How To Ace Your Software Engineering Interview — Part 1 (Algorithms and Data Structures)

You made an awesome resume, applied to a bunch of jobs, and landed a couple interviews. You diligently prepared for them, and the time has come for the real thing. So what should you do once you step foot into that interview room? This new article series will tell you, breaking down the main types of questions software engineering interviews ask: Algorithms and data structures, behavioral questions, and system design. To start off, we are going to deep dive into the classic algorithms and data structure problem.

Communicate With The Interviewer

I think what a lot of people don’t realize is that the interviewer should be there to help you. It’s their job to bring out the best in you, and given the scarcity of software engineering talent, there’s extra incentive for them to do so. Because of this, you should always be working with your interviewer to show them your skills and make sure you’re going down the right path. Here’s what you should do:

1. Clarify the problem - Sometimes the problem is purposely ambiguous to test you. Projects are often times not straightforward in the real world, so clarifying requirements is an important skill for software engineers to have. Keep asking the interviewer questions until you know exactly…