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I'm about to start the leet code grind for interviews coming up and I'll give this a shot. I found your feedback form on your website but would be nice to post

by xzel 2y ago

I'm about to start the leet code grind for interviews coming up and I'll give this a shot. I found your feedback form on your website but would be nice to post it in your post here as well. Cheers.

cubemaster 2y ago
posted! thanks for the advice :)
reddit_clone 2y ago
I keep hearing this. What exactly does 'leetcode grind' mean? I take it you solve puzzles by writing code. How does it help with job interviews really?
- mardef 2y ago
  Many engineering interviews include literal "solve this problem on leetcode" sections.
- linguae 2y ago
  “Leetcode grind” means solving Leetcode problems. Interviewing for many software engineering positions in Silicon Valley these days require doing well on Leetcode-style coding exercises where one has a limited amount of time to solve a problem. What makes software engineering interviews a grind these days is that many employers don’t care about your thinking process; they want an optimal solution to the problem within the time limit without errors, since chances are high that an applicant will come up with the optimal solution. In addition, the high compensation for many Silicon Valley employers has made these positions very desirable and thus ultra-competitive. The same type of applicants who grinded for high SAT and AP scores in high school and who grinded in college for 3.7+ GPAs don’t feel discouraged grinding some more for a six-figure job with life-changing amounts of RSUs once vested and other perks. You can grind hard, but chances are high that somebody else spent even more time studying than you. These types of interviews are similar in spirit to the employment exams that some companies have in Japan during job-hunting season for upper-level college students. So, aiming for a FAANG position, as well as software engineering positions at many other companies in Silicon Valley, essentially require studying not unlike preparing for a GRE subject test for graduate school admissions.
  - jacobsimon 2y ago
    Hey I just want to add, in addition to your advice here, there are other important aspects to interviewing beyond performance on Leetcode questions. In other words, it's sometimes necessary, but not sufficient. Most senior jobs require system design interviews, conversations about leadership, and more. I think "grinding" on Leetcode also entails learning and practicing a lot of irrelevant topics for many jobs, but there are newer resources out there that help you focus on what you need to know for specific roles. I don't like to plug my own company, but Exponent[1] is designed to help with this more 'well-rounded' interview prep for different types of engineering paths, and we also have a mock interview feature that helps you iron out your communication skills with other candidates. 1. https://www.tryexponent.com https://www.tryexponent.com
    - greymalik 2y ago
      I would like to try exponent, but the only free "lessons" I see are the intros to each section. I want to see a real, representative sample of the content I'd get before I'm willing to open my wallet.
      - jacobsimon 2y ago
        Feedback received! We do have free lessons deeper in the course and lots on our YouTube channel, but will pass this on to the team.
  - sovnwnt 2y ago
    > for many software engineering positions in Silicon Valley these days Do US most companies outside of Silicon Valley not use leetcode style interviews? Every single software interview I've done in Canada had at least one round of leetcode programming exams.
    - daemonologist 2y ago
      I think outside of silicon valley (and companies emulating that culture), US companies still give coding problems but they're usually not leetcode style, more of just an implementation problem, if that makes sense. Instead of checking that you have some obscure algorithm memorized they simply want to see you code a bit.
deleted 2y ago
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by xzel 2y ago

I'm about to start the leet code grind for interviews coming up and I'll give this a shot. I found your feedback form on your website but would be nice to post it in your post here as well. Cheers.

cubemaster 2y ago

posted! thanks for the advice :)

reddit_clone 2y ago

I keep hearing this. What exactly does 'leetcode grind' mean? I take it you solve puzzles by writing code. How does it help with job interviews really?

mardef 2y ago
Many engineering interviews include literal "solve this problem on leetcode" sections.
linguae 2y ago
“Leetcode grind” means solving Leetcode problems. Interviewing for many software engineering positions in Silicon Valley these days require doing well on Leetcode-style coding exercises where one has a limited amount of time to solve a problem. What makes software engineering interviews a grind these days is that many employers don’t care about your thinking process; they want an optimal solution to the problem within the time limit without errors, since chances are high that an applicant will come up with the optimal solution. In addition, the high compensation for many Silicon Valley employers has made these positions very desirable and thus ultra-competitive. The same type of applicants who grinded for high SAT and AP scores in high school and who grinded in college for 3.7+ GPAs don’t feel discouraged grinding some more for a six-figure job with life-changing amounts of RSUs once vested and other perks. You can grind hard, but chances are high that somebody else spent even more time studying than you. These types of interviews are similar in spirit to the employment exams that some companies have in Japan during job-hunting season for upper-level college students. So, aiming for a FAANG position, as well as software engineering positions at many other companies in Silicon Valley, essentially require studying not unlike preparing for a GRE subject test for graduate school admissions.
- jacobsimon 2y ago
  Hey I just want to add, in addition to your advice here, there are other important aspects to interviewing beyond performance on Leetcode questions. In other words, it's sometimes necessary, but not sufficient. Most senior jobs require system design interviews, conversations about leadership, and more. I think "grinding" on Leetcode also entails learning and practicing a lot of irrelevant topics for many jobs, but there are newer resources out there that help you focus on what you need to know for specific roles. I don't like to plug my own company, but Exponent[1] is designed to help with this more 'well-rounded' interview prep for different types of engineering paths, and we also have a mock interview feature that helps you iron out your communication skills with other candidates. 1. https://www.tryexponent.com https://www.tryexponent.com
  - greymalik 2y ago
    I would like to try exponent, but the only free "lessons" I see are the intros to each section. I want to see a real, representative sample of the content I'd get before I'm willing to open my wallet.
    - jacobsimon 2y ago
      Feedback received! We do have free lessons deeper in the course and lots on our YouTube channel, but will pass this on to the team.
- sovnwnt 2y ago
  > for many software engineering positions in Silicon Valley these days Do US most companies outside of Silicon Valley not use leetcode style interviews? Every single software interview I've done in Canada had at least one round of leetcode programming exams.
  - daemonologist 2y ago
    I think outside of silicon valley (and companies emulating that culture), US companies still give coding problems but they're usually not leetcode style, more of just an implementation problem, if that makes sense. Instead of checking that you have some obscure algorithm memorized they simply want to see you code a bit.

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]