Programmer: Lifelong Learning: Traps and Mistakes during Phone Interview

How to Land Your Dream Job Series

The Result/output

It’s important to ask clarify questions and make sure we understand the problem.
The one we may miss is: what’s the result/output.
Are we print result every round, or add it to a list and return the final list, or we just need the final result? It may require totally different algorithm.
So it’s very important to clarify what’s the output especially during phone interview.

Too simple to be true

If you think this question is so simple, it’s likely you misunderstand the question.

Simple Questions or “Don’t need best solution: brute force is fine”

Some companies ( for example LinkedIn) likes to ask a simple question to warm up, especially during phone interview. Be careful of these simple question, even when the interviewer says: Don’t need best solution: brute force is fine..

For the latter case, be sure to first take a few mins to try to find best solution even the interviewer says: let’s try brute force first.

As our brain is not motivated to solve simple questions, our mind will wander (especially during phone interview) and still try some other approaches, even we are asked to writing the brute force code first.

It’s even difficult to focus during phone interview as your brain is telling you I don’t want to write this simple code, I want to find the better solution

The solution: Take a few minutes to find better approach first

Take a few minutes to find better approach first: if it works that’s great, you will feel excited, if not, focus on implement the not-best solution.

System Design Interview during Phone Interview

If your phone interviewer is a manager, it’s likely you will be asked some system design interview. It’s a little tough if your native langue is not English: communication over phone is hard: communication over phone under pressure is even harder.

You can ask first whether they will ask you code or system design question, politely ask whether we can do coding question over the phone “as the signal is pretty bad, balabala”.

Additional pointers

You May Skip Phone Interview

For some companies like Google, it you ever went to onsite before, you will skip phone interview automatically next time. But if you changed the phone number or email, or ask a different friend to refer you, the recruiter may be not able to match your old interview history, and ask you to take phone interview, you can state the fact that you have went onsite interview before to ask whether you can skip phone interview: it won’t hurt.

Traps and Mistakes during Phone Interview

How to Land Your Dream Job Series

The Result/output

Too simple to be true

Simple Questions or “Don’t need best solution: brute force is fine”

The solution: Take a few minutes to find better approach first

System Design Interview during Phone Interview

Additional pointers

You May Skip Phone Interview

Best Coding Challenge Websites

Books for Algorithm Interview

System Design Books

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