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If you want to work at FAANG, get some interviews with them. That requires Leetcode, no? Am I missing something?
by aynyc 4y ago
If you want to work at FAANG, get some interviews with them.
That requires Leetcode, no? Am I missing something?
- ajkjk 4y agoI dunno where everyone got the idea that Leetcode is required for this stuff. You learn everything you need to pass these interviews in a 101 or 102 level algorithms/data structures class.
- AnotherGoodName 4y agoThis is weird because I work at FAANG and one of the things that everyone acknowledges is that we all studied to get past the damn interview loop. Yes it is covered in classes, there is nothing new but at the very least you need to brush up.
- ajkjk 4y agoSure, you should study a bit. That doesn't mean you have to 'grind leetcode' or anything. I usually go implement a couple data structures (a heap and a graph search, or something) and then feel pretty good. Typical interview questions just aren't that hard and if you aren't too nervous about it you can figure them out live if you know basic computer science.
- MisterSandman 4y agoAs a university student looking for internships, I highly disagree. I've taken the highest level DSA course my university offers and it's nowhere near enough to tackle interviews from top tech companies. It's not about knowing how to implement DFS. Its about understanding the problem and requirements quick enough, then figuring out what DSA to use, and then doing it quick enough within the time limit.
- ajkjk 4y agoI feel like all of that is pretty easy if you solve like 3 DFS problems, which I at least did in my classwork.
- lallysingh 4y agoAgreed, the leetcode stuff is unnecessary. I never did for my FAANG job. Really just the following in depth: hash tables, heaps, string manipulation, 5 min of O(n), and then a review pass through other algos/data structures. There was a joke that you just had to say "hash tables" 3x fast and you'd just get an offer. So many interview questions get torn apart by a good hash application.
- monknomo 4y agoThose classes teach the algorithms and how to implement them. What they lack is: 1. how to recognize which algorithm the interviewer is expecting 2. how to present said algorithm on a whiteboard in under 30 min 3. how to speak fluently about the tradeoffs made in said whiteboard implementation 4. 'mutually agreed upon head compilation' where both you and the interviewer agree how your whiteboard code will be executed. These are skills that you can, and should, practice to interview with large companies. Leetcode helps with 1 and 2.
- ajkjk 4y agoAll of that stuff comes pretty easily if you have spent any time in a day job talking to coworkers about algorithms. Running code in your head and talking about its tradeoffs is not like an esoteric skill.
- dymk 4y agoIf you have a BS in computer science and remember some of your coursework, you’ll pass an interview.
- clintonb 4y agoGetting to the interview phase is straightforward if you have a few years of experience. _Passing_ the interviews is another story, and will require study if you haven’t studied algorithms recently. I’ve never passed, but I encourage folks to apply, use the failure to figure out what to study, and try again in six months. I see many folks feeling unprepared, and they never get around to interviewing, so they never know if they are truly unprepared.
- baron816 4y agoI work at a FAANG as a SWE. Never spent more than 5 minute on Leetcode. I do mostly frontend, but I doubt a manager’s interview would be very different from an algorithms coding perspective.