal component. Yes, coding performance might be over 70% of the interview, but selling yourself & connecting with the interviewer can go a long way.

One piece of advice: Manipulate the conversation to sell yourself & connect with your interviewer, even when unprompted. "Flipping the script" to make the interview feel less like an evaluation and more like a balanced conversation, can be immensely advantageous to leaving a good impression.

For example:
Ask a "lay up question" – inquire about something unique, such that the interview is memorable, while also setting yourself up for a substantive response. e.g. "Where did you work prior to <X company>, and what was the most noticable change when you began working on <Y product> here?". Asking about the interviewer's professional journey prior to their current company/role is unique. But more importantly, this affords you the natural opportunity to tell your story (even when not explicitly asked). After attentively & genuinely listening to their response, and asking follow up questions, you have to opportunity to...

1. sell them on why exactly you're passionate about working in their space / on their product / for their company. This can include why you're trying to leave your current role/company, and how the job youre interviewing for would compensate for the things your current job lacks. Bring some enthusiasm!
2. mention key qualifications & how they directly relate to the job you're interviewing for.

Alternate questions that could open the door in a similar fashion include...
[With intent to flex product/leadership experience] "I understand that you're a SWE now, but what direction do you see your career going? Are you working towards technical expertise, or do you have interest in Product Management? People management?"
[With intent to flex Data Sci experience/a specific project] "How do you evaluate the success of features you & your team work on? Do success metrics vary across products? What tooling is used to evalute such information?"

~

A Google phone screen was my first technical interview – I articulated my thought process clearly, and eventually arrived at the correct solution to the problem, but the coding was definitely rocky. Afterwards, I asked a question similar to the one above and had an honest conversation with my interviewer (which carried beyond the set end time). Based on coding alone, I was likely 'below the bar', and I'm confident that the conversation I had with my interviewer is what allowed me to proceed to the final round & subsequently receive an offer.