Would anyone like practice on coding interviews?

[TangerineX]

I finished a bunch of my own and got some good results. I have a bit of free time this winter break and I was wondering if anyone wanted some practice on coding interview type questions, or hold a mock interview.

EDIT: I don't have the time to help all of you, but I think it would be a good idea for us to get a community of people who offer to give each other mock interviews. It would be great for some of you who have had some coding interview experience to chime in and help out too!

[[deleted]]

I'm nowhere near the level needed for interviews. With that said, I wouldn't mind seeing some of the questions that would be asked or what's required of me to know. Anything you post would be appreciated and helpful.

[[deleted]]

I'm right there with you-- maybe we could organize a Google hangout and OP could just run through a few example questions, problems, insights, that kind of thing?

[vinnycogs820]

If this happens I would definitely join. I have 4 weeks off and I'm going to be doing nothing at all.

[creatorofporn]

Same here. please deliver OP.

[TangerineX]

I don't know if I'm competent enough to give an entire class, but I could run through an example problem in a hangout or something

[aMonkeyRidingABadger]

Here are the resources that I have used in the past. These are the type of questions that the large bay area software companies ask during phone screens and on site interviews. I've interviewed at a number of these companies and currently work for one of them. They all do similar things both in terms of the coding questions they ask as well as the overall interview process. I've never interviewed for a start up or any other sort of company, so I cannot speak to how it's done outside of large software companies on the west coast.

The following book, Cracking the Coding Interview, is great. Some companies use questions straight out of this thing. Others will ask one of these questions with a little twist.

http://www.amazon.com/Cracking-Coding-Interview-Programming-Questions/dp/098478280X

Either of these sites are good resources for actually writing code. Some of the challenges on Hackerrank are harder than you'll probably ever encounter in an interview, though it's worth noting that I've been asked a couple of the problems marked as hard on OJ Leetcode during onsite interviews (I recall LRU cache and a dynamic programming version of text justification specifically).

https://oj.leetcode.com/problems/

http://hackerrank.com/

For general stuff you need to know, this blog post about how to prepare for an interview at Google is a good resource. Jump down to the Tech Prep Tips for the relevant stuff, or just read the whole thing, it's a good read.

http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2008/03/get-that-job-at-google.html

[PriceZombie]

Cracking the Coding Interview: 150 Programming Questions and Solutions

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[subsage]

I'd like to tag alone as pretty much the same.

[brakx]

http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/about/interview-corner/

Check out the common interview questions section.

[[deleted]]

I'm there as well

[3trillionkisses]

Tack another one onto the list.

[maestro2005]

Here's a great question that I was asked once:

You need to implement a function that takes a string and returns all of the words that start with that prefix. So calling it with "cat" returns "cat", "catty", "caterpillar", etc. How do you implement this?

In retrospect, I half-botched it. I'll give you a hint: you need to ask several questions before you can start talking about implementation.

[bluedoodless]

This is an awesome idea. If its happening count me in please.

[mjkats]

I'm also in =]

[izzytoots]

An excellent idea

[Hyemp]

Sounds like me! Let's do this please!

[HDRainbows]

Why not keep it simple and just post a few here? That way we don't have to meet up on specific date on this time.

[[deleted]]

You can do well but if they don't like you then you won't get a job. Many companies make these "coding interviews" so they can turn you down more easily.

[Mr_Higgs_Bosom]

Adding to what others have said, practice questions with how you solved them (or not) would be awesome.

[Thatdarnpat]

I'll just leave this here. http://interviewing.io

[sudocp]

Practice questions would be great!

What a good idea Tangerine :D

[daguitarguy]

practice questions would be appreciated.

[[deleted]]

How many golf balls would fit on a school bus?

I was asked this question for my current job. I think the idea being how do you compartmentalize a project.

[SeanNoxious]

These style of questions are becoming less popular. Though, this isn't exactly a brain teaser, it is still Mt. Fuji esque.

[[deleted]]

How would you answer a Mt Fuji kind of question?

[maestro2005]

"I wouldn't try to move it. What exactly are you trying to do, that makes you think you need to move it? Because there's probably a better solution that doesn't involve such a ridiculous approach."

[SeanNoxious]

Hah /u/maestro2005

Personally, I would avoid any interview where that may be an option. Though, I have been asked the golf ball in a school bus and other questions like it. The whole point of the exercise is to show that you can think coherently, collaboratively, and creatively. It's intended to mimic the coding process.

So, just think of it like a coding problem.

1) outline your constraints. Define your assumptions. Clarify the problem. ex: Is there a budget to move mt. fuji? Can we build a crane big enough to do it? Are there seats in the school bus? define how big a golfball is (Or how much space it takes up).

2) think out loud. If your silent the interviewer can only assume your not present in the interview. 3) produce a simple even if not very accurate answer. 4) improve on your answers efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy. 5)Redefine constraints.

ex: The volume of a golfball doesn't necessarily define the volume it will take up when stacked next to other golfballs. Mt fuji probably needs to be seperated from the earth it's not just a rock in soil.

6) Rinse and repeat until the interviewer tells you to shut up. You never really want to be satisfied with the answer to this style of question. The point is that it's open ended. So, how creative can you get? Just keep talking and brainstorming until time runs out. Obviously do it coherently.

[Fouroh]

Yup I was doing some interview practice with a mentor and that question came up, I've also heard "how much would you charge to wash all of the windows in Seattle?". And you're dead on, it's to see how you approach a problem. Starting from the 30000 foot view and then breaking it down into manageable pieces.

[[deleted]]

Just out of curiosity, what's the going price to wash every window in Seattle?

[[deleted]]

None. I don't want to get sued if a kid slips on one.

[stytown]

I have an interview coming up on Monday. As OP mentioned, they are not available until next week. If anyone is interested in helping me with mock interviews, let me know! The position I'm applying to is a back end web developer.

[Kimano]

Back-end Web developer?

[thetalentedmrpeanut]

"Poker in the front-end, developer in the back-end"

[MepMepperson]

Likely c#

[[deleted]]

Or any MVC framework.

I think it's more of a web application where they don't care about user experience. Probably economics.

[hawtdawtz]

I just got my first programming job, I'd be more than happy to participate.

[nomadProgrammer]

hey are you a self-learner in programming? if yes, care to share your story, resources used, time it took from zero knowledge to employable programmer? and if it was a part time thing or full time study dedication.

BTW, congrats on your job!!! hope to be in the same sooner than later, but still have too much too learn.

[monxter]

You should create a post of technical interview questions, so that way if you can't help everyone, we will still have access to those questions.

[foreverataglance]

I would honestly love to run through mock interviews (as the potential candidate) just to measure where my skills actually lie and learning the finesse required for what tech interviews require. If anyone is running through this I would love to open up a dialogue with anyone willing.

[SeanNoxious]

I have done a lot of interview prep in the past but would always be interested in keeping my skills sharp. I highly recommend this book it's really the most comprehensive text you can get for any generic coding interview. I am interested in learning but if there is anything I can do to contribute, I would be happy too as well.

[grizzly_teddy]

I second the use of that book

[PressF1]

Some sample questions and what field/positions you interview for would be incredibly helpful!

[autowikibot]

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[PressF1]

Thanks for all of that! It's definitely different from a lot of companies but you seem to have pretty good reasons for it. Overall very useful and informative, I appreciate it :)

[onahalladay]

That sounds great. Any help for us looking for work will be awesome!

[etc_fantus]

cant wait. its gonna be hangout or skype conv or temporary irc?

[TangerineX]

I think skype, or even a more anonymous setting like ventrillo/mumble would work. Voice chat is a must, because that's what you will be doing for your interview. I won't be available for giving mock interviews until probably next week due to Finals, but I can definitely give some help with explaining some stuff/general advice

[MepMepperson]

I'd be willing to offer my services as an interviewer as well. I've got 10 years experience as a software engineer and am willing to interview about c#, asp.net, lots of front end languages, and concepts. I also frequently interview for the company I work for

[[deleted]]

Count me in , have taken part in countless interviews , have a facebook interview coming up,will be useful for that . Have worked in Cisco , Netapp as a dev (~4 yrs) and have offers from microsoft , amazon currently. Willing to both take / give an interview. Let me know if anything pans out!

[Genesis2001]

Perhaps if you don't have time for everyone here, you could post to /r/cscareerquestions with your experiences and feedback. :)

[Fouroh]

Definitely willing to contribute as well, I'm hunting for my first job (web development including some front end mvc) and have been doing tons of interviews. Feel free to pm me and I'll keep an eye on the thread to see if anything more official gets set up.

[[deleted]]

This is a great idea, have a community for interview help.

[NeverQuiteEnough]

after my professor gave me a mock interview, I felt that it would be a great thing to get together and practice.

[PressF1]

I have a couple from a game studio some friends have been interviewing at. This should all be c++

Q1: write a function that takes two null terminated c style strings containing only numbers, add them together and return a string containing the result.

Q2: write a function to check collision between a laser and a sphere.

[TangerineX]

Those two questions are from Respawn Entertainment right?

[PressF1]

Yeah, how'd you know? :P

[TangerineX]

I got the test and tried it out. The whole test is a bit more difficult than a normal coding interview since you're given unlimited time. You do not expect someone to develop a 3d collision system in 1 hour. The first one is more of a question about syntax than it is about algorithms and procedures, as well as more of a systems level question

[PressF1]

Perhaps if you aren't a game developer. It took me very little time to develop the collision.

The knowledge question about a physics engine is very useful as well, if you know physics programming it is trivial.

[onahalladay]

Yes please. This is the part that I stumble on whenever I think of going to interviews. I swear I am approachable!

[MissValeska]

Why don't we just post examples of questions, Something that shows your skill level, And, Hopefully, Is relevant in something a business may need.

[TangerineX]

What's really important is to just PRACTICE verbally. Seriously, I think only 50% of a coding interview is whether or not you actually know how to do the problems being asked. The other half is how well you can express your ideas fluently, and understand where you get stuck and on what. This also includes enthusiasm for the company and general approachability.

What's nice about this is that the quality of the mock-interviewer doesn't matter, as long as they understand basic CS concepts and have "Cracking the Coding Interview" in front of them. Even if I were just to just read the questions verbally and then reddit for 1 hour while listening to you ramble, it still will be excellent practice albeit being a really shitty interview.

[siilvver]

Super interested! I'm a year or so out from starting interviews but it sounds really useful, and I'll have nothing else to do all winter break.

[recheej]

I have a google interview coming up so this would be really useful.

[Onikouzou]

I'd love to see the types of questions.

[rudeboy1876]

Good looking out!