1. Don’t let the first interviews be Google, FB, Netflix, Uber etc.
Big Companies have a tiny conversion rate. Of the 100’s of candidates who are interviewed only 1 or 2 get to go onsite. So recruiters cast a wide net to keep the pipeline full. Don’t fall for the trap when recruiters reach out to you and think you are the chosen one. Recruiters are trying to fill quotas, but you will ruin your chance. Most tech interviewers will ask you things that don’t reflect your actual skills (like invert a binary tree etc.). Standford CS Phd’s at Google have ruined it for all of us! (Another story for another day 🙂 ). Yes, those leetcode questions which you can memorize and spit out in the interview, they are expecting you to know that. If you haven’t practiced those, even if you write code which serves millions of users every day, you are not on par for them.
If your first interviews are at a low key company then you get to test the waters before you try to swim in the ocean. So hold off on those big interviews and don’t get pressured by recruiters asking you to interview.
2. Get the Leetcode premium subscription
Almost all companies repeat questions. They screen thousands of candidates every day and there are only so many questions (on leetcode 😉 to choose from). Yes, the interviewers recycle those questions. So it pays off to lookup the questions asked by companies which are listed on leetcode and just practice those. If you are an earning professional some investment on leetcode will pay off, so bite the bullet and do it.
3. Get a study buddy or find a meetup
To start the daunting process of interview prep, try to find a study buddy who you can practice with or at least discuss. Buy them coffee and spend an hour or more every week. This greatly helps you warm up and get some therapy while you empathize how this process sucks. There are many meetups these days which do coding interview practice. If you don’t have one in your city, start one!
4. Take 2–3 days to solve your first Leetcode problem
The first few questions take time to solve. You will be rusty, hating it and won’t get enough time to solve it. It’s ok. Take 2–3 days or even a week to solve it. But don’t quit. Try to solve them in your own stupid way until you get it right. After some 2–3 days effort, you can look up the solution. This sets off development of mental muscle which gets stronger over time.
5. Handle Rejections with a truck load of salt
First round of interviewers will be junior engineers on the team or hiring managers. Junior Engineers would be instructed to follow a playbook. If your answers don’t match those keywords they will reject you. So don’t fret over it. It’s not worth joining those companies anyway. Never get emotional over companies, there are millions of green pastures out there. You will end up somewhere.