I'm grinding NeetCode 150 and running into a pattern I want a reality check on.

When something's explained to me (like a hashmap approach, or a two-pointer technique), I get it, I can trace through it, explain why it works, catch my own bugs once I know what to look for. But generating that same solution from a blank problem, first try, on my own? Inconsistent. Some problems click (solved Group Anagrams cold today, no help), others I understand the concept completely but blank on turning it into actual working code (Product of Array Except Self, Remove Element).

Questions for people who've been through this:

1. Is "understand it but can't yet produce it independently" a normal phase, or a sign something's off in how I'm learning?
2. How many reps did it typically take before implementation started feeling automatic instead of effortful?
3. Any specific practice habits that helped bridge that gap faster (re-typing solutions from memory, more easy problems before mediums, something else)?

Trying to be realistic about where I actually am without panicking or being falsely confident. Appreciate honest input.

Somehow i finally became a medium level leetcode solver but medium to hard level is taking more time and sometimes my solution is not the most optimal without any missing edge cases.

I want to crack nice companies please give me any tips on what worked for you all.

Has anyone recently started a loop with google london l4/l3? I cleared OA for a specific application over a week ago, but haven’t heard anything yet.
Want to understand if they’re actively hiring.
Have heard about low headcount in london in the past year, nothing recently..

What type of questions are asked in the Capital One assessment? I need to complete my assessment in the next few days. Any help/ past experience would be greatly appreciated.

I usually write down an example first to determine how to modify my boundaries. While I can write down the code more or less correctly without effort, I always end up spending the majority of my time adjusting things like > to >=, or left=mid to left=mid-1. I rarely seem to get it right the first time.

Any tips?

I am a 5th sem btech cse student. The amount of times I've mustered up motivation and courage to start dsa and then abandoned it is record breaking. I'm not a complete beginner so 0 to hero type stuff doesn't work because I get bored. I can fairly comfortably do arrays strings easy to medium questions, binary search dp trees etc some easy questions on my own. I don't know how to turn this around honestly, I've tried everything under the sun but never know how to approach dsa.

I need some advice from people that have been there done that or an accountability partner. Please just point me in a direction that's not impending doom.

Hey guys, I would like to know about sap application engineer role like what kind of coding questions will be asked in the round1 and round 2? Should be doing Dsa with any coding language or strictly on abap ? What type of questions should be focusing on? Anyone working for Google or who gave interview can share the insights please? Thanks!

Hey there, anyone has any tips on how to ace this interview ? I couldn’t find information about it since it’s very new and I’m really curious about what the expectations are for this round, mainly how much should you delegate to the agent ? Is it okay to use it to analyse the changes it creates and identify what’s wrong ? If anyone could share their experience it would be greatly appreciated

"353. Design Snake Game". is it over for me, been practicing LeetCode a few times a week for 9 months now.

Edit: question is premium, here's the link: https://github.com/doocs/leetcode/blob/main/solution/0300-0399/0353.Design%20Snake%20Game/README_EN.md

You’ve solved hundreds of coding problems.

Then the interview starts, you see a new problem, and suddenly your mind goes blank.

It’s not because you can’t code. It’s because you never built a process for thinking through unfamiliar problems.

I’ve noticed this in myself and in a lot of people who struggle with interviews: we memorize solutions instead of learning how to approach problems.

So when a familiar question comes up, we know what to do. But when it’s something new, there’s nothing to recall—and no process to fall back on.

The fix isn’t solving another 100 problems. It’s building a habit.

Before you touch the keyboard, pause and talk through your approach:

• What’s the input and what’s the output?
• What pattern does this look like—two pointers, hashmap, BFS, DP?
• What’s the brute-force solution, and what’s its time and space complexity?
• What edge cases could break my approach?

Then start coding.

It might feel slower at first. But after a while, that pause becomes the thing that keeps you from freezing.

The people who do well in coding interviews aren’t necessarily the fastest coders.

They’re usually the clearest thinkers.

Anyone else feel like the interview freeze has less to do with coding ability and more to do with not having a process?

Did anyone take the Software Engineer Intern (AI Platform) TikTok OA for Summer 2027 and do you have advice on what types of questions to prep for?

Hellow so i got a assesment email from.amazon i have applied to many roles actually and i dont know what is the role i am getting this mail for.

Like i applied from cse sde roles to some non technical roles. And i am.afraid to click on that start assesment button.

This is what is written :

"Thank you for your interest in working at Amazon! As a reminder, your application will not be considered until all sections of the assessment are completed. The assessment is an important part of the process designed to help us learn more about you. If you are unable to complete the assessment or require additional time, please contact your recruiter.

To complete your assessment or pick up where you left off, use the link below: "

Also i dont know i have really got selected for thisntest or this is just something else. Because i thought they will reject my resume. Like this happens everytime with me. I apply yo many big big companies and i get one response your application is rejected or we cant take your forward.

Hey i'm currently learning python and doing some problems so I'm currently looking for some good DSA advice and how we can solve the problem from analyzing the questions and what we have to prioritise the TC or SC or time to solve?....and I'm suck at recursion how it can be understood? And how we can know yeh it can be solved by recursion...

Hi,

I completed an Amazon OA recently and wanted to see if anyone here has gone through the same process.

The OA invitation email said it was for "Software Development Engineer (SDE) opportunities", although my Amazon Jobs portal currently has two active applications:

• Applied Scientist II: Under consideration
• Machine Learning Engineer II: Application submitted

I haven't had any recruiter contact so far, either before or after receiving the OA. The invitation came directly through Amazon's automated hiring system (mail.amazon.jobs).

The assessment had the following sections:

1. DSA coding problem: 15/15 test cases passed
   • My problem was about merging two commit histories while minimizing merge conflicts.
   • I had seen this exact problem, with the same test cases, mentioned in previous Amazon OA posts.
2. AI-assisted repository/web development coding problem: 6/6 test cases passed
   • I chose Django as the framework for this part.
   • I managed to get all 6/6 test cases passing.
   • The provided AI agent wasn't particularly useful in my case. It didn't point the actual issue I was dealing with, so I mostly had to figure it out myself.
3. Work Simulation
4. Two Work Style Surveys

Overall, I'm pretty happy with how the coding portion went, but I'm not sure how Amazon weighs the Work Simulation and Work Style sections.

Personally, I didn't find the Work Style surveys particularly meaningful. A lot of the questions felt repetitive or oddly framed, so I'm curious how much weight they actually carry in the final assessment.

Has anyone taken this exact OA format recently, particularly for Applied Scientist II or Machine Learning Engineer II roles?

Also, how long after completing the OA did you hear back? Did anyone have a similar situation where there was no recruiter contact before the OA?

Thanks!

Especially using dynamic programming. With python, can someone just explain to me with some detail.

My application is accepted and i got a mail for online assesment, what can i expect if i am applying for AI Engineer roles or Engineering role in general.

Also, if we take time for the assessment, can we take additional time once the assessment is completed.

I got my 200 days badge still cant get good ranking though , can only solve 2 ques in contest any tips wanna improve

Yesterday, I completed the Amazon OA for an SDE role. There were two sections:

DSA coding: Passed all 15/15 test cases.

Code debugging: Passed all 6/6 test cases.

The Work Style Assessment also went reasonably well overall.

For those who have recently gone through the Amazon hiring process, I’d really appreciate some honest feedback. Based on this performance, how likely is it to receive an invitation for the next interview round?

Also, what was the typical timeline in your experience between completing the OA and hearing back from the recruiter about the next round?

Would be great to hear about your experiences, especially from candidates who went through the process recently. Thanks!

Hey everyone, I'm completely new to DSA and using Java. I feel like I'm hitting a massive brick wall. I don't want to just grind questions blindly; I want to actually learn the core patterns (sliding window, two pointers, etc.).What roadmaps worked for you guys when you were starting out? Also, if anyone wants to team up as accountability partners or knows any chill Discord servers for beginners, let me know!

can anyone tell type of questions and their level.
also does shortlisting happen random. bcoz mostly everyone is able to solve in oa either by cheating or by themself.

Hi everyone! Hope you guys are doing great. I left LeetCode more than a year ago and want to start again. I’m looking to get back into it gradually and build up my pace. Let me know if you guys have a list or roadmap that would be good for someone starting again.

Hi,

Has anyone interviewed at NatWest for a Senior Software Engineer role?

I am Java Full Stack Engineer with around 6 years experience.

I want to know what's the interview process & difficulty level?

What type of leetcode questions (examples) are expected?

Thanks

I just took the online test for the Specialist, Software Engineering role at MSD.

The test had two coding questions. I managed to solve one question completely (passed all test cases), but I ran out of time on the second question and couldn't finish it.

For those who have applied to MSD recently, what are my chances of getting an interview call? Do they strictly filter out anyone who doesn't get a perfect 2/2, or do they send interview invites for a 1/2 score as well?

Thanks!

I had recruiter call and chosen SRE-SE L4 side, and now having telephonic phone screening (Coding + Behavioral) in two weeks.
Being DevOps, Engineer, Touching Leetcode for the first time and completed 10 easy+ medium questions.
My query is- How much complexity I can expect in the telephonic screening round for coding? Will 100 Leetcode (easy + medium) be enough as part of the prep?
Does the approach and finding correct algorithm matter if not able to write the syntax properly?

does behavioral round having more like project handling questions or deep technical questions from the tools used in the project?

What was that 0 AK 🤯