yes, I prep. For me the biggest thing was writing code quickly. I went from taking ten to fifteen minutes for solving the easier leetcode problems to five min

yes, I prep. For me the biggest thing was writing code quickly. I went from taking ten to fifteen minutes for solving the easier leetcode problems to five minutes. The confidence to bang out code that fast means I have more time to think. I definitely can't memorize questions, so it's much easier for me to just practice the problem solving aspect along with the very very fast coding aspect. For system design, I did no prep other than mock interviews to just verify I was on track. Prepping for system design by reading about systems other people have designed to me just comes off as shallow. I also did lots of practice/mock interviews to just get used to explaining things as I coded. That was very helpful. Sometimes the questions are easy but they are looking for thoughtful people, not just memorizers.