Stage 1 · Code
Interview Preparation
Mock Interviews
Simulated interview sessions with feedback and rubric scoring.
10 min readMastering Data Structures & Algorithms for Software Engineering InterviewsCode
Interview Structure
Standard 45-min FAANG interview: (1) 5 min intro/clarifying questions. (2) 5 min discuss approach. (3) 25 min coding. (4) 5 min testing/edge cases. (5) 5 min follow-up/questions. Mock interviews should replicate this exactly.
Scoring Rubric
| Dimension | Strong Hire | Hire | Weak Hire | No Hire |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Problem Solving | Optimal solution, explains tradeoffs | Working solution, minor bugs | Brute force, major bugs | Cannot solve |
| Communication | Clear, thinks aloud, asks clarifying | Good, minor gaps | Unclear, jumps to code | Silent, no explanation |
| Code Quality | Clean, modular, handles edge cases | Functional, minor style issues | Messy, hard to read | Broken, no structure |
| Testing | Comprehensive: edge, large, invalid | Tests happy path | Minimal testing | No testing |
| Complexity | States exact T/S, optimizes | States approx T/S | Struggles with analysis | No analysis |
Common Mistakes
- Not clarifying constraints (input size, duplicates, sorted?)
- Jumping to code without discussing approach
- Not thinking aloud — interviewer can't help
- Ignoring edge cases (empty, single element, overflow)
- Poor variable names, no comments
- Not testing code with examples
- Can't analyze time/space complexity
- Getting stuck without asking for hints
Practice Strategy
- Do 3-5 full mock interviews before real ones
- Record yourself, review communication
- Practice on whiteboard/paper (not IDE)
- Time yourself: 5 min clarify, 5 min plan, 25 min code, 5 min test
- Focus on patterns, not memorizing solutions
- Review every mock: what went well, what to improve
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