“Interview” this word always brings a sense of anxiety, fear, and loads of terror since it plays a crucial role in furnishing one’s future. No matter how experienced you are, interviews can feel like an overwhelming experience. And coding interviews are said to be one of the toughest interviews. As you are mostly unaware of the type of coding interview questions that would come your way. As a programmer, it is difficult for cracking the interview questions as an interviewer is able to understand the basic skills and the caliber of the candidate through the interview.
Most of the time, it is not even the basic knowledge that gets the candidate rejected but the overall interview skills. One can be over-qualified for the role but the build-up of anxiety, poor representation, and the lack of soft skills cause the job role to slip out of hands.
To avoid one such situation, let’s walk through a few interview tips which will help you in honing your skills and cracking the coding interview.
Top 10 Tips to crack your coding interview
- Understand the Job Description:
Being unaware of the job description is equal to being unprepared for the job interview. It is extremely important to have a clear of the roles and responsibilities you are about work for in a particular position. As it shows the credibility, mindfulness, and maturity of the candidate. It also helps the candidate to hone their skills for the desired job role.
When one is aware of the roles and responsibilities of the job role, the candidate can also predict a few questions regarding the same and be confident to face the challenges which will be put forth in front of them. - Research about the company:
Researching about the company is extremely important for the candidate who is appearing for the interview. It gives insights into how the company was formed, its mission, vision, and ethics are being known to the candidate, which can further be used by the candidate to align his mission and goals. It also gives an idea about what projects they have worked on, or what achievements they have accomplished, this builds confidence and helps to crack the interview even more easily. - Master your Structure and Algorithm:
Ensure that you have a solid understanding of all the common data structures like arrays, linked lists, trees, graphs, and algorithms such as sorting, searching, recursion, dynamic programming, and programming languages commonly used in interviews such as Python, Java, or CSS. Make sure that you are thorough with all the fundamental concepts. - Practice your coding powers:
There is no better way than actually practicing as many codes as possible and mastering the art. This won’t only train your brain to access the structure of a great, bug-free code but will also leave you with a great sense of self-assurance that now you are ready to appear for the interview which will give you a boost to feel confident for the interview. You can focus on different levels of difficulty and categories to build versatility. You can practice your code on various platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, and Codeforces. - Look for an upgraded source of learning:
Practicing code is important but practicing it with the help of the right resource creates a better impact. Cracking the coding interview requires a lot of patience and certainty of the fact that you have learned all the basics, necessary to clear the interview. There are various sources such as books, youtube videos, coding courses, and even blogs to learn to code for cracking the coding interview.
There are several great books available for learning coding, catering to different programming languages and skill levels to help you with your coding interview questions. Here are some highly recommended options:
-“Python Crash Course” by Eric Matthes”: An excellent choice for beginners
learning Python, offering hands-on projects and clear explanations.
-“Eloquent JavaScript” by Marijn Haverbeke”: This book is perfect for those
aiming to learn JavaScript. It covers the language fundamentals and also delves
into more advanced topics.
– “Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship” by Robert C.
Martin: This book focuses on writing clean, maintainable, and efficient code,
which is a crucial skill for any developer.
-“Cracking the Coding Interview” by Gayle Laakmann McDowell” : Geared
towards interview preparation, this book provides coding problems,
explanations, and strategies for technical interviews.
But, if you are looking to master your art of coding you can always enroll in coding courses and learn exceptional coding skills along with interview skills in just 6 months under the guidance of distinguished and experienced trainers.
- Do Mock Interviews:
I am very sure this is not the very first time that you are hearing to conduct your mock interview. While it may seem, redundant but in fact, it is not. There is great power in conducting your own mock interview or with the help of your friend or any family member.
It is very true that you cannot predict which interview questions might come your way but practicing a few basic questions on your own will help you transform your interview skills.
Here are a few sources through which you can prepare for your coding interview questions:
– Pramp
– Interviewing.io
– CodeSignal
– CoderPad
– Practicing by Company - Listen to every detail:
In most interviews, the candidate who is appearing for the interview is often anxious and lightheaded which might let s(he) miss out on the important details of the question asked. In fact, it is one of the most important things to pay attention to every detail of the question to identify the problem and give respective solutions to the same.
Through this, the interviewer is often able to determine your understanding of the time and space complexity of algorithms. It also helps to identify your ability to optimize code for efficiency. - Code Neatness and Comments:
As you are appearing for a coding interview, it is equally important for you to write clean and organized codes. It will reflect your efficiency for the job profile you are applying for. Write your code in a way that is easy to understand and read, and is fundamentally correct. In order to have an upper hand in your coding game, it is important to be thorough with the algorithm. - Test your code:
You won’t be able to check your code, in the interview, the way you have been checking up till now. You won’t be assisted with a computer test for your code, you will have to check it step-by-step manually. Look out for any code which seems odd to you and change it accordingly. Be precise with your code and don’t be in haste to get it done soon. Keep an eye out for error codes. - Effective Communication:
During the interview, effective communication gives better insight and idea to the interviewer of which method you are approaching, which gives him a fair statement to judge your code accordingly. Talk about your approach, discuss trade-offs, and have a word with the interviewer if you are stuck in the very process. It reflects that you are the right person for collaborative working and believe in teamwork.
Bonus Tip:
Maintain Your Calm and Confidence. Performance anxiety can be detrimental. Breathe deeply, pay attention to what the interviewer is saying, and confidently attack challenges. And try to remember for the given interview tips.
Conclusion:
Interviews for sure are intimidating but you can for sure get through them if you are confident enough to do so. Remember that Preparation is the greatest key to increasing your interview skills. I hope you found this blog to the best of your interest and found the best interview tips for cracking the coding interview questions.
I am grateful for your patient reading.
