Technical interview preparation + strategy.

technical-interview-strategy.md

Preparation

• Read Get That Job At Google
• Cracking the Coding Interview
• Algorithm Design (first four or so chapters).
• Review common computer science design patterns
• The Tangled Web: A guide to securing modern web applications
• Be ready to set up dev environment on demand.
• Really know your language of choice. (e.g. read a book and make a cheatsheet)
• Don't stop hacking.

Tackling Problems

Define and Frame the Problem

• Disambiguate
• Settle any necessary assumptions
• Expected input/output?
• Resolve conflicts: heuristics
• Memory/performance requirements?

Vocalize

• "I'm going to begin w/ the most obvious solution."
• Test cases
• Boundary conditions
• Degenerate cases

Presentation

• You will either be viewed as a potential asset or liability: be prepared for both.
• Don't bring up anything you're not comfortable going into detail on.
• Don't be afraid to say "I don't know." And if you do, say it with confidence.