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How to Pass a Silicon Valley Software Engineering Interview [PDF slides]

38 points by fleaflicker 19y ago

fleaflicker 19y ago
No slides give the full picture of a presentation but this is still worth reading. It's written by Google engineer and Mailinator creator Paul Tyma.
- aneesh 19y ago
  Yeah, definitely worth a read. "Its quite easy to write software that doesn't need to scale." Amen.
csmajorfive 19y ago
I just went through a three week gauntlet of interviews (~10 companies who each do at least 3 1-hour interviews). This slide set is pretty accurate in terms of what to expect but I'd weight the API's/language/philosophy sections down a bit. I only got a few language questions and absolutely none about development philosophies (except for maybe "emacs or vim?"). Algorithms & data structures are what you should be studying. Puzzles too but that's more about doing a lot -- you can't really study per se.
- falsestprophet 19y ago
  I am wondering what it takes to be a qualified web start-up programmer. I have less formal computer science training than most candidates for Silicon Valley jobs. However, I gamble I have more programming experience than many CS graduates. So, I am hopeful that I don’t need to go back to school for chemistry straightaway. I am familiar with algorithms and data structures, but I am certain that many properly educated developers would put me to shame. What is the best way to accumulate this core theoretical knowledge? Are there preferred books on the subjects or will any do? Or do you recommend simply taking few courses before I graduate? Thanks for your input.
  - comatose_kid 19y ago
    Hmmm....formal training is important, but if you had a website with some kick-ass demos, you'd probably have a better chance of scoring a face-to-face interview. Algorithms and data structures? If you like proofs, I've heard that the Cormen and Rivest book is great. Personally, I find that the Sedgewick volumes have great explanations of the most common algorithms. But you haven't graduated yet, so the most effective approach may be to sign up for an algorithms course. Then you'll have the benefit of a prof and students to help out.
  - tx 19y ago
    Most engineers never implement any of those classic CS algorithms or data structures manually since everything is in the libraries these days. Therefore they're in the same boat as you: general knowledge and a couple of books under a hand to look things up. All they (and you) have to do is to refresh their knowledge since college years. I've never implemented a linked list since graduation, nor I sorted anything manually using quick sort. Moreover, I never had to generate permutations of anything, nevertheless those are the same damn questions they keep asking on interviews. I wonder why: it only makes sense for fresh graduates, because it's the only reliable way to compare then against each other.
    - csmajorfive 19y ago
      It's also one of the better ways to reliably compare people against each other for the type of intelligence and problem solving skills that programming requires.
    - henning 19y ago
      I have used the Aho-Corasick and Boyer-Moore algorithms the Google presenter guy mentioned many times, at least a dozen, in 10 months of employment. I have also implemented a fulltext indexing system because we have total NIH syndrome, which involved working with suffix trees, inverted indexes, and other classic undergrad information retrieval material. You don't have to know everything; you need to know enough to know what you don't know, and where to look to get what you need to get the job done. Like, I just start with Wikipedia, usually. What you need when you actually get the job is a separate concern from what you need to get the job in the first place, though.
aneesh 19y ago
Yeah, I've just been through the interview cycle as well, and I'd definitely focus on knowing as much as you can about: 1) data structures 2) algorithms 3) big picture: how would you build X? 4) math - be a good puzzle solver. the more puzzles you do, the better you get at them.
s3graham 19y ago
Is Java really as popular as these slides imply? I had no idea. Or is that only for Google? (or Sun, I guess maybe?)
- dmoney 19y ago
  I've seen some statistics (I forget where) indicating it's now about twice as popular as C++. My (East coast) company recently decided it was a "Java shop."
  - s3graham 19y ago
    Crazy. My first job was Java for about a year (in 1996-97) and after that I ignored it and hoped it would go away and not overtly hurt me. The bizarre thing is that I don't know of any software that I use other than (I believe) gmail that's actually written in Java (and I don't think gmail qualifies as a "normal" Java deployment).
    - ardit33 19y ago
      as much as people rave about rails, python or any other language, the web actually runs mostly on java (and some .net). Most financial sites, brokerage houses, banks and many more websites run with java. Just b.c you hear about rails or django all the damn time, doesn't mean they are widely used. They are just trendy frameworks. (Php is the other language that run the rest of the web.).
      - thorax 19y ago
        I tend to think of it more as "php runs the internet", "java runs the intranet". Neither of these are the darlings of most hackers. All hackers should know how to code them, though (IMHO).
- davidw 19y ago
  Yes: http://www.langpop.com/ http://www.langpop.com/
deleted 19y ago
[deleted]
geebee 19y ago
I usually review my data structures and algorithms book before interviews. In particular, you need to be familiar with recusion and tree traversal. Interviewers love these questions. For me, the only time I write tree traversals is during interviews, so I am a little surprised that it's such a big point for interviewers. I suppose it is a pretty good sign that someone knows how to program, but I do think that it would lead to many "false negatives" (ie., someone who can program well but doesn't have it front and center). My advice: don't become a false negative. Just make sure you bust out the old textbook and get it fresh in your mind. If you've never taken data structures and algorithms, then you'll probably get a lot out of this exercise. I use container classes for most of this, but it is valuable to study and learn it well once.

38 points by fleaflicker 19y ago

No slides give the full picture of a presentation but this is still worth reading. It's written by Google engineer and Mailinator creator Paul Tyma.

aneesh 19y ago
Yeah, definitely worth a read. "Its quite easy to write software that doesn't need to scale." Amen.

csmajorfive 19y ago

I just went through a three week gauntlet of interviews (~10 companies who each do at least 3 1-hour interviews). This slide set is pretty accurate in terms of what to expect but I'd weight the API's/language/philosophy sections down a bit. I only got a few language questions and absolutely none about development philosophies (except for maybe "emacs or vim?"). Algorithms & data structures are what you should be studying. Puzzles too but that's more about doing a lot -- you can't really study per se.

falsestprophet 19y ago
I am wondering what it takes to be a qualified web start-up programmer. I have less formal computer science training than most candidates for Silicon Valley jobs. However, I gamble I have more programming experience than many CS graduates. So, I am hopeful that I don’t need to go back to school for chemistry straightaway. I am familiar with algorithms and data structures, but I am certain that many properly educated developers would put me to shame. What is the best way to accumulate this core theoretical knowledge? Are there preferred books on the subjects or will any do? Or do you recommend simply taking few courses before I graduate? Thanks for your input.
- comatose_kid 19y ago
  Hmmm....formal training is important, but if you had a website with some kick-ass demos, you'd probably have a better chance of scoring a face-to-face interview. Algorithms and data structures? If you like proofs, I've heard that the Cormen and Rivest book is great. Personally, I find that the Sedgewick volumes have great explanations of the most common algorithms. But you haven't graduated yet, so the most effective approach may be to sign up for an algorithms course. Then you'll have the benefit of a prof and students to help out.
- tx 19y ago
  Most engineers never implement any of those classic CS algorithms or data structures manually since everything is in the libraries these days. Therefore they're in the same boat as you: general knowledge and a couple of books under a hand to look things up. All they (and you) have to do is to refresh their knowledge since college years. I've never implemented a linked list since graduation, nor I sorted anything manually using quick sort. Moreover, I never had to generate permutations of anything, nevertheless those are the same damn questions they keep asking on interviews. I wonder why: it only makes sense for fresh graduates, because it's the only reliable way to compare then against each other.
  - csmajorfive 19y ago
    It's also one of the better ways to reliably compare people against each other for the type of intelligence and problem solving skills that programming requires.
  - henning 19y ago
    I have used the Aho-Corasick and Boyer-Moore algorithms the Google presenter guy mentioned many times, at least a dozen, in 10 months of employment. I have also implemented a fulltext indexing system because we have total NIH syndrome, which involved working with suffix trees, inverted indexes, and other classic undergrad information retrieval material. You don't have to know everything; you need to know enough to know what you don't know, and where to look to get what you need to get the job done. Like, I just start with Wikipedia, usually. What you need when you actually get the job is a separate concern from what you need to get the job in the first place, though.

aneesh 19y ago

Yeah, I've just been through the interview cycle as well, and I'd definitely focus on knowing as much as you can about: 1) data structures 2) algorithms 3) big picture: how would you build X? 4) math - be a good puzzle solver. the more puzzles you do, the better you get at them.

s3graham 19y ago

Is Java really as popular as these slides imply? I had no idea. Or is that only for Google? (or Sun, I guess maybe?)

dmoney 19y ago
I've seen some statistics (I forget where) indicating it's now about twice as popular as C++. My (East coast) company recently decided it was a "Java shop."
- s3graham 19y ago
  Crazy. My first job was Java for about a year (in 1996-97) and after that I ignored it and hoped it would go away and not overtly hurt me. The bizarre thing is that I don't know of any software that I use other than (I believe) gmail that's actually written in Java (and I don't think gmail qualifies as a "normal" Java deployment).
  - ardit33 19y ago
    as much as people rave about rails, python or any other language, the web actually runs mostly on java (and some .net). Most financial sites, brokerage houses, banks and many more websites run with java. Just b.c you hear about rails or django all the damn time, doesn't mean they are widely used. They are just trendy frameworks. (Php is the other language that run the rest of the web.).
    - thorax 19y ago
      I tend to think of it more as "php runs the internet", "java runs the intranet". Neither of these are the darlings of most hackers. All hackers should know how to code them, though (IMHO).
davidw 19y ago
Yes: http://www.langpop.com/ http://www.langpop.com/

deleted 19y ago

[deleted]

geebee 19y ago

I usually review my data structures and algorithms book before interviews. In particular, you need to be familiar with recusion and tree traversal. Interviewers love these questions. For me, the only time I write tree traversals is during interviews, so I am a little surprised that it's such a big point for interviewers. I suppose it is a pretty good sign that someone knows how to program, but I do think that it would lead to many "false negatives" (ie., someone who can program well but doesn't have it front and center). My advice: don't become a false negative. Just make sure you bust out the old textbook and get it fresh in your mind. If you've never taken data structures and algorithms, then you'll probably get a lot out of this exercise. I use container classes for most of this, but it is valuable to study and learn it well once.