Exercise - Practice code
One of your interviews will be about writing code. To prepare for this type of interview, you can practice on writing code and improving the process. Practicing is not just about learning to solve problems, but also to become better at solving them.
In this exercise, you'll perform tasks that set you up for solving code and improving.
Bookmark useful practice sites
The previous unit listed training sites that you can use to practice your coding skills. The list is worth repeating here:
- Topcoder
- Coderbyte
- Project Euler
- HackerRank
- Codewars
- LeetCode
- CodeChef
- InterviewBit
- HackerEarth
- GeeksforGeeks
Visit several of these sites and bookmark the ones that you find most useful.
For example, bookmark Topcoder.
Establish a practice pattern
To ensure that your practice has the most effect, establish some good patterns for how to practice:
Set a reminder each day for several days before your scheduled interview to complete one or more code challenges.
For example, set a reminder to work on code problems between 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
Take notes on how you were able to solve problems. Also note any difficulties, and revisit those in future practice sessions.
Here's an example note: "Problem on Roman numerals. Need to work on understanding recursion better."
Challenge yourself to be able to finish a task within a certain set of minutes, and then go back and explain your thought processes.
What did you do differently?
Select more difficult problems to solve as you become better at solving certain types of problems and as you notice improvements.
Look back at your progress a week later and notice how you improved.