Phone Screen (2 leetcode questions)
1. Valid Word abbreviation
2. Median of data stream
Interviewer seemed uninterested during the whole interview start to finish. (I asked clarifying questions, talked through my code, dry runs ect. No comments / low energy throughout on interviewer side)
Aced first question, not many follow-ups or comments from interviewer.
Second question (LC Hard) did not finish full class
Provided/explained optimal solution (two heaps), however I could not figure out logic to balance heaps during insertion.
I asked the interviewer if I could provide a suboptimal solution with one list and sorting (return midpoint) but was told to continue with heap solution.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Two Questions, One LC Easy, One LC Hard
Valid Word Abbreviation https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-word-abbreviation/description/
Find median of data stream https://leetcode.com/problems/find-median-from-data-stream/description/
The entire process usually takes 3–8 weeks, depending on scheduling and the specific role. Coding interviews heavily emphasize common DSA topics such as arrays, strings, trees, graphs, BFS/DFS, heaps, hash maps, and dynamic programming. System design becomes increasingly important for E4+ positions.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Given an array of integers and a target value, return the indices of two numbers that add up to the target
Unexpectedly, the first question in the technical round felt familiar. It was about finding a subset of strings with unique character concatenation — same problem I had worked through on PracHub a few days earlier. The interview included a recruiter screen followed by a rigorous pair of technical interviews where I tackled data structures and algorithms alongside system design concepts. After successfully answering a few more challenging DSA questions, I received an offer. The entire experience was intense but ultimately rewarding, and I happily accepted the position.
Interview questions [1]
Question 1
Given an array of strings, pick a subset whose concatenation contains no duplicate characters, and return the maximum possible length of that concatenation.
