Best Tips to ace the coding interview

Surviving the coding interview process takes work. If you want to step into the interview with confidence, you need a solid preparation plan. What you need at this stage is expert guidance. The plethora of preparation resources available must feel overwhelming. For instance, one of these resources — Cracking the Coding Interview by Gayle Laakmann McDowell — offers 189 coding interview questions for you to practice. However, it cannot keep up with the constant changes that the big tech companies make to their coding interviews. To stay relevant in the programming world, you need the latest, most reliable tech interview prep resource.

Showcasing your coding skills and technical knowledge during the coding interview is extremely important. You should know what to expect, so use your prep time well. Ready to prove your skills and land your dream job? Let’s examine how to crack the coding interview with the following key strategies.

Review the Fundamental Terms#

Start your coding interview prep by returning to the basics. Depending on the company you are applying to, the coding language will differ. Different coding languages have different terms and processes. You might remember the vague details of how the different processes work, but these details fade as time passes. Go back to your notes. Review the textbooks and notebooks that were your companions while learning to code. Make notecards and keep studying the tougher terms.

Review CS fundamentals. Your interviewer might ask quick questions to gauge your basic computer science knowledge. This could involve anything from naming the parts of a computer system to describing different types of computer processors.

Here are some common topics for coding interview questions:

• Arrays

• Linked Lists

• Stacks and Queues

• Trees

• Graphs

• Recursion

• Sorting

• Searching

• Dynamic Programming

Make the Perfect Study Plan#

There’s so much to revise and practice in a limited time. What is the best way to prepare for a coding interview? How much time do you need to prepare adequately? It’s time to streamline your learning process. Make a study plan. Define your goals and assess your expertise level. The time you should spend preparing for a coding interview varies based on your experience. If you’re a beginner, dedicate at least 12 weeks to preparation. If you have more experience, 4-8 weeks is typically sufficient for a solid interview prep. Set aside an hour every day to study, even if you have a full-time job. Remember, this practice is essential. You need to be able to tackle tough coding questions in a very short amount of time. How can you optimize your study time when practicing coding interview questions?

• Don’t rush. Make sure you understand the question. Review your notes if needed. It is okay to take time to understand the question.

• Now, work on solving it, even if it takes you a few hours. With practice, your speed will improve.

• During the interview, you’ll often have only 30-45 minutes to answer a question and code a solution while being monitored. Practice working within this time frame.

• Once you’re comfortable solving questions within the time limit and understanding the underlying concepts, aim to do it faster.

• Occasionally, take a break from a particular type of question for a few days. When you return to it, see if you can still solve it within the time limit. As you progress, challenge yourself with progressively harder questions as well.

The ultimate goal is to complete each question consistently within the allotted time frame. So, slow and steady!

Understand the Interview Structure & Levels#

To prepare well, you need to know what’s coming. While specifics vary by company, many “Cracking the Coding Interview” guides assume a multi-round structure, often mapped by seniority:

For mid-to-senior roles, system design and behavior rounds carry even more weight. Many candidates excel in coding but fail to “connect the dots” in design or miss the behavioral expectations. Align your preparation accordingly.

Review Common Coding Interview Questions#

It’s impossible to know every potential question, so focus on developing a consistent approach to answering basic coding questions. For practice, prioritize questions commonly asked by FAANG companies.

Many smaller companies use FAANG questions as a foundation for their technical tests. Ensure that you grasp the underlying concepts of these problems and their solutions. The better your understanding, the easier it will be to tackle unfamiliar questions during your interview.

Algorithm questions are common in coding interviews as they help hiring managers assess your foundational knowledge. These questions gauge your ability to analyze and solve problems systematically. To prepare, work through algorithm problems. Common algorithm questions include topics like binary searches, binary trees, and arrays.

Some common coding interview questions are: 

• How would you calculate the number of vowels and consonants in a string?

• How would you implement the insertion sort algorithm?

• How would you swap two numbers without using a third variable?

• Reverse a string in Java.

• Showcase Inheritance with the help of a program.

• How do you reverse a Linked List?

If you don't know how to use ‘Cracking the Coding Interview' or other online coding interview practice resources, Educative-99 is an excellent alternative.

• It covers a diverse range of coding interview patterns 

• It doesn’t give you a scarily long list of questions to practice 

• It offers questions with varying levels of difficulty

Try Solution Walkthroughs: Trade-offs, Edge Cases, & Optimization#

Good interview preparation goes beyond writing a working solution. Top guides walk through tradeoffs and optimizations. When you present solutions:

• State your time & space complexity and justify it

• Discuss edge cases (null, empty inputs, large sizes, overflow)

• Consider alternate formulations (recursive vs iterative, top-down/bottom-up)

• Optimize all the way: once brute works, look for pruning, early exits, and caching

• Explain how your approach scales — e.g., for input size increase, memory constraints

For example, for a DP question, explain why a 2D DP table is needed vs a reduced 1D, and how you might compress or skip redundant states. This level of clarity is often expected in coding interview prep.

Learn Retention Strategies & Spaced Repetition#

One of the biggest challenges is retaining problem patterns over time. Top guides suggest:

• Use Anki or flashcards for patterns/key tricky bits

• After solving a problem, revisit it after 1 day, 1 week, 1 month

• Create mini mashups: tweak constraints or input sizes, or combine multiple patterns in one challenge

• Keep a “problem bank” of problems you got wrong or optimized poorly, and review them weekly

• Teach someone else (pair programming)—explaining solidifies your understanding

This keeps your “problem muscle memory” sharp.

Challenge Yourself With a Mock Interview#

Begin conducting mock interviews after thoroughly practicing interview questions and responses using the tools mentioned earlier. Experiencing and learning from the mistakes made during mock interviews can be highly beneficial.

During your mock interview, simulate the entire experience from beginning to end. After the mock interview, identify areas for improvement and acknowledge your strengths. If possible, ask someone with coding knowledge to conduct the mock interview for more precise feedback.

The aim here is to familiarize yourself with the interview process and take action. Procrastination won’t help, and your first attempts will need improvement. But it’s essential to start somewhere.

Start Your Prep with Confidence  #

Now you know how coding interviews work. Use the steps above to devise a foolproof strategy. Trust yourself and begin your preparation with confidence.

Educative-99 offers a comprehensive guide for you to test yourself: 99 questions to assess your weaknesses and improve them. Or you can also try Blind 75 Problems by Educative to practice your coding interview skills. Start now and land your dream job.

Happy learning!