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Rakesh Reddy Peddamallu
Rakesh Reddy Peddamallu

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Frontend Interview Prep Beyond LeetCode (For 3 Years Experience)

Most developers preparing for frontend interviews drown themselves in LeetCode. While data structures and algorithms are important, frontend interviews go far beyond just solving DSA problems.

If you’re preparing for a 3 years experience role, companies expect you to not only write clean code but also design scalable UIs, understand the browser deeply, and optimize for performance.

Here’s a roadmap of what you should prepare apart from LeetCode, with the best resources included.


🔑 1. Core JavaScript & Browser Fundamentals

This is the foundation of every frontend interview. Expect in-depth questions here.

  • Closures, hoisting, event loop, promises, async/await
  • this, prototype chain, classes, modules
  • Debounce, throttle, memoization, polyfills (implementations)
  • Deep vs shallow copy, immutability
  • DOM manipulation, shadow DOM, virtual DOM concepts
  • Event delegation, bubbling vs capturing

📚 Resources


⚛️ 2. React (or Your Main Framework)

At 3 years exp, you need to know React beyond the basics.

  • Hooks in depth (useMemo, useCallback, useReducer)
  • Context API vs Redux vs Zustand (state management tradeoffs)
  • Suspense and concurrent rendering
  • Controlled vs uncontrolled components
  • Performance optimization (lazy loading, code splitting, React Profiler)

📚 Resources

  • React.dev (new docs are amazing)
  • EpicReact.dev (Kent C. Dodds, premium but worth it)

🏗️ 3. Frontend System Design

You’ll likely get design-type problems like “build a scalable dashboard” or “design a search component with autocomplete.”

  • Component design patterns (container/presentational, compound components)
  • State management strategies in large apps
  • Microfrontends & module federation (high-level)
  • Caching, pagination, infinite scroll patterns
  • Performance budgets (bundle splitting, lazy loading, caching strategies)

📚 Resources


🎨 4. Styling, UI & Accessibility

Interviewers often test practical CSS and accessibility knowledge.

  • Flexbox & CSS Grid deeply
  • Positioning, stacking context, z-index
  • Responsive design techniques
  • Accessibility (ARIA roles, keyboard navigation, screen reader support)

📚 Resources


⚡ 5. Performance & Web Internals

They want to know if you can keep apps fast.

  • Repaint vs reflow
  • Lighthouse metrics (FCP, LCP, CLS, TBT)
  • Image optimization, code splitting, caching
  • Browser storage (localStorage, sessionStorage, IndexedDB)

📚 Resources


💻 6. Practical Coding Rounds

Beyond DSA, you’ll get real-world UI problems. Some common ones:

  • Build a Todo app with filtering & persistence
  • Create a table with sorting, pagination, infinite scroll
  • Implement a debounced search box with API calls
  • Write a custom React hook

👉 Tip: Practice small projects instead of only solving LeetCode.


👥 7. Behavioral & Team Skills

At 3 years, interviewers also want to see maturity:

  • Ownership: “Tell me about a tricky UI bug you solved.”
  • Tradeoffs: “Why Redux over Context?”
  • Collaboration: working with backend and product teams

🛠 Suggested Roadmap

Here’s how you can structure your prep:

  1. Revise JS deeply (2–3 weeks)
  2. Master React & ecosystem (2–3 weeks)
  3. Do 4–5 small projects (table, dashboard, search box, etc.)
  4. Learn frontend system design (mock design problems)
  5. Mix DSA with UI coding tasks

✨ Final Thoughts

LeetCode clears the initial bar, but your frontend expertise is what sets you apart. Companies want to see if you can build real, scalable, and performant apps—not just reverse a linked list.

So focus on:

  • JavaScript + React fundamentals
  • Frontend system design
  • UI building & optimization

That’s how you’ll stand out in a 3 years frontend interview.


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