Methods to prepare for Coding Interviews
Some online training systems are fantastic. There are both paid and free trainings on the internet.
Some of these sites include:
- BitTiger — $99/Month — Coding interviews that teach you universal patterns in multiple fields: Big Data, Full Stack, AI, Data Science, UI/UX Design, and Business Intelligence.
- GeeksforGeeks — Free — One stop shop for a high-level overview on most technical interviews, from Basic to Expert level assignments. In addition, a lot of the top name brands have their interview prep requirements posted here.
- Triplebyte — Free — Take a quick online coding quiz instead of providing a resume. The company will start to automatch you with companies you meet basic coding requirements. Fast track interviews!
- Pramp — Free — Tell them when and what you want to practice and they’ll pair you with an optimal peer. They provide interview questions (and answers) you will both use to interview each other. Coding interviews are live video sessions with a collaborative code editor. You and your peer interview one another for 30 minutes each. After the interview, you both rate the other’s performance. Learn from peers’ feedback, gain confidence and master the art of interviewing. Keep practicing until you interview like a rock star. Impress recruiters and land awesome job offers.
- Interviewing.io — Free — Free, anonymous technical interview practice with engineers from Google, Facebook, and more. Get actionable feedback, get awesome at interviewing, get fast-tracked at top companies.
- Codefights — Free — There is an arcade to solve problems and advance your skills in an interactive environement like a videogame, interview practices, head-to-head coding competitions with peers or strangers, tournaments, and company bots.
- Research a topic and ensure you understand it holistically
- Tackle ~3 easy practice problems on & review solutions until you understand them completely
- Solve 2 hard practice problems & review solutions until you understand them completely
As you complete each topic, realize that you’ll want to re-visit it 2–3 times every week subsequently to keep it fresh in your mind! These things are easy to forget, and when you get a problem in an interview, you want the type of problem to be instantly recognizable.
As you train more and more, you will develop a level of intuition around new problems. The hardest part is getting started with preparation, so push through the difficulty!
How to know when you’re ready
You can’t know for sure. Even the most prepared people can freeze up and fail interviews, so at some point you have to call it a day and jump into the deep end.
Still… when do you jump?
If you can get a mock interview from someone at a top company, even if you have to pay for it, it’s worth it. They’ll both have a high bar and be able to give you specific feedback (as long as you’re outside of their company’s interview process). Maybe you have a buddy that will help you out!
Finally, it’s worth stating that you can also treat your first interviews as initial groundwork. Simply apply to companies you’re less interested in, and use the interviews as practice (I am sure some of the hiring managers reading this article are giving me the finger right now). People will often take interviews they don’t actually care about in order to get live practice in front of companies.
Happy Hunting and good luck!
Other sites:
You can read a more robust article here: https://blog.usejournal.com/i-failed-my-effing-coding-interview-ab720c339c8a
