· resources · 4 min read
Crack the Tech Interview
Amidst the current uncertainty in the tech industry due to widespread layoffs, it’s more important than ever to equip yourself with the right tools and resources to succeed.
Neciu Dan
Hi there, it's Dan, a technical co-founder of an ed-tech startup, internation speaker and Staff Software Engineer, I'm here to share insights on combining
technology and education to solve real problems.
I write about startup challenges, tech innovations, and the Frontend Development.
Subscribe to join me on this journey of transforming education through technology. Want to discuss
Tech, Frontend or Startup life? Let's connect.
Finding a job has never been more challenging.
Almost every tech or product company has implemented the Amazon Interviewing Process.
Step after step of grueling interview sessions trying to test candidate’s knowledge, coding skills, soft skills, system design skills, and more.
Preparing for these challenges is, quite frankly, a challenge in itself.
Fortunately, there are many high-quality, free resources available online to help you prepare and shine in your next interview. Here are the best of the best.
Cracking the Algorithm Challange
Algorithmic problems are a little outdated but there are still companies who use them, either through a home tests platform like Codility or a pre-interview with 2–3 exercises.
Big O Nation resources:
Practices websites:
- https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/
- https://leetcode.com/
- https://www.hackerrank.com/
- https://adventofcode.com/ and the /r/adventofcode
- https://www.codewars.com/
Extra:
- https://algorithm-visualizer.org/ (A tool that helps you visualize how famous algorithms work)
- Grokking Algorithms
Cracking the Frontend Tech Call
A technical interview is usually the first real test for any interviewing process. Usually, if you fail, that’s it, game over.
In the frontend world, there are a lot of bloggers and tech writers who explain a lot of Javascript concepts really really well.
Here are my favorites:
- Dmitri Pavlutin likes to write about React, Javascript, and general design patterns. I would really recommend his article explaining this in Javascript.
- Dan Abramov is the creator of Redux and a Core Member of the React Development Team. He likes to write about best practices in React but also about classic interview questions like let vs const. Dan also has a nice course about Javascript Mental Models called Just Javascript
- If you are interviewing for a Vue.js position, check out Fotis Adamakis, he writes about everything Vue related from State Management, how harmful Mixins are, but also about Vue 3 mistakes you should avoid doing.
- Lydia Hallie is also an amazing writer who likes to illustrate visualization of javascript concepts. Her Javascript Visualised series is one of my favorites
- Another favorite of mine is Josh Comeau, he likes to write about React and CSS but he also has two amazing courses (The Joy of React and CSS for JS Developers) that, while not FREE, I would recommend 100%.
Extra:
I also enjoy these humourous but also educational youtube channels:
Cracking the Live Coding Interview
The live coding interview or a week-long home assignment is where you get to showcase your coding skills.
There are 3 pillars that you need to tick to impress during this process:
- Typescript
- Testing
- Clean Code
Here are some GitHub repositories and projects that can help you excel at this part:
- JavaScript30: This repository contains 30 mini projects, each focusing on a different aspect of JavaScript, such as arrays, loops, and fetch API.
- You Don’t Know JS (YDKJS): This is a series of books diving deep into the core mechanisms of the JavaScript language, written by Kyle Simpson.
- Awesome JavaScript: A curated list of useful JavaScript resources, including tutorials, libraries, and tools.
- JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures: A repository containing JavaScript implementations of common algorithms and data structures, such as sorting, searching, and graph algorithms.
- JavaScript Design Patterns: A collection of design patterns and best practices for writing maintainable and scalable JavaScript code.
And here are some amazing Typescript Resources:
- TotalTypescript has 2 amazing beginner tutorials and one paid version.
- Typescript Handbook
- Typescript Type Challenges
I would also like to recommend some Reddit subreddits like:
- /r/programming
- /r/javascript
- /r/typescript
Cracking the System Design Interview
One of the hardest interviews for Frontend Engineers.
To truly master this part I would recommend the book System Design Interview by Alex Xu but also his Youtube Channel ByteByteGo
Other amazing resources are:
- Patterns.dev
- Web.dev
- Smacss.com
- Design Systems Handbook
- Smashing Magazine
And here are some case studies:
👉 Design Messenger App : https://bit.ly/3DoAAXi
👉 Design Reddit: https://bit.ly/3OgGJrL
👉 Design Netflix: https://bit.ly/3GrAUG1
👉 Design Instagram: https://bit.ly/3BFeHlh
👉 Design Dropbox: https://bit.ly/3SnhncU
👉 Design Youtube: https://bit.ly/3dFyvvy
👉 Design Tinder: https://bit.ly/3Mcyj3X
👉 Design Yelp: https://bit.ly/3E7IgO5
👉 Design Whatsapp: https://bit.ly/3M2GOhP
👉 Design URL shortener : https://bit.ly/3xP078x
👉 Design Amazon Prime Video: https://bit.ly/3hVpWP4
👉 Design Twitter: https://bit.ly/3qIG9Ih
👉 Design Uber: https://bit.ly/3fyvnlT
All of these may seem intimidating, but if you build a habit, of one article each day, writing down what you find interesting using post-it notes, the knowledge you gain will compound and you will get your dream job in no time.
And you can check on levels, who is hiring at the moment.
In the end, I will leave you with this Japanese proverb:
“Nana korobi, ya oki” which means “Fall down seven times, stand up eight.”
