O A D M A P

W E E K R
8- R SO F T W A R E W
TO AC E Y O U
I N T E R V I E
E N G I N E E R
 WHY EVERY DEV NEEDS A
STRATEGIC INTERVIEW PREP PLAN
Out of every 100 software engineer applicants at top companies, only 5 are
typically selected for a preliminary screening. Then out of every 5
applicants who make it to the final interview round, only one will get an
offer.

5% of all applications 1 in 5 candidates

selected for intial screening pass the full loop

To put it simply: software engineer roles are competitive.

A strong performance in the technical interview loop is critical for landing a

job as a software engineer. Going to an interview unprepared can mean
losing out on the first big step in your career.

That's why we created this 8-week roadmap for students and new
developers hoping to land their first job as a software developer.

First, we'll cover how to prepare for an interview, and then provide an
8-week example prep plan.

Each week will break down the technical topics to review along
with questions to practice.
Before we share a few essential tips for efficient prep, here is an overview
of the 8-week roadmap:

8-WEEK INTERVIEW PREP ROADMAP

Week 1 Brush up on programming basics

Weeks 2 & 3 Review data structures & algorithms

Week 4 Practice with data structures & algorithms

Weeks 5 & 6 Test your skills with real-world coding problems

Weeks 7 & 8 Design interview & behavioral interview

Note that each week will be broken down in detail later.

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loops at top companies.

> Everything you need for every interview, all in one place.
 WHAT’S THE FASTEST PATH
TO INTERVIEW SUCCESS?
The job market for software developers is as competitive as ever. That
means standing out from other candidates in the interview loop can be
a challenge.

In such a challenging job market, the only thing you fully control is how
you prepare.

Interview loop
Our goal with this roadmap is to help you prepare comprehensively, but
efficiently.

1 2 3

CODING INTERVIEW DESIGN INTERVIEW BEHAVIORAL INTERVIEW

(60-90 MINUTES) (45-60 MINUTES) (45-60 MINUTES)

A structured prep plan gives you a framework for studying crucial topics,
while helping you efficiently budget your time. On the day of your interview,
you don't want to be caught off guard by a question you didn't anticipate.
Knowing you've done everything you can to prepare brings peace of mind
when you're in the hot seat.

> Disclaimer: You may need more or less time; this is just a frame of reference. You should
consider our suggested review topics and example problems in the context of your needs.
 THE COMPLETE
8-WEEK ROADMAP
This framework will suffice for most junior software developer roles.
Depending on your target specialization, your plan may look slightly different.

WEEK 1
Brush up on the basics of your chosen language
Many technical interviews start with easy questions to raise the candidate's
confidence. Don't get tripped up by something simple at the very beginning!

Your fundamentals should be automatic. You don’t waste any time during
interviews remembering how to perform basic tasks, like tokenizing a string
or handling asynchronous calls to an API.

Examples of topics to cover:

Splitting strings
Parsing CSV or text files
Declaring and using 2D arrays
Reading and writing to and from files
Processing command line arguments
> Brush up on your fundamentals
Master the basics.
Python
C++
Java </>

JavaScript
Go
C#

WEEKS 2 AND 3
Review data structures and algorithms
Data structures and algorithms (DSA) are the core of most high-level
computer science concepts. These concepts are essential in coding
interviews.

Before diving straight into example questions, we recommend you study up

on the principles of data structures and algorithms. If you're aiming for a
specialized role it is smart to consider what individual concepts are the most
relevant to the work you'll be doing.

Array

Linked list

For frontend developers, that could mean studying up on trees and common
traversal approaches (relevant to DOM manipulation), as well as graphs
algorithms (relevant to component hierarchies and routing).

Tree Queue Stack

For backend developers, don’t miss hash tables
(important for indexing and caching), as well as
sorting and searching algorithms (important for
data retrieval and manipulation) Regardless of
your specialization, pay particular attention to
Big O notation and other practices for
complexity analysis. Understanding Big O notation helps in an intense technical
interview, but it also teaches you to write programs that are faster and more
efficient across the board.

Below is a reference guidte to help you keep track of different Big O complexities.
click here

Big O cheat sheet

> Algorithmic paradigms, perfected

Study every common algorithm and its use case in our hands-on course:
Mastering Algorithms for Problem Solving. Available in Python, Java, and
C++.
For a primer on data structures, start here:
Python
Java
C++

WEEK 4
Practice with data structures and algorithms
As you're reviewing the basics of data structures and algorithms, start
practicing simple problems with the resources listed below. Reviewing the
basics will help you internalize these concepts and tackle more difficult
problems later. click here

7 Essential Data Structures for Codin

g Interviews
 > Master data structures
Review all the common data structures in detail with our hands-on courses,
Data Structures for Coding Interviews. Available in Python, Java, C++,
JavaScript, and C#.

To solve problems focusing on algorithms, start here:

Java
Python
C++

WEEKS 5 AND 6
Test your skills with real-world coding interview problems
By this point, you should be breezing through basic practice problems. Now it’s
time to test your skills by getting hands-on with real-world interview questions.

Best practices:
Time yourself. Try to solve your problem in 20 to 30 minutes, but don't be
discouraged if some questions take longer at first.
Think about the runtime and memory complexities of your solutions. Your
interviewers will likely want you to articulate these complexities and how to
optimize them.
Work on problems using coding interview patterns. Almost all questions for
a coding interview are built on patterns that serve as a blueprint for solving
related problems.

👉 Read about the 7 top patterns here.

Depending on your specialization and the company where you’re
interviewing, the actual questions you get asked may vary greatly.
For many general roles, you can expect something related to
algorithms and data structures, but it is impossible to say with
certainty the actual questions you'll be faced with.
As a result, the most efficient way to organize your prep isn’t to complete as
many practice problems as possible — it’s to master the coding interview
patterns behind common questions.

Drilling daily LeetCode problems may help keep your problem-solving skills
sharp. However, by internalizing the 26 core patterns that comprise nearly
every technical interview question, you will be able to prep more
comprehensively, and more efficiently.

click here

14 Must-know Problems for Coding

Interview Prep

> Make coding interview patterns a habit

Learn how to solve any possible coding interview problem with our 26
essential patterns. Our popular crash course Grokking Coding Interview
Patterns is available in Python, JavaScript, Java, C++, and Go.

For even faster prep, try our accelerated prep plan: Educative-99 (also
available in Python, JavaScript, Java, C++, and Go).

click here

Educative-99 Cheat Sheet

WEEKS 7 AND 8
Object Oriented Design & Behavioral Interview
The last two weeks of this plan are devoted to studying for the other two
rounds of your interview loop:
Design Interviews
Behavioral Interviews

As opposed to coding interviews, which are much more technical in nature,

design interviews are all about assessing a candidate’s problem-solving,
communication, and collaboration skills.

Can you navigate tradeoffs, ask clarifying questions, and develop a

resourceful solution that satisfies the use case? Can you unpack functional
and nonfunctional requirements? Can you defend the choices you made
when pressed?

NON FUNCTIONAL FUNCTIONAL

Behavioral interviews are also designed to assess your soft skills. These
interviews often take into account the individual’s company’s values and
leadership principles, and are all about determining whether or not you are
a good culture fit.

Let’s talk about both.

Object-oriented Design (OOD)

OOD involves implementing specific modules or components and their
classes within a more extensive system. We can think of OOD similarly to
building the engine of a Formula 1 race car. If the entire car is a distributed
system, then the engine's design would be considered a low-level
process within that system.
This interview plays an enormous role in determining how strong of a
problem-solver you'll be on the job.

The OOD interview will primarily measure two criteria:

1: Can you design a component that successfully interacts with other
components in the system?
2: Can you use design patterns to create this component efficiently?

Understanding the various design patterns of OOD should be a primary focus

of your preparation for any low-level design interview.

> Understand real-world systems with OOD

Master design principles and patterns to ace the object-oriented design

interview with Grokking the Low-Level Design Interview Using OOD
Principles. Learn a bottom-up approach to break down any design problem
using 20+ real-world systems (e.g. Amazon Locker Service, StackOverflow).

Behavioral Interviews
If technical interviews gauge your programming skills, behavioral interviews
attempt to discover how you act in employment-related situations or
conflicts, both positive and negative. Behavioral interviews help an employer
decide if you’re someone they want to work with.

An interviewer may be wondering,

Is this person calm under pressure?
Can I rely on this person in a team?
Will this person treat their peers with respect?

The good news is that just like with technical interviews, the
behavioral interview is a skill that can be practiced.
 Here are a few tips to help your prep:
1) Familiarize yourself with common behavioral questions
Questions about your prior experience
Hypothetical scenarios (e.g. “what would you do in [blank] situation?”)
Values-based questions.

2) Research the company ahead of time

Take the time to learn the mission, values, and leadership principles of the
company where you are applying (they usually say on their website)
CodingInterview.com is a great resource for many top companies.

3) Take the time to practice!

Practice the STAR method when answering questions (Situation, Task,
Action, Result)
Practice with another person
Record yourself Sitaution

Task Action

Result

> Don’t underestimate the power of a strong behavioral interview

Here’s your complete guide to behavioral and cultural interviews:
Grokking the Behavioral Interview.

It’s a completely free course that you can use to build your soft skills, just
like you would build your technical skills. You can even record a video of
yourself to practice your delivery!
LE V E L U P Y O U R
PREP
E V E L O P E R S
2 M I L L I O N D I L L S
JOIN NG UP THEIR SK E
LE V E L I E D U C A T I V
WITH

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