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Technical Interview Preparation

The document provides tips for preparing for a technical interview, including studying algorithms, data structures, programming concepts, and practicing interview questions. It emphasizes thinking out loud, asking clarifying questions, and discussing multiple solutions with the interviewer. Candidates should study common algorithms, how to implement data structures, design patterns, and steps to solve problems like explaining their approach, discussing examples, checking for errors, and improving efficiency.

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203 views2 pages

Technical Interview Preparation

The document provides tips for preparing for a technical interview, including studying algorithms, data structures, programming concepts, and practicing interview questions. It emphasizes thinking out loud, asking clarifying questions, and discussing multiple solutions with the interviewer. Candidates should study common algorithms, how to implement data structures, design patterns, and steps to solve problems like explaining their approach, discussing examples, checking for errors, and improving efficiency.

Uploaded by

Anonymous vTNszy76Z
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Congratulations once again, we’re super excited to be moving forward with your application!

The
following document includes some tips that we’ve put together to better prepare you for your
upcoming​ ​interview.

What​ ​to​ ​Study​ ​for​ ​a​ ​Technical​ ​Interview

Keep in mind that the interviewers are looking at how you approach and solve the problem; it’s as
much about your work as the final solution. We encourage you to think out loud and ask questions.
Make sure your interviewer knows where you are at! (i.e: if you require a hint, if you’re struggling
with a specific part of the question…). ​Our questions are designed to expand in many different
directions!​​ ​We​ ​want​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​you​ ​think​ ​when​ ​you​ ​are​ ​challenged​ ​and​ ​pushed.

Below are some of the topics that will be beneficial for you to study up on before your technical
interview:

Algorithms
● It is always beneficial to understand many modern, well known algorithms, as variations of
them​ ​can​ ​often​ ​help​ ​solve​ ​a​ ​complex​ ​problem.
● Make​ ​sure​ ​you​ ​are​ ​confident​ ​with​ ​recursion.

Data​ ​Structures
● Most candidates benefit from knowing hashmaps, queues, stacks, lists, trees (Binary Search
Tree,​ ​Min​ ​Heap,​ ​etc.).
● Additionally, being confident in the runtime of these data structures is important. Which ones
provide​ ​fast​ ​lookups,​ ​insertions,​ ​removals,​ ​etc.
● Finally, many questions are best answered using a combination of these structures. Thinking
of ways to add to known implementations of the structures to speed up operations, or ways to
use​ ​more​ ​than​ ​one​ ​in​ ​combination​ ​can​ ​be​ ​very​ ​beneficial.

Programming
● Often​ ​design​ ​patterns​ ​can​ ​be​ ​extremely​ ​useful.​ ​(Observer​ ​Pattern,​ ​Singletons,​ ​Factories,​ ​etc.)
● Make sure you are confident on how to define and instantiate objects, and how to create
global functions and variables. (While this is easy enough to look up, intrinsic knowledge often
shows​ ​confidence​ ​in​ ​your​ ​chosen​ ​language.)

Interviewing
● It is ideal to describe the meat of your solution with full syntax, including every expression,
block and bracket. It's okay to gloss over boilerplate code, especially if you have written it
once already in an interview. (Say write 1 full object construction, and use pseudo-code for
the rest to save time). ​we're not testing for an encyclopedic knowledge of any given language.
If you have to make any assumptions about API calls or library functions (e.g. 'Is it add or
append for lists in python?'), just state your assumption. Anything you can google is fair game
to​ ​ask​ ​us.
Steps​ ​To​ ​Go​ ​Through​ ​In​ ​An​ ​Interview

● Your​ ​interviewer​ ​will​ ​present​ ​the​ ​problem​ ​to​ ​you.​ ​Ask​ ​questions,​ ​clarify,​ ​make​ ​sure​ ​you​ ​fully
understand​ ​the​ ​problem​ ​before​ ​diving​ ​in.

● Talk​ ​through​ ​the​ ​first​ ​solution​ ​that​ ​comes​ ​to​ ​mind,​ ​ask​ ​if​ ​you​ ​should​ ​implement​ ​it
○ Usually​ ​brute​ ​force,​ ​feel​ ​free​ ​to​ ​say​ ​you​ ​will​ ​refine​ ​it
○ Run​ ​through​ ​examples​ ​to​ ​check​ ​-​ ​assume​ ​someone​ ​else​ ​wrote​ ​the​ ​code
○ Check​ ​for​ ​edge​ ​cases
○ We​ ​can’t​ ​evaluate​ ​your​ ​code​ ​if​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​code!
○ Give​ ​your​ ​interviewer​ ​the​ ​opportunity​ ​to​ ​ask​ ​question​ ​about​ ​your​ ​solution

● Refine​ ​the​ ​solution


○ Clarify​ ​assumptions
○ Interviewer​ ​will​ ​likely​ ​have​ ​questions​ ​for​ ​you​ ​at​ ​this​ ​point
○ Can​ ​you​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​run​ ​time?

PRACTICE
● “Cracking​ ​the​ ​Coding​ ​Interview”​ ​book
● HackerRank,​ ​LeetCode,​ ​CodeLab,​ ​Quora,​ ​Stack​ ​Overflow,​ ​Interviewing.io
● Review​ ​algorithms​ ​and​ ​data​ ​structures​ ​-​ ​know​ ​how​ ​they​ ​work​ ​and​ ​why​ ​you​ ​choose​ ​one​ ​over
the​ ​other:
○ Quicksort,​ ​merge​ ​sort
○ ​ ​A*
○ Hashtables
○ Queues
○ Stacks
○ Linked​ ​lists
○ Binary​ ​search
○ Trees​ ​(binary​ ​search​ ​tree,​ ​min​ ​heap,​ ​etc.)
○ Breadth-first​ ​search,​ ​depth-first​ ​search
○ 2D​ ​arrays
○ Dynamic​ ​array
○ Dynamic​ ​programming
○ Big-O​ ​analysis

● This​ ​link​ ​is​ ​really​ ​good


https://www.topcoder.com/community/data-science/data-science-tutorials/​.​ ​In​ ​particular:
Greedy​ ​is​ ​Good,​ ​Data​ ​Structures,​ ​An​ ​Introduction​ ​to​ ​Recursion,​ ​and​ ​Dynamic​ ​Programming.

● Practice​ ​writing​ ​code!​ ​Pick​ ​your​ ​strongest​ ​language​ ​and​ ​practice​ ​that
○ Use​ ​a​ ​whiteboard​ ​or​ ​a​ ​piece​ ​of​ ​paper

Remember​ ​to​ ​talk​ ​through​ ​solutions​ ​and​ ​ideas,​ ​ask​ ​questions,​ ​your​ ​interviewer​ ​wants​ ​to
help​ ​you!​ ​If​ ​you’re​ ​unsure​ ​about​ ​something,​ ​just​ ​ask!!

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