Top 5 Coding Interview MISTAKES (from a Google Engineer)

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⭐ BLIND-75 PLAYLIST: • Two Sum - Leetcode 1 -...
💡 DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING PLAYLIST: • House Robber - Leetco...
0:00 - Intro
0:38 - Jumping straight to code
2:30 - Going Silent
3:40 - Not preparing (correctly)
4:24 - Tunnel Visioning
5:54 - Not managing time
#coding #interview #mistakes
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[@NeetCode]

🚀 neetcode.io/ - I created a FREE site to make interview prep a lot easier, hope it helps! ❤

[@eyekenspel1765]

qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq

[@eyekenspel1765]

qqq+qqqqqqqqq00qqqqq

[@yoMisterWhyte]

asked clarifying questions(to which the interviewers looked like reluctant) Explained my thought process, thought out loud while coding, gave optimal solutions to 3 out of 4 problems for the 4th coded up 90% before time expired and the interviewer mentioned he got my thought process, explained why i was using the data structures that i was using.....and yet got rejected, can't tell if its due to any of the other rounds or my work ex.....and they don't give any feedback :) ....terrible....may be its all on whims and fancies of the interviewers...lol

[@eile4219]

@@yoMisterWhyte you can do well and still got reject because other candidates did better or there is a very strong candidate that's far above others

[@mangalegends]

Early on in my career, my biggest mistake was not realizing I had to study/prepare for coding interviews at big companies lol

[@therealsumitshah]

Now which company do you work for?

[@mangalegends]

@@therealsumitshah I currently work for a government contractor but I'm studying to try to get into big tech now lol

[@KevinBell7]

@@mangalegends Good luck in your preperation bossman!

[@mangalegends]

@@KevinBell7 thanks boss man!

[@AITreeBranches]

Well, I had friends that were lucky from the first time and some that studied so much but failed one interview after another. Luck is also a factor, unfortunately. I got my first developer job because the candidate they liked refused their offer, and I was the second choice and the paycheck was OK for my experience.

[@sammyiboi]

Neetcode: Welcome to the Google interviews! Candidate: Is this Neetco--- Neetcode: It's time to write some Neetcode today :) So today, you're gonna solve a Hard dynamic programming problem. By the way, I kind of dislike this problem because you'd only know the solution if you've seen it before.

[@NeetCode]

Lol, yeah that's pretty accurate

[@addiegupta]

Too good xD

[@jeffGordon852]

UMPIRE (Understand(clarify with questions, happy case), Match(match to known pattern, known techniques), Plan(Pseudocode, think of edge cases), Implement(write code), Review(walk through the code like you were debugging), Evaluate(discuss Time/Space complexity).

[@jaykim3681]

Yo just wanna thank you that I recently got an offer from Microsoft. It's all you Neetcode. So much valuable content for a technical interview. Only had about a month for the prep, and your videos were super helpful to get a hang of every topic. Thanks again!

[@NeetCode]

Thanks, I'm glad the channel is helpful! And congrats on your offer!! 🎉

[@timarleyfoster5417]

Roughly how many questions did you do a day in that month prep?

[@osinakayahifeanyi1537]

I was able to pass my Amazon interview, and it was because of your videos. Thanks NeetCode

[@NeetCode]

That's great, congratulation 🎉🎉

[@johnpaul4301]

mcgill?

[@oderaokonkwo4142]

Was it onsite?

[@ricardopillay5771]

The mistake I made in preparation for a coding interview was focusing my time on very difficult coding questions. I ended up not looking at the basics like reversing a linked list for example because I assumed I already knew the solution. When the interview came, I got the reversing linked list problem and I spent a long time figuring out how to solve it. I ran out of time and interviewer wanted to give me a second question as well.

[@rcoverc]

This.

[@jedlechner3788]

I've worked at few companies. One I didn't complete a question, but gave a really good explanation on how to solve it. Second, but in a different organization I was not asked to code anything, but answered system design questions because I was already known to be a good developer. Third, I was recruited by my old managers and team lead. I was asked what I learned since we worked together last. No coding, just trust. I was also asked to work there, the interviews were just a formality. My best advice is to get into a good company and challenge yourself. Figure out who are the best developers and read their code. If you decide to leave and you have connections in other companies, those help a lot. Network with coworkers and other team members. However, by this point if you challenged yourself to learn a lot of different technologies then the coding interview will just be a good way to show off your skillset.

[@neeldesai108]

An example that you have explained in "Not Managing Time" section of video, I have faced the same situation in one of the company's interview. I "assumed" that interview will have just one question to code in 45 mins interview. One single assumption can get rejection from your dream company.

[@tonyzoo5073]

Thank you for all that you've done for the community. Your videos are some of the most well explained solutions one can find.

[@Zifox20]

thank you so much! I can't wait to apply for job interviews next year to apply all your advices!

[@deliciousnoodles5505]

Thanks for the video. Really helpful, esp now that I've been failing a bunch of interviews.

[@aryanyadav3926]

Thanks for sharing. Keep making such videos, these are really helpful.

[@markmcgettrick2532]

As a hiring manager I completely agree, at least for me, I am much more interested in knowing the candidates thought process than seeing a correct solution. I'd rather hear a candidate describe their (correct) approach to many scenarios than to see a implementation of just one.

[@Index_Nine]

Hello, sorry to be a bother but I'd like to know if you can provide me with some more tips on preparing for a developer job (preferably in the c++ domain) I would be glad if I can get a response, thanks.

[@vasujain1970]

Just what I needed for upcoming onsites. Thanks!

[@anhdo7704]

hey Neetcode, I really love your channel. I will start my day but watching one of your videos in order to get some motivation for dealing with leetcode. Keep posting, I will try my best to like every video that I watched. lol

[@davidlazaro3143]

This is gold 🥰 Thanks a lot!

[@VrickzGamer]

What a coincidence to this video , I use to watch your videos before interviews and was doing pretty well until facing the final rejection round in Amazon and I was under depression and this video helped me to cope up.

[@codewithbubb]

That's very true about not staying silent. It's good to hear the candidates thought processes if they're stuck or insightful to see how they approach a problem. As long as it's not a lot of irrelevant babble.

[@s1ddh-rth]

Love your work! If you can find some time, can we also have a weekly discussion of the LeetCode contests. That'd be really helpful.

[@kuoyulu6714]

I am going through your leetCode site doing 1 question a day, and it has been great! Thank you so much!

[@NoodleFlame]

In a coding interview for my first software engineer role I had to write a routine to check if a number was prime. I chose to avoid a more complicated and optimal solution because it wasn't asked for and when queried it wasn't required. Instead I went with a very concise routine that was easy to understand, using only 4 lines of code. Its simplicity impressed the interviewer and was not a solution he had seen before. I got the job but can't help but think the outcome could have been very different.

[@NoodleFlame]

​@@GospodinStanoje It was something like this: bool IsPrime(int num) { if (num

[@akhileshshahare]

Just gave my first coding interview at Google....These are spot on!

[@NeetCode]

I hope it went well! 🤞

[@AMAZINGGUY1113]

Not managing time correctly is a big one for me. After one interview, I switched over to python after realizing that i was spending more time writing out C++ syntax than actually thinking about the problem!

[@calandula2007]

Yees, always go with Python. Easiest language for these situations. If you are proficient with C++ maybe they will look at you with better eyes but go easy imo.

[@victor.ezekiel]

Hi Took your advice on drawing before attacking a question, but i couldn't draw in my last interview. How do you suggest i annotate and prepare diagram that would aid my thinking.

[@shantanukumar4081]

Great Suggestions !!!

[@komolsarkar6825]

That was very helpful. Thank you :)

[@robalexnat]

From now on I'm starting every interview with "Hey everyone, it's time to write some Neetcode today"

[@alfonsocvu]

Thanks needcode landed a job at intuit and got into the onsite on couple of companies. Got an offer from Google also but the intuit offer was better. I really appreciate your content.

[@NeetCode]

Congratulations 🎉

[@deep.space.12]

These apply to more than just coding interviews, but any interview in general, and also oral exams!

[@TechOnScreen]

I think the most important thing is being natural and true to your personality, ask genuine doubts, don't assume anything beforehand.

[@calandula2007]

I dont know if you have any video about it... but what do you think about these coding interviews in general? do you really think that they are well designed for every technical position? They always are about algorithms and not about more important things like OOP or Framework related problems.

[@keepitsimple612]

Nice vide man, one question that I have is , how open are interviewers to questions? do you find most of them are helpful and work with the candidate?

[@bigrat5101]

HI NC, can I ask which device you use for the drawing part in each video?

[@ElijahManor]

Great tips. I wonder if the interviewers let you know up front that there will be more than one problem to help you know how to gauge your time?

[@BuyHighSellLo]

A+ content as always. Btw what type of work are you doing at G? Front/back end, infra, …?

[@niteshmanem1997]

Hey Neet. On the grind. Feels hopeless. Just hoping I can see the light at one point. You give me hope. Thanks man

[@poggy9635]

Same

[@poggy9635]

Also, you got this

[@niteshmanem1997]

@@poggy9635 bro poggy this comment made my day. you go this to man. love u

[@poggy9635]

@@niteshmanem1997 likewise my friend! Love you too. Let’s put in the effort and make it together

[@ratnadeepsaha7675]

I agree with you on your points you discussed.

[@harishmullagura4398]

Can you please make a video on Z-ALGORITHM like you made video on KMP(LPS) as your videos are really helpful in understanding those complex algorithms.

[@aerosasi]

How to handle a situation where we completely got blind and don't know like how to approach the solution , do we need to ask more hints to the interviewer ? Or does it make us look more unprepared ?

[@odiadavid6957]

Bombed my coding interview today 😢 . I recognized the question and jumped in immediately.

[@SVSingam273]

@NeetCode. Is the Interview Process at Google less Stringent if one was applying for an Internship as a Software Engineer Vs. Actually going for a Graduate Software Engineer (Software Engineer I) Role.

[@mr.fabulous5165]

would u prefer 14 inch MacBook Pro or 16 inch as developer tool ?

[@rafisfat3387]

Hey I have an interview soon, what are your tips on behavioral interviews?

[@jasonswift7468]

Hi, How do you make a video like this? What software tools do you use?

[@informatiquereseaux7542]

As per my experience for Google screening interview, the interviewer starts by sharing how the interview is gonna be conducted, so it's kinda you already know how many problems to expect during the next 45 minutes, at least for my experience, it was a first kind of warm up questions then a second Medium level leetcode question ! I failed at it but it was a good experience as well !

[@mihirrupapara602]

Great content, appreciate your suggestion...

[@ndeta]

How many times do you have to study data structures and algorithms before being able to do whiteboard

[@saifparkar5410]

Hey neet can you please release a ds and algos course for python since there aren't any good ones out there A sincere request 🙏🙏

[@backbenchprogrammer5100]

Important video for students Thanks from Afghanistan 🇦🇫

[@Shreyas535]

Another mistake that people do is prepare only DSA and not practice LLD/ Object oriented programming even for SDE1. This happened to me during an Uber interview where I was expecting leetcode style problem but was instead asked to design stock market.

[@iCrazy414]

What should the balance be of working on personal projects vs working difficult algorithm/complex problems (I.e. problem practicing sites)?

[@saadraza6072]

all in leetcode. if you have built a somewhat decent webapp, or know the difference between monolith vs microservices you should be good for the projects section.

[@ryanway9928]

Practice leetcode questions when you want a job, and work on projects when you want to become a better developer. And know that it pains me to point out that those are separate objectives

[@scythazz]

If you are early on in ur career, definitely go more heavy on leetcode as a majority of tech industry do test data structures and algorithms especially if you are going fot junior roles. U can build the side projects later on after you got a job. Unless ur side project is something impressive and open sourced, I don’t see companies considering side projects as a plus in the interview process. And even then, you still have to pass the data structures and algorithms interview which is usually earlier on in the interview process before you get to the later rounds where you can showcase your software design skills and system design etc..

[@paradox2738]

Any extra advice for students overseas, having the white board interviews online.

[@billmark1157]

Hey Neetcode, On reading the room, how would you know what your interviewer is looking for? They could be staying quiet because they just want to hear your thought process without interrupting, or they could be staying quiet because they only care about the end result (your code). Thanks!

[@popabogdan]

Try to speak what you think and confirm if it makes sense for the interviewer. You have to drive the conversation, the interviewer will follow along.

[@yossiyaari3760]

that explains some of my interview failures :-) I still think the common methodology is somewhat wrong, and my guess is that the rate of false negatives is way too high.

[@snns327]

What do you think about newgrad interviews especially in this market downturn?

[@namratasrivastava3089]

Hi, Is there any site which can help with mock peer programming, I have an interview with Google and wanted to practice

[@Speedarion]

I still struggle with preparing for coding interviews , and still get stuck during an actual technical test . I dont get the moment where you look at the question and you instantly know how to implement the required solution

[@BatehamRadio]

Learn the fundamentals of all the various core Algos/data structures. When preparing for code interviews, don’t learn the solution to a question, learn the how and why of the approach. Why is DFS used, why is back-tracking used, why dynamic programming, etc. Learning is always hard/slow in the beginning. Once you pick it up, learning becomes much easier and quicker

[@nayanankmahajan]

Hi, I have a tricky situation. maybe you can help/guide. Can someone with 10 yrs exp in IT services companies like Accenture/deloitte/Infosys etc still make it to big tech or is it too late? Its a dream to work in big tech but I was stuck with these companies too long due to my work visa H1b and Green card. Please guide. Any help/suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks !!

[@Kamel419]

I have a couple of friends who perform technical interviews and they tell me that most candidates can't even seem to do basic coding. They even allow the person to write in the language of their preference. I highly recommend practicing whiteboard coding, it's a big part of what people aren't mentally prepared for

[@oladipotimothy6007]

The first point is key. Ask possible inputs

[@Lan-so5gv]

Honestly, I'm not a clever guy, so when I go through the interview, I always have no idea about the questions even if I have met them before. In terms of it, I always talk to the interviewer that I want to run the brute force at first, after that we can see how to refactor it and optimize it. When writing the code, I would recall the solutions or figure out some better ways.

[@Rishabhsingh-ev7ii]

hey neetcode i m watching you past 1 year and you heal me alot but I have to ask one simple how to clear online coding round in any bigtech cmpy please answer me this will help me alot

[@PhilipOwusu]

How do you know if the interviewer wants you to explain your thought process or not?

[@dynamic.6302]

Hey Neetcode, off topic but has anyone ever recognized you by your voice when you've taken interviews? Surely, someone must have!

[@hidayathidayat4469]

Thank you.

[@faruzzy]

Sorry, when are you going to make a video about your life at google so far? Looking forward to that!

[@studyaccount794]

Currently looking for an internship/sde roles and hardly getting any response from these tech companies. I just apply cold into the career sites, open the "Thanks for applying message", and go to sleep peacefully without having to worry about any test link lol.

[@msd2281]

Love your videos NeetCode!! I try to be as well-spoken and confident as you everyday. but just not working out in interviews :((

[@cargoshorts5666]

Hey NC so my experience with writing actual software is very limited, I've done 2 years of coursework at college on a CS track before dropping, and have recently completed the JS track of The Odin Project and have built some basic stuff but I have dabbled in the back-end and sort of have an idea on what goes on back there. Should I continue finishing TOP or should I dedicate most of my time to NeetCode io even though my experience with DS&A is very little

[@pekarna]

Not sure when you were doing the interview. Nowadays there is no whiteboard and no way to draw. Even the design interviews use just the "draw" functionality in Google Docs, which is even less usable than MS Paint. Does not support Android so drawing with a stylus is not possible, and with mouse the UX is really bad, to the extent that it's better to draw with ASCII. That basically filters out people who are heavily used to "draw out" the problems. And the more complex problem, the worse the effect. I hope this will change soon so I can re-apply :)

[@NeetCode]

That's definitely true, remote interviews can be more challenging. I've actually seen ppl use pen and paper to explain some things, but it can be hit or miss. Tho, I feel like remote interview have less pressure cause you can just sit at home in your underwear. At this point I'm not sure when in-person interviews will resume.

[@lucasm4299]

I wonder if there is a better alternative? Why do we have to have all this extra stress in an interview? Just tell me what you want me to do

[@VikashSharmaVS]

how do i know if interviewer has 2 questions for me ? shall i ask them ?

[@rhodabaruch4]

Where can we tip you? Would love to throw a little appreciation back after I get a job!

[@sivasangaranv4746]

Sir, what about sorting algorithms?

[@MrPathorn]

I failed last Google onsite due to tunnel visioning, Thank you so much.

[@siyuanzhang6774]

Just got rejected from Google. I thought i did well on the on-site interview. But i got rejected. The recruiter didn't provide feedback. That's really weird

[@sanjanar9198]

Will the candidate be safe in case he/she was not able to get to the optimal solution (instead got a sub optimal solution, not brute force)??

[@saranshthukral4021]

Hey 👋 ppl I am working on my computer concepts and preparing for interviews through SPOJ and Leetcode Could any tell anything specific for job seekers for overseas opportunities from India 🇮🇳 I have a degree and some experience 😵‍💫

[@free-palestine000]

@6:50 in the beginning of the interview, should we asked the interviewer how much questions they expect for us to complete?

[@ratnadeepsaha7675]

I have one question, do you have any Linkedin profile? I want to send a connection request to you🙂

[@shmuel-k]

Would you say it's safe to ask for hints or ask if the interviewer has more questions planned? Or are these taboo questions?

[@trevorbye6965]

I think you’re fine with asking how many questions they have planned, so that you can manage your time appropriately. for hints, I wouldn’t ask for them directly. think of it like stack overflow, the questions where people just say “pls help” with no context get downvoted or deleted. the questions that get help are ones where the person has clearly made an effort, documented what they’ve tried, and expresses any ideas they might have about how to fix it. You can approach this in an interview by first trying until you’re clearly stuck, and then you can mention that you might be stuck, but throw out some ideas of how to move forward. something like “I can see this time complexity will be inefficient but I don’t see a linear solution immediately” or “I’ve solved a similar problem before but don’t remember the exact way that I approached it”. like this video says, the worst thing you can do is stay silent. just communicate what you’re thinking and what you’ve tried

[@tofahub]

Can you please livestream some weekly leetcode contests? @Byte by Byte does that

[@shrimpo6416]

hi neetcode, how do you balance your time creating side project vs preparing interview? it would really interesting to hear! is it like 50-50?

[@robr4501]

I guess if u cant land the interview, then maybe make your resume more impressive.. more side project. But if u can get interview I guess go 100% on leetcode...

[@shrimpo6416]

@@robr4501 I see, I guess more side project then XD

[@shrimpo6416]

@@robr4501 I would say 10% of the companies

[@free-palestine000]

in an earlier video he said he used his school projects on his resume

[@shrimpo6416]

@@free-palestine000 Yeah, I don't have any school project cuz I major in Stat & ML.

[@robrobbins]

I only do coding interviews for Amish companies. They have no idea what my code is meant to do. It can be difficult to do your work without electricity.

[@roguenoir]

What if the interviewer has 2 questions planned but you get stuck on the first question not because you have absolutely no clue but the interviewer is extremely picky and insists on the "perfect" solution.. and you never get to the 2nd question. This happened during a Facebook coding interview where I ended up giving a O(N) solution to the first question but the interviewer insisted on not only a O(N) solution but also one that's 1-pass through (and he didn't tell you the 1-pass requirement when he first posed the question but I guess it's my fault for not asking about it since it didn't even enter my mind to ask if he wants a 1-pass solution.) Anyways, he had 2 questions planned and I couldn't finish the 1st one to his liking even though I had a O(N) solution but was 2 pass and he never let me move on to the 2nd question.

[@vigyanhoon]

how do you write?

[@nickold4499]

Can you do a video on the Googlyness interview?

[@xhenryx14]

From what I've heard (from a Google engineer) as long as you are a reasonable normal person you should do well in the googliness

[@VrickzGamer]

I recently faced a rejection in final round of Amazon and my heart broke and now I am under depression

[@JoroTheGreat]

Don’t give up dude

[@mrnobody9822]

You ll get used to it. I finished all meta tag questions and passed 4 rounds interviews. Later, they told me “hiring freeze” just started.

[@ishanmamadapur6307]

Don't worry brother, you'll come back stronger from this. We often don't know what's right for us, trust the universe and you'll be there. Just keep at it without spending too much time thinking about the disappointments. Cause that's what they are, disappointments, not failures, and life's gonna be full of them. Cheers!

[@VrickzGamer]

@@ishanmamadapur6307 thanks bro much needed

[@bh4541]

@@mrnobody9822 HEY bro, which level of 2 problem they gave u ? 2 medium or 1 medium 1 easy

[@qray862]

what about over communicating?

[@Bigbacon]

Programming tests like this are the worst...especially if you are someone with learning disabilities. Especially annoying as you age and have actual experience because most of the questions like this are not real world work but more like a college level homework assignment. I can develop and build enterprise level applications but I'd fail every single one of these types of things.

[@shrimpo6416]

plus, i really want to create a side project but don't know where to start, any ideas?

[@shrimpo6416]

Yes, you can try learn Django

[@fabricio5p]

If my life ever turn out to be a movie you'll be on the credits

[@abhisheksubba7691]

Neetcode let's start one step back pls. How do you even get the interview in the first place? The only time Amazon has called me is to tell me to pick up my package. 😑

[@brienbell1797]

I think this is a good overview of common mistakes, but I slightly disagree with the not managing time. If an interviewer knows they are going to ask follow ups, or expects the candidate to solve more than one question, it should be their responsibility to move the candidate along. Obviously if the candidate is struggling, be patient with them, and help them get to some working solution so they have a good experience. But if it’s clear the candidate knows what they are doing, the interviewer should move the interview along. At the end of the day it’s the interviewer’s responsibility to collect the data they need, which means they own the time management. It shouldn’t be the case that “you are lucky” the interviewer gives you some notice of the time constraints, that’s part of their job.

[@chamcham123]

As far as your interviewer is concerned, they'd rather get back to coding ASAP. If you dig your own hole with poor time management, it's not their problem.

[@free-palestine000]

bro imagine getting interviewed by neetcode 😳😳😳

[@urvashidang6083]

I had my google interview on 25th May but didnt hear back anything since thn what could be the reason should i now reach out to him? Or Wait.. My last interview wasnt great🙃

[@urvashidang6083]

They were onsites 3 of them including only 15 min of GOogliness in two of those rounds.

[@xhenryx14]

How much practice should we have to be successful at interviews? I think just saying you should study is vague, some people say just 2 weeks, some a month, some 3 months. Maybe 40 medium/hard leetcode problems should be enough? I've been studying for a year and only recently I'm feeling like I'm getting somewhere, I've been rejected by Google, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, Uber and Pinterest, and all in different phases of the process. I almost got into Google and in contrast Uber and Amazon rejected after the first assessment, so it's weird, depending on the company and luck you would do better or worse

[@WoWkiddymage]

Practice depends on your deficiencies. Having trouble speaking through solution? Do mock interviews. Having trouble with DS/Alg concepts, leetcode. People get away with 50 lc problems... i know i couldn't, i did 230. Either way, the blind 75 is there for a reason, the blind 150 is there for a reason. Also leetcode most seen helps too. Better to do more than less. Don't just jump into med/hard unless you really understand the underlying concepts. Also, i've seen number in the 400-500s range for leetcode. With the types of problems companies throw, it's better to be prepared...

[@sgtsqrt]

Do you think its possible, that they want you to solve some problems that are by nature - not solvable. But you can solve at least parts of it very well. So they want to test if you can seperate a big problem into many small and then solve these which have a solution and explain why others cant be solved. I encountered such things in my university :D

[@CristianGarcia]

These titles are one step from ending with "(as a millionaire)"