If you\u2019re preparing for a technical role, you\u2019ve probably spent hours on LeetCode. But here is the catch: not every company uses the “traditional” algorithmic approach. In my time as an Engineering Manager at Google and beyond, I\u2019ve seen the “coding interview” evolve into four distinct styles.<\/p>\n
Knowing which one you’re walking into is the best way to lower your heart rate and sharpen your prep. Let\u2019s break down the landscape.<\/p>\n
This is the classic Cracking the Coding Interview<\/i> style. You\u2019re given a problem statement and asked to write a function to solve it on a whiteboard or a shared editor.<\/p>\n Instead of writing code, you\u2019re given a Pull Request (PR) and asked to review it. You\u2019ll walk the interviewer through your comments and suggestions.<\/p>\n You\u2019re handed a snippet of “bad” code\u2014usually bug-ridden and poorly structured\u2014and asked to make it better. You\u2019ll have to “forensically” determine what the code is supposed to do before you can fix it.<\/p>\n\n
2. The \u201cCode Review\u201d Interview<\/h2>\n
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3. The \u201cRefactor\u201d Interview<\/h2>\n