Mock Interviews
Mock interviews simulate real coding interviews and are the best way to prepare. They help you practice under time pressure, improve communication, and identify weak areas.
How to conduct a mock interview:
- Find a partner (friend, peer, or use platforms like Pramp, interviewing.io).
- Set a time limit (typically 45-60 minutes).
- Take turns being the interviewer and interviewee.
- As interviewer: choose a problem, ask clarifying questions, evaluate solution, provide feedback.
- As interviewee: explain thought process, ask clarifying questions, write clean code, test edge cases.
Sample interview problems for mock sessions:
- Implement a LRU Cache
- Design a TinyURL service
- Find median from data stream
- Serialize and deserialize binary tree
- Word ladder
- Sliding window maximum
- Trapping rain water
- Basic calculator
- Merge k sorted lists
- Course schedule II
What interviewers look for:
- Clarity of thought and communication.
- Correctness of algorithm (time/space analysis).
- Clean, readable code.
- Testing with edge cases.
- Optimization from brute force.
Example problem: LRU Cache (design problem)
class LRUCache {
private final int capacity;
private Map map = new HashMap<>();
private Node head, tail;
public LRUCache(int capacity) {
this.capacity = capacity;
head = new Node(0, 0);
tail = new Node(0, 0);
head.next = tail;
tail.prev = head;
}
public int get(int key) {
if (!map.containsKey(key)) return -1;
Node node = map.get(key);
moveToHead(node);
return node.value;
}
public void put(int key, int value) {
if (map.containsKey(key)) {
Node node = map.get(key);
node.value = value;
moveToHead(node);
} else {
if (map.size() == capacity) {
Node tailNode = tail.prev;
removeNode(tailNode);
map.remove(tailNode.key);
}
Node newNode = new Node(key, value);
addToHead(newNode);
map.put(key, newNode);
}
}
// helper methods for linked list operations
private void moveToHead(Node node) {
removeNode(node);
addToHead(node);
}
private void removeNode(Node node) {
node.prev.next = node.next;
node.next.prev = node.prev;
}
private void addToHead(Node node) {
node.next = head.next;
node.prev = head;
head.next.prev = node;
head.next = node;
}
static class Node {
int key, value;
Node prev, next;
Node(int k, int v) { key = k; value = v; }
}
}
Two Minute Drill
- Mock interviews simulate real interview pressure.
- Practice explaining your thought process aloud.
- Focus on communication, clean code, and testing.
- Review feedback and identify areas to improve.
- Use online platforms for practice with strangers.
Need more clarification?
Drop us an email at career@quipoinfotech.com