#tech interviews

I've been studying a lot more than usual, trying to catch up on calculus AND preparing a technical interview.

It's hard not to feel dumb and lacking when solving LeetCode problems tbh. It feels like the past 4 years have amounted to nothing.

The technical interview process can feel like an intimidating wall for most freshers. Sitting in front of a live interviewer or a blank compiler window while being timed creates immense pressure. Many candidates assume that memorizing dozens of LeetCode algorithms is the foolproof formula to clear these rounds.

However, top-tier engineering managers rarely look for a perfect solution right out of the gate. What they truly evaluate is your algorithmic thinking, problem-solving framework, and execution style under constraints. If you want to stand out during your technical evaluations, you need to follow a structured, communicative strategy.

The Critical "Clarification Phase"

The moment an interviewer presents a coding problem, do not start typing code immediately. Jumping straight into syntax shows a lack of planning. Instead, take a deep breath and ask clarifying questions.

Ask about input constraints (e.g., "Can the array contain negative numbers?").

Clarify expected edge cases (e.g., "How should the program handle null or empty inputs?").

Confirm the expected data types for the return values.

This phase shows that you think like a careful engineer who collects all requirements before building a solution.

Talk Through Your Brute-Force Solution

Once you understand the problem, speak your thoughts out loud. Begin by explaining the simplest, most intuitive solution that comes to mindeven if it is highly inefficient . Let the interviewer know: "I am starting with a brute-force approach to guarantee a working solution, and then I will optimize it." This ensures you never leave the screen completely blank and establishes a logical baseline.

Optimize Systematically

After establishing your brute-force logic, point out its bottlenecks. Discuss where you can save time or memory by utilizing more appropriate data structures, such as using a Hash Map to reduce lookup times from linear to constant time. Keeping up with modern engineering standards through an intensive industry-aligned technical program gives you the vocabulary and foundational knowledge needed to discuss complex optimizations naturally.

Dry Run and Edge-Case Validation

After writing your code, do not announce that you are finished right away. Manually trace through your logic using a simple sample input. Walk the interviewer through your code line by line, updating the values of your variables out loud. Check how your loops behave on the very first item, the middle items, and the final element.

Navigating this intense process becomes significantly easier when you have practiced inside professional environments. Experiencing structured corporate readiness patterns, such as those provided within a global IT infrastructure and consulting framework, can help you build the confidence required to articulate engineering decisions clearly under pressure.

Final Thought

Cracking FAANG interviews is not only about technical skills but also about long-term planning. Career mapping helps software engineers identify their current abilities, improve interview readiness, and present their experience effectively.

In real life, career mapping connects DSA preparation, system design thinking, and resume strategy into one clear path. Engineers who follow this approach tend to make more confident career decisions and perform better in interviews.

Helpful resources that explain this in detail include:

https://everyonewhocode.com/career-mapping-for-faang-interviews-meaning-purpose-and-real-life-coding-examples/ https://everyonewhocode.com/ https://everyonewhocode.com/everyone-who-codes-crack-your-next-sde-interview-copy/ https://everyonewhocode.com/your-resume-isnt-just-a-piece-of-paper-its-a-snapshot-of-your-engineering-skills-and-experience-make-it-stand-out/

Given the surname of a player, determine how hard it is to pronounce. We assume that the difficulty of the surname is the maximum number of consecutive consonants in it.

Example

For surname = "Blaszczykowski", the output should be hardSurname(surname) = 6;

For surname = "Papastathopoulos", the output should be hardSurname(surname) = 2.

Credits: CodeFights

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When I first attempted this problem, I was very confused because it was hard for me to grasp what a “consecutive consonant” was. This is definitely a point I would clarify with a interviewer prior to starting to solve the problem.