Should I not try to get into faang if I fail phone technical?
I’ve recently interviewed with Microsoft for 2 different teams. Both questions for the two separate coding questions were 2d matrix related. I did about 10-15 leetcode questions before and didn’t see any 2d matrix problems. I got to a solution in both but struggled a bit and did not move forward in the interview process. I also have phone screens lined up with Google, Facebook, and Uber. I do think if I practice leetcode for like 3-6 months I would be able to get into one of these. However, should I? Will I just be over representing myself if I practice/memorize these problems and possibly get in over my head? I don’t want to get to one of these companies and then be put on PIP within a year. I ask right now because I’m wanting to make some 2019 goals and one could be to do leetcode 20 hours a week for 6 months or I could just move on and do another interest like make a game or something.
If you're young and in the first half your career, 6 months won't matter 5 years down the line. So give it a shot. Don't worry about PIP as interview performance is generally not related to your job performance.
When in doubt, do it rather than not! Don’t memorize the leetcode problems though.
I think you should put effort in preparing and not worry about PIP. Clearing the interview is the biggest huddle, if you are able to clear that then you will be able to survive too.
The first month can be grueling but you can make it happen. Do 1 medium problem from every tag on a continuous streak, its ok to see the tag on this iteration (iter 1). Keep in mind that graphs can be represented as adjacent matrix or as pointers so treat them separately. This iteration will take the most time but its rewarding. To keep your streak continuous, do at least one problem per day. Sleep after the problem if you do it in night or revisit the problem just before sleeping. Its my belief that new knowledge reinforces better while sleeping. On weekends, do 2. Take a nap between the 2. When you've completed at least one problem per tag (preferably medium-hard) you're ready for the next iteration. At this stage, if you went on an interview, you wouldn't be stumped to receive a backtracking problem just because you didn't do it. Or you wouldn't try to solve a problem that screams "heaps" with plain arrays just because you've not gained exposure to them. Next iteration (iter 2), solve medium and hard problems as that appear in order. Sort problems by order of frequency desc when you do them. In this iteration, use a timer to spend 20 mins to come up with the algo. In this time, you should go through the notorious thought leap process and also have a functional pseudocode. A: If you don't have the pseudocode yet: see the best solution and learn the thought process. Don't write code right out of it, understand the nuances to write your own. B; If you do have the pseudocode: set another 10m timer and write and debug the code. If all test cases don't pass in the ten mins, then stop and goto A. Missing even a single test case can potentially require overhaul to your algorithm that's why. It may take several weeks with the above approach to not require A but consistent effort pays off over time. PS: Don't break the streak.
Thanks a lot! Nice strategy.
I failed G tech phone 1x , on-site next time , cleared on-site third time ! ( however offer was pretty average , I took a way better role at Bose )
Only 10-15 problems??? You could do 10 problems in a day. What are you waiting for?
Tell them all right now that you’ve realized that you need more time to prepare, and hunker down and Leetcode for the next 3 months. When you think you’re ready, set up some less interesting companies as practice before going to G/FB/Uber.
Minimal to no correlation between leetcode skill and being good at work. It's just needed to get foot in door, then the real learning begins
^^ Another person who doesn’t understand correlation.
Please enlighten me oh wise one
Just do it and attempt the interviews after a bit practice. Use leetcode to learn some popular strategies for certain type of problems and then you will automatically start getting tricks and solutions for similar category . Please don’t memorize leetcode solutions as that is of no use 🙂 interview performance does not determine everyday performance. If you are focused and dedicated you would excel everyday 🙂 all the best !
Do, or do not.