The document discusses strategies for becoming a perfect candidate for programming interviews. It recommends developing strong coding and problem solving skills through online courses, side projects, hackathons and open source contributions. The document outlines preparing for different types of interview questions, including practicing data structures and algorithms, and how to approach problem solving questions in a structured way. It emphasizes the importance of communication skills and staying relaxed during the interview process.
7. The Perfect Candidate
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How to Become a More
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The Perfect Candidate
How to Become a More
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9. The Perfect Candidate
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How to Become a More
•Coursera
•Bootcamps
•Read lots.
•Write lots.
10. The Perfect Candidate
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How to Become a More
• Hackathons
• Diversity languages.
• Independent projects.
11. The Perfect Candidate
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How to Become a More
• Startups
• Start your own
12. The Perfect Candidate
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How to Become a More
• Length:
• 1 – 2 pages.
• 1 – 2 lines per bullet.
• 3 – 6 bullets per company.
• Projects.
• Clear accomplishments.
• Technical…
• But not overwhelming.
CareerCup.com/Resume
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The Perfect Candidate
How to Become a More
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The Perfect Candidate
How to Become a More
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15. THE SOFT SQUISHY STUFF
aka Behavioral Questions
great bang for your buck
17. Your Past Work/Projects
• Prep 1 – 2 projects
• Hard/Cool
• You = Central
• Technical Depth
• All past work (esp. last job)
• Challenges, design/architecture, tradeoffs,
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mistakes, successes, motivations
• What did YOU do? 16
22. Knowledge Questions
• Know your stuff.
• Be cautious about what you list.
• If you don’t know, admit it.
• Derive it if possible.
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29. Why?
• Strong foundation in CS
• Analytic skills/intelligence.
• Ability to make tradeoffs.
• Discussion/teamwork ability.
• How you think about a problem.
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30. How You Are Judged
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How did you do RELATIVE
to other candidates on
the SAME question?
40. Ex: Intersection of 2 Sorted Distinct Arrays
[1, 12, 15, 19, 20, 21]
[2, 12, 13, 17, 18, 25, 27]
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Special case
One element in common
41. Ex: Intersection of 2 Sorted Distinct Arrays
[1, 12, 15, 19, 20, 21]
[2, 12, 13, 19, 18, 25, 27]
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Special case
Common elements at same index
58. 7. Testing
1. Conceptual - does it make sense?
2. Weird stuff (x = len – 2)
3. Hot spots (end of list)
4. Small test cases
5. Special test cases
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59. How You Are Judged
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How did you do RELATIVE
to other candidates on
the SAME question?
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So RELAX!
Interviews are supposed to be hard!
Everyone makes mistakes.
Everyone!
61. 60
Talk to your interviewer
Be a great engineer.
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The Perfect Candidate: great academics, lots of projects, great work experience… packaged in a great resume.
Then, in the interview: great algorithms and problem solving, great whiteboard coding, great system design, knowledgeable and experience, and a good team player.
Solve system design questions like you would a real problem at work.
Going to tell you why companies do this. Don’t shoot the messenger!