Essential coding interview preparation tips you should know before you start

What you need to understand before you start preparing for a Coding Interview

First. You need to understand that you are spending your free time developing a purely practical skill that you will need only at the interview stage. That is what this skill is for - passing a specific stage of the interview process. Nothing more.

Second. You need to set a clear timeframe for your preparation and decide when you are going to start interviewing. You can prepare forever and still never feel completely confident that you are ready to solve coding interview problems.

Third, and this is closely related to the second point. During your preparation, you will constantly experience emotional ups and downs: I can do it - I can't do it. That is exactly why it is important to set a clear deadline for yourself. For example: I have three months to prepare, and then I enter the job market. When you have a fixed deadline, you reduce your chances of burning out during the preparation stage.

Fourth. A clear deadline allows you to plan your preparation, while intermediate checkpoints allow you to adjust its direction. For example, you may be comfortable solving problems involving strings and arrays but struggle with Binary Search. In that case, add more Binary Search problems to your preparation and spend less time on strings and arrays.

Fifth. You should accept that there will be problems you simply cannot solve on your own, especially during the early stages of preparation. This is completely normal. There is no reason to feel bad about it or think that it makes you a failure or a bad programmer.

Sixth. Don't spend too much time trying to solve a single problem. If you cannot find a solution within an hour, there is usually no point in stubbornly sitting there trying to figure it out. Most likely, you will just waste your time without making much progress. Google, ChatGPT, or any other resource - use whatever helps you move forward. Your free time is limited. Don't waste it on stubbornness just because you feel that you have to prove something to yourself.

Seventh, and probably the most important point. Consistency is the foundation of the entire preparation process. Many people who start this coding interview preparation marathon never reach the finish line. And that is exactly what it is - a marathon that lasts several months. Only consistent, persistent, routine work every day can produce results. Motivation usually disappears after a few weeks. After that, what remains is the simple routine of solving LeetCode problems, accompanied by constant emotional ups and downs.

You need to be ready for this.
Before you start preparing, ask yourself whether you are really ready to invest your free time for several months into this emotional marathon. But you should also remember why you are developing this coding interview problem-solving skill in the first place. Behind it may be new professional opportunities, better career prospects, and possibilities that are currently unavailable to you. And all you need to do to reach them is finish this marathon.

And most importantly, that part depends entirely on you.