Navigating Coding Interview Challenges and Improving Your Problem-Solving Skills

When preparing for coding interviews, you’ll inevitably face problems that challenge your abilities. Depending on your understanding and experience, these problems can vary considerably in difficulty. This article discusses how to effectively navigate these challenges, especially when you're unsure of how to proceed.

Understanding Problem Categories

There are typically three categories of problems when it comes to coding interviews:

Easy/Obvious: These are problems you can solve quickly and confidently. No further action is needed here. Non-obvious: These problems are more challenging but solvable after some thought, usually ranging from a few minutes to a few days. They require a bit of knowledge and technique. Really Hard: These are problems where you have no clue how to start. You may feel completely lost, and even experienced developers can struggle with them.

Strategy for Problem Solving

Given these categories, it’s crucial to focus on problems in the second category. Spending time on these will refine your intuition and skills. Here are some effective strategies to help you improve:

Identifying Type 2 Problems

The best way to identify type 2 problems is by finding resources that provide regular challenges of this nature. Popular platforms include LeetCode, HackerRank, and others. These sites offer a variety of problems and help you identify areas where you need to improve. If you've exhausted the type 2 problems for a particular topic, such as binary search trees, it’s a clear sign that you need to read up on the topic first.

Reading and Learning

Acquiring knowledge is key. Reading books and learning from the solutions of others can significantly help. Some recommended books include The Algorithm Design Manual. If you've never seen a piece of code that constructs a binary search tree, for example, you should start by reading the relevant code before attempting to solve related problems.

Seeking Help and Discussion

If you're stuck on a problem for more than a week, it’s beneficial to come back to it after solving more type 2 problems. If this still doesn’t help, it’s perfectly acceptable to look at the solution. However, it’s critical to fully understand the solution and how it came about. This ensures that you can move problems from the really hard category to the non-obvious category.

Practical Steps for Improvement

To implement these strategies effectively, consider the following steps:

Identify Type 1 and Type 3 Problems: Recognize when a problem is easy or when you have no idea how to start. Seek Additional Knowledge: For non-obvious problems, read up on the necessary techniques or algorithms. Solve More Type 2 Problems: Regular practice will refine your skills and help you solve a broader range of problems more confidently. Discuss and Collaborate: Engage with peers or mentors. Sometimes discussing the problem with someone else can provide insights you couldn't see on your own. Review and Reflect: After each interview or problem-solving session, review what you learned and reflect on areas for improvement.

By following these strategies, you can significantly enhance your problem-solving skills and improve your performance in coding interviews. Remember, the key is persistence, practice, and a willingness to learn from your mistakes.