A technical interview is a skill that can be learned. Here is how.
Types of Interviews¶
- Coding — algorithms, data structures
- System design — system architecture
- Behavioral — experience, teamwork
- Take-home — a project to complete at home
- Pair programming — live coding
Coding Preparation¶
- LeetCode Easy/Medium (100-200 problems is enough)
- Focus on: arrays, strings, hashmaps, trees, graphs, DP
- Learn patterns, not solutions to specific problems
- Think out loud while solving
System Design¶
- Study: system-design-primer on GitHub
- Topics: URL shortener, chat app, news feed, rate limiter
- Framework: Requirements → High-level design → Deep dive → Bottlenecks
Behavioral¶
- STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result)
- Prepare 5-6 stories from your experience
- Typical questions: biggest challenge, team conflict, failure and lessons learned
Red Flags (What Not to Do)¶
- Jumping straight into code without analysis
- Ignoring edge cases
- Not talking — the interviewer can’t see your thought process
- Arguing with the interviewer
- Saying “I don’t know” without attempting a solution
Tip¶
Interviews are a skill. The more you do, the better you get. Start with companies that aren’t your first choice.
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