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There is a set of knowledge you are supposed to know for this job, and you are admittedly rusty at it. Lock yourself in a room and study until you feel like an expert on the subjects. Don't just 'brush up on terminology'.
1. Don't let yourself believe the interviewer is smarter than you. More importantly, don't let the interviewer believe that. Confidence is a big selling point in any interview and you want to project that you're confident in yourself. At the same time, don't project false confidence. A lot of guys throw out terminology in order to sound like experts. But the interviewer can usually see right through it.
2. Don't try to cram for the interview. I know you want to do well, but there's a LOT of potential areas they could cover and if you don't know it already, do you really think you'll be able to learn it in time for the interview? If you don't know something, just say so. They'll be more impressed with you being honest than trying to talk your way out of answering.
3. Be aware that a lot of techies don't respect salespeople. I suspect this might be why they're looking for someone with more of a technical background. I'm a software developer and a lot of us see salespeople as people who don't know what they're talking about and just BS to the customer. So you want to give the impression that you don't fit that stereotype.
4. Be aware that for many techies, the interview gives them the chance to exercise power they may not normally have. I've seen this with a number of colleagues. They'll ask stuff that even they couldn't answer, at least not without having to look it up. But I think they enjoy getting to be the driver's seat. Don't let those people rattle you and understand that sometimes it's not the answer that matters, but how you answer.
1. Don't let yourself believe the interviewer is smarter than you. More importantly, don't let the interviewer believe that. Confidence is a big selling point in any interview and you want to project that you're confident in yourself. At the same time, don't project false confidence. A lot of guys throw out terminology in order to sound like experts. But the interviewer can usually see right through it.
2. Don't try to cram for the interview. I know you want to do well, but there's a LOT of potential areas they could cover and if you don't know it already, do you really think you'll be able to learn it in time for the interview? If you don't know something, just say so. They'll be more impressed with you being honest than trying to talk your way out of answering.
3. Be aware that a lot of techies don't respect salespeople. I suspect this might be why they're looking for someone with more of a technical background. I'm a software developer and a lot of us see salespeople as people who don't know what they're talking about and just BS to the customer. So you want to give the impression that you don't fit that stereotype.
4. Be aware that for many techies, the interview gives them the chance to exercise power they may not normally have. I've seen this with a number of colleagues. They'll ask stuff that even they couldn't answer, at least not without having to look it up. But I think they enjoy getting to be the driver's seat. Don't let those people rattle you and understand that sometimes it's not the answer that matters, but how you answer.
I think number 4 is the most important on this list. Like most of my colleagues, I have a standard set of technical questions that I ask people that I interview. Some are quite easy, some are very hard. I don't expect the interviewee to solve the hard ones in the ten minutes or so that I allocate. I just want to see how he or she goes about trying to solve the problem. How does he set up the problem? What does she think is important? Can I tell that he/she is making progress in the right direction?
I think number 4 is the most important on this list. Like most of my colleagues, I have a standard set of technical questions that I ask people that I interview. Some are quite easy, some are very hard. I don't expect the interviewee to solve the hard ones in the ten minutes or so that I allocate. I just want to see how he or she goes about trying to solve the problem. How does he set up the problem? What does she think is important? Can I tell that he/she is making progress in the right direction?
That is fine and dandy and probably to be expected, there are a few "douchebags" out there though that just think it is funny or something and not professional about it. And I am almost positive they probably feared for their own jobs and don't want to bring somebody in that is possibly smarter than them. I've only had that experience twice though over about 20 interviews in the last 8 years.
When I interviewed to be a tech writer (and a new one at that), a few times I had to interview with a hardcore engineer. They were probably more uncomfortable than I was. If interviewing for the kind of position the OP mentions, maybe I'd ask the techie what they think I should know to be effective, with the understanding that I am not selling to other hardcore engineers, etc.
One guy (in a series of five interviews in one day) needed a tech writer for stuff that was so far over my head, I told him right off that it likely wasn't a go. He said, "So let's play a game" and we played some video game. I always wondered if the game was part of the test or not.
Apollo Computers, RIP.
That is fine and dandy and probably to be expected, there are a few "douchebags" out there though that just think it is funny or something and not professional about it. And I am almost positive they probably feared for their own jobs and don't want to bring somebody in that is possibly smarter than them. I've only had that experience twice though over about 20 interviews in the last 8 years.
Eh-- I think it depends on the intent of the company. I had a friend that interviewed with the big fruit company out in CA. They had him work on some design problems (he is a software engineer). He was at a loss and had no idea how to solve it although with the white board he had worked out quite a bit.
The interview panel when they came back to check on him after the allotted time had a conversation with him about that they were also stuck and wanted to see or get a feel for how my friend works through problems. It was far more informative for them to see this-- than to just ask questions.
My friend got the job. So it was not as if they were trying to steal his ideas or get something for nothing.
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