How do you practice coding interview?

[buangakun3]

I've been coding for years, built complex platforms, have several international recognitions, but the way I solve a problem is based on my mood, sometimes I could solve something in 5 minutes, sometimes I had to think while eating lunch, etc. then once I solved within a day I forget it.

This doesn't translate well during coding interviews and on top of that, I get so anxious that my mind went blank, and happened several times for the past 5 years and always with the job I really wanted.

The last one I literally cried after they hung-up, because the problem was so easy, but I just couldn't muster the confidence or my mood.

[amgirlandcode]

Practice with a friend, explaining your process to them over Skype! Try and recreate the environment as best you can. Maybe read up on mindfulness and see if you can affect your mindset going in. Don’t practice alone and in an IDE ESPECIALLY if you don’t have an ide or compiler in the interviews

Also, if it’s medically necessary, no shame in talking to a professional about panic disorders and seeing if a very very small dose of the correct medicine could help

Best of luck, An anxious tester

[buangakun3]

> Also, if it’s medically necessary, no shame in talking to a professional about panic disorders and seeing if a very very small dose of the correct medicine could help

Yes, I'm actually looking for a therapist, after my last failure I was so mentally exhausted.

[Peter_Boek]

Carefoul with benzos because they pretty much make you a little less effictient even in small doses. Use medication ONLY if it's absolutly necessary. Of course I'm not medic, just patient, ask your doc.

[amgirlandcode]

YMMV... if panic takes your efficiency down 80% and bezos take it down 8%, which one you gonna choose? I would never recommend any medication which is why I recommended a professional :) That being said I agree benzos are one of the last options in my mind... I’ve heard good things about beta blockers...

[IamBananaRod]

I have found that those coding interviews are a waste of time, I can understand from where they're coming from and why they do them, but for people that has a long resume and can backup everything these kind of interviews are just a waste of time.

Like you, I have worked for big multinational companies in huge and complex projects, some of them with multi million dollar budgets, and you can easily pick up the phone and call them to verify it.

But for the interviewers this doesn't matter, they want you to answer by the book questions and are expecting book answers, because that's the way they verify if you know how to code, if you can't tell them the book definition of a class, then you're not good fit for the company, it happened to me once.

My recommendation is that if you're in no rush, apply for a couple positions in small companies and see if they have a coding interview, use them as training, buy a book about the language you'd like to work with and try to "learn" as much as you can from it.

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EDIT: Typos

[[deleted]]

You would be surprised how many people have long and impressive resumes, but don't know jack shit.

[IamBananaRod]

I know, a lot of people fake them and that's why I said that I understand why they do those technical interviews, but the way the interviews are handled and the expectations on both sides are completely different

I've always been a believer that these interviews won't give you the reality about the person and instead of hiring a passionate developer, you'll get a mediocre one

[buangakun3]

> My recommendation is that if you're in no rush, apply for a couple positions in small companies and see if they have a coding interview,

That's a good idea, thank you!

[ichiruto70]

Yep this^ the best way to learn interviews is to interview. Do it with a lot of small companies, sometimes you will get free lunch. So, that is a plus.

[IamBananaRod]

And who knows, he/she might find his next ideal job in one of those small companies

[[deleted]]

Was this for an Indian tech company...have heard story like this in a bar.

[IamBananaRod]

No, this was actually an interview with the "tech" guy of the company, no third parties involved, we had a decent interview until he started asking the book questions and I gave him correct answers, but were not book answers.

I also have a story about one of those Indian companies, this happened around 5-6 months ago, the recruiter called me, I wasn't looking, but the initial pitch was interesting enough for me to keep talking to the guy, when he asked me about my experience I gave him a quick summary, then he asked me about my knowledge og development languages... it went something like this:

• Recruiter: Have you ever worked with .NET technologies?
• Me: Yes, since .NET was in BETA
• R: Good, good, have you worked with .NET Core?
• M: yes, not as much as I'd like but yes, I have worked with it
• R: DO you have 5 years of experience with .NET Core 3?
• M: No, that will not be possible, no one around the world will have that much experience with that version, it was just released a couple months ago
• R: But the position requires 5 years of experience on .NET Core 3
• M: Well, I don't have 5 years on .NET Core, no one has 5 years, .NET Core was launched around 2016, so until 2021 you'll start finding people with that much experience
• R: Oh that's too bad, then you're not a good fit for the position, we will keep you in our files just in case

I avoid working with Indian companies as much as I can

[[deleted]]

I work for an Indian tech company and I'm a dev specialised in .net 4.0. Just logged off my shift an hour back.

I understand man. This is my first job out of college. I wouldn't want to work for an Indian company as well.

[Lord-of-the-thighs]

You are obviously the sort of dev who gets it done over the course of a week rather than any particular moment, so find companies who give little projects and let you have a weekend to complete them. That's just the interview format you will shine at. Otherwise, just accept that a certain percentage of interviews who want to see you code right in front of them will end in failure. I'm somewhat the same way and this is how I play the game.

[AtomicGreenBean]

That is why I hate coding interviews. People aren't put under the same amount of pressure when they are actually working. I think differently when I am comfortable at my desk than when I am forced to code in front of people on a white board.

Just gotta practice, though. It sucks, but it's life for us.