How to Prepare for a Coding Interview

03 Jun How to Prepare for a Coding Interview

Once you have the prerequisite qualifications and ready to start a job in coding, you must be prepared for job interviews for these positions. One of the interviews is the coding interview. Unfortunately, coding interviews are challenging and unpredictable. This makes it hard for you to prepare for them.

So how do you go about preparing for one? In this article, we will walk you through the process of preparing for a coding interview and share a few online resources that can be of assistance when preparing for the big day. Geektastic offer a comprehensive guide to passing coding tests.

Let us get started!

A Technical Interview May Be In Stages

Companies try to find a way to filter the best from tens or hundreds of applications. Therefore, they interview candidates in stages as listed below.

Stage 1: The Phone Interview

This interview seeks to know if you are qualified for the job ad are enthusiastic enough to take up the task. It touches on main areas in coding.

Stage 2: Remote coding Interview

Most companies will test your knowledge in coding before inviting you to the office. This interview can be conducted on Skype, Zoom, or Hangout. Others give an assignment that you hand in via email.

Stage 3: Interview in Person

Most people refer to this stage as the actual interview. You will be invited to the company and have interviewers test your technical skills. In addition, there might be a whiteboard where you will complete some coding challenges.

Your chances of landing that job depend on your ability to beat other candidates in these three stages. So while the last one is the most detailed, you should prepare for the other two to guarantee you a slot in the interview.

How to Ace Different Coding Interviews Questions

Technical interviews are comprised of various types of questions to measure your ability to handle multiple problems in the coding world and fit the existing team. The type and number of questions may vary from one company to another.

Do a Proper Technical Preparation

A significant portion of your coding interview will revolve around technical aspects such as theory, design patterns, data structures, algorithms, programming and language. You have to brush through these areas when preparing for the interview, as it will be just another exam. Otherwise, the interview can catch you by surprise.

Most technology companies provide a list of areas they will be testing in the interview questions to know where to read. Unfortunately, some of the instructions are not detailed and you have to read the major areas of each topic stated in the email.

The size of the company you are applying to determines the type of questions you get. Large companies may have specialised coding positions that may lead to specific questions. For example, in programming, you may need to know various languages, frameworks, arrays, linked lists and data strings.

Design Questions

These are product-based interviews. The company may give you a product, such as an app, job board, or search engine and ask you to develop a system architecture. The interviewer wants to see your approach to solving big problems and coming up with a practical solution. You should ask about the system that the company is using so that you answer the questions effectively.

Some of the design elements that you need to know include databases, load balancer and DNS server.

In the section, you may also be asked to explain basic steps in coding and take the interview team through the process of creating a code. Others may ask for steps in qualitative data coding. However, the technicality of the questions depends on the technical knowledge required in each stage.

Behavioural Questions

The company will also like to know if you are an excellent fit for the existing team. The interviewer will ask a few questions to determine your attitude, problem-solving skills, teamwork, and conflict management skills. These questions do not need lots of preparation. Think out the best way to solve the issues posed by your Interviewer.

Areas to Study for Coding Interviews

As said earlier, preparation is everything in a technical interview. Various online resources can help you prepare for the all-important examination. Here are some of them:

• Interviewing.io: This is a technical interview practice resource with engineers from leading tech companies like Facebook and Google. It has actionable tips and several interview secrets.
• Codefights: Another free arcade that helps solve problems in an interactive platform. It includes interview practices, video games, coding competitions and tournaments.
• Geeks for Geeks: The free resource has a detailed interview overview, assignments based on expert levels and specific interview prep tips for top brands.
• Triplebyte: This website allows you to take a quick coding exam and matches you to companies that need the skill. The questions could be theory, programming aptitude test and theory.

Various coders have also shared their technical interview experiences. This helps avoid common pitfalls and provides a coding interview cheat sheet to get you ready.

Get prepared for your coding interview by anticipating questions you may be asked and polishing on technical principles you learnt in school. Use the above resources for this purpose.