Technical Interview Preparation Guide
Master coding interviews, system design, and technical screenings with proven strategies.
Introduction
Technical interviews assess how you think under pressure. This guide offers a concrete action plan to avoid 'LeetCode burnout' and focus on the fundamentals.
Types of Technical Interviews
Algorithms & Data Structures
Live Coding tests where you solve algorithmic problems. The key is not memorizing code, but patterns.
System Design
For Mid/Senior roles. Design scalable architectures (e.g., Twitter, Netflix).
Take-Home Projects
Projects to do at home. Code quality, testing, and documentation are evaluated.
Debugging / Code Review
Fix bugs or critique existing code. Look for 'Code Smells' and security issues.
Algorithm Strategy
Don't memorize solutions. Recognize patterns. Here are the most common ones:
Essential Patterns (Blind 75)
- Sliding Window (Arrays/Strings)
- Two Pointers (Sorted lists)
- Fast & Slow Pointers (Linked List cycles)
- Merge Intervals (Time ranges)
- Cyclic Sort (1-N numeric arrays)
- Tree BFS / DFS (Graphs and Trees)
- Top 'K' Elements (Heaps)
- Dynamic Programming (Optimization)
The Hidden Key: Communication
Silence is your enemy. Use the REACTO protocol to structure your thinking:
REACTO Protocol
- Repeat: Repeat the question to confirm understanding.
- Examples: Create example inputs/outputs and edge cases.
- Approach: Describe your solution at a high level before coding.
- Code: Write clean, readable code.
- Test: Do a manual 'Dry Run' with your examples.
- Optimize: Analyze complexity (Big O) and improve.
Conclusion
Deliberate practice beats talent. Treat the interviewer as a colleague and collaborate.