Coding interviews are designed to be a challenge. I should know — I failed, then passed Meta’s notoriously difficult coding interview, and went on to grow into a senior engineering manager there.
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If you haven’t done one for a while, or ever, it’s normal to get stuck while solving a coding problem. From staying calm under pressure to breaking down complex problems into manageable steps, here are 5 tried-and-true ways to unblock yourself during a live technical interview:
✖️ Don’t panic
If you don’t know how to address a coding problem immediately, first make sure you understand it. Try to verbalize the problem’s input, the expected output, and any known constraints to verify that you have grasped what is being asked.
💡 Ask for clarity
Many coding problems are ambiguous on purpose. If something is unclear, ask questions. Make sure your assumptions are correct.
🔨 Break it down
Divide the problem into smaller steps that build on each other. Consider the order of execution and tackle each part systematically.
🧠 Think out loud
Talk through your thought process. Speaking aloud can help you organize your thoughts and identify a solution.
✅ Use examples
Work through examples and test with real data. If the interviewer provides specific examples, be sure to use those!
Remember
Interviewers are not only evaluating your final solution but also your problem-solving skills, adaptability, and how you handle challenges in real time. By using these 5 tactics during the interview, you can increase your chances of finding a solution and making a positive impression.
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What other tactics do you use to get #unstuck? Let me know in the comments.
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Top comments (6)
Hi Alex.
As you mentioned, coding interviews at Big Tech companies are notoriously difficult. Having passed, do you feel that they are actually representative of daily work at those companies?
@ant_f_dev I think there is a big misconception that coding interviews are meant to represent the day to day work at a company. The short answer is they don't.
This format of interviews though, provide many relevant signals for behaviours and skills needed in your day-to-day activities in any company, not only Big Tech. The interview is covering the following areas: Communication, Problem solving, Coding, Verification.
Probably highest importance is communication, how does a person explain their code, their logic, how do they share relevant information with the interviewer, how do they structure their thoughts and is it easy to follow. Why is that important? In our interactions with other people we communicate all kind of problems but mainly technical and coding issues and/or concepts.
Problem solving is also key skill, how do you break down the problem, how do you explore edge cases and how do you bring the details together and a cohesive structure, logic and eventually a solution. Add to the Coding skills and that gives you a pretty good picture of the strengths of the person and how would they work on a daily basis in Meta with tasks and other engineers.
That said what is this approach is biased towards people that are used to work under pressure and are more outgoing. Not all engineers are of that specific type respectively they are struggling with this type of interviews, i.e. coding in front of another person under time pressure.
The other common approach is take-home tasks. In this approach you are loosing a lot of visibility on people's behaviour, communication and you can only test the coding quality and probably logic/problem solving.
Finally, there is no perfect process but Coding Interviews with Algo questions is the most accurate that there is to provide enough signals.
Thanks for the detailed and insightful reply.
We are continuing the series with the next post on interviewing for engineers at FAANG companies. Check it here 🗺️ Crack the System Design Interview (Template)
Systems Design Interview @ Meta (Facebook): The Complete Guide
Preparing for a system design interview? This guide collects comprehensive resources to tackle system design questions, design scalable systems, review common questions with detailed solutions, practice skills, and ace your next technical
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I liked the post. Thank you for sharing.
It is always better to prepare few examples that we remember and explain very well.
That way our understanding also increases.