I have an interview with a company where I would very much like to work. I was planning on taking a month or two to prepare (while having a full time job), but a recruiter happened to contact me before I started prep. I scheduled the interview out two weeks, but I do not feel well prepared. There are algorithms and design sessions during this interview.
If I pass the interview, I feel it will be by sheer luck. (getting problems I'm familiar with)
This is a medium to large sized start-up.
If I go through with the interview and do poorly, I have no way of knowing when or if I would be given the chance again.
I don't believe another week of prep would have me in a much better position, so postponing probably wouldn't help that much.
If I cancel the interview entirely, I'm not sure how that will come across and if I will be able to try again at another point.
Today is Friday, the interview is this coming Tuesday.
Long time lurker. Happy to receive feedback from the community.
The big risk is that the position might not be open in a month or two. That said, fast-growing startups and large startups often have evergreen positions, so that might be a small risk rather than a big one.
My advice: tell the recruiter straight up that you're interested but that for several reasons you won't be available to interview until October. You don't need to go into those reasons.