Let me get this out of the way: most technical interviews do a terrible job of evaluating whether someone can actually do the job. Solving algorithm puzzles on a whiteboard has almost zero correlation with building real software.
But here’s the thing – complaining about it doesn’t get you hired. So let’s talk about how to play the game efficiently.
The Three Parts of Most Tech Interviews
1. Coding Challenges (LeetCode-Style)
Companies ask these because they’re easy to standardize. Here’s the efficient approach:
- Don’t grind 500 problems. Do 50-75 carefully selected ones
- Focus on patterns, not solutions. Most problems are variations of: two pointers, sliding window, BFS/DFS, dynamic programming, hash maps
- Practice talking while coding. The explanation matters as much as the solution
- Time yourself. If you can’t crack a problem in 20 minutes, look at the solution, understand it, and move on. Come back to it in a week
2. System Design
For mid-senior roles, you’ll be asked to design systems at scale. My preparation framework:
- Study the key building blocks: load balancers, caches, message queues, databases (SQL vs NoSQL), CDNs
- Practice with classic problems: design a URL shortener, design a chat system, design a news feed
- Always start with requirements clarification. Interviewers love this because it shows real-world thinking
- Draw diagrams. Visual communication shows confidence
3. Behavioral Questions
The most underrated part. Prepare 5-6 stories using the STAR format (Situation, Task, Action, Result):
- A time you dealt with conflict
- A difficult technical decision you made
- A project you’re proud of
- A time you failed and what you learned
- A time you went above and beyond
My 4-Week Study Plan
Week 1: Two LeetCode Easy problems per day. Review data structures (arrays, hash maps, trees, graphs).
Week 2: Two Medium problems per day focusing on common patterns. Start system design reading.
Week 3: One Medium per day, one system design practice. Mock interviews with friends.
Week 4: Light review, behavioral prep, rest before interviews.
During the Interview
- Ask clarifying questions first. Rushing into code is a red flag for interviewers
- Think out loud. A wrong answer with clear thinking beats a right answer with no explanation
- Start with brute force. Get a working solution, then optimize
- Test your code. Walk through an example before saying “done”
- Stay calm when stuck. Say “Let me think about this differently” – interviewers expect it
The Unfair Advantage
The best way to get past interviews? Referrals. Someone at the company forwarding your resume gets you a 10x higher callback rate than applying online. Network actively. Attend meetups, engage on LinkedIn, contribute to open source that companies use. A warm introduction is worth more than solving 500 LeetCode problems.
Is the system fair? No. But understanding the game lets you navigate it strategically instead of grinding endlessly.