8 questions · Coding · System design · Behavioral
Find the length of the longest substring without repeating characters.
CodingApproachSliding window with a set/last-seen map; advance the right edge, shrink the left on a repeat.
They look forTwo-pointer/sliding-window fluency and off-by-one care.
Given course prerequisites, decide whether all courses can be finished.
CodingApproachBuild a directed graph and run topological sort (Kahn/BFS or DFS cycle detection).
They look forRecognizing a cycle-detection problem behind a word problem.
Return the k-th largest element in an unsorted array.
CodingApproachA size-k min-heap, or quickselect for average O(n); discuss the trade-offs.
They look forHeap vs. selection trade-offs and awareness of average vs. worst case.
Reverse a singly linked list in place.
CodingApproachIterate with three pointers (prev, curr, next), rewiring links; discuss the recursive variant and its stack cost.
They look forPointer manipulation, in-place mutation, and clarity under a deceptively simple task.
Design a search autocomplete / typeahead service.
System designApproachTrie or prefix index, top-k ranking, caching, and updating suggestions from live traffic.
They look forLatency budget, data-structure choice, and freshness vs. cost.
Design a social news feed.
System designApproachDiscuss fan-out on write vs. read, ranking, pagination, and the celebrity/hot-key problem.
They look forHandling scale skew and picking the right fan-out strategy.
Describe a project you are most proud of and your specific contribution.
BehavioralApproachAnchor to measurable impact; be crisp about what YOU did vs. the team, and the trade-offs you made.
They look forOwnership, impact, and honest self-attribution.
Tell me about a time you disagreed with a teammate or manager.
BehavioralApproachUse STAR: the situation, your reasoning, how you disagreed respectfully and reached a decision, and the result.
They look forCommunication, judgment, and whether you can disagree-and-commit without drama.
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