Study Roadmap (8 Weeks)
| Week | Focus | Key Topics |
|---|
| 1-2 | Arrays & Strings | Two pointers, sliding window, prefix sum, hash maps |
| 3-4 | Trees & Graphs | BFS, DFS, binary trees, BSTs, graph traversal, topological sort |
| 5 | Dynamic Programming | Memoization, tabulation, 1D/2D DP, knapsack, LCS, coin change |
| 6 | Heaps & Stacks | Priority queues, monotonic stacks, top-K problems, interval problems |
| 7 | System Design | Scale estimation, database choice, API design, caching, microservices |
| 8 | Mock Interviews | 2-3 mocks/week. Simulate real pressure. Record and review. |
Problem-Solving Framework
| Item | Description |
|---|
1. Clarify | Restate problem, ask about constraints, edge cases, input size |
2. Examples | Work through 2-3 examples — finds hidden assumptions |
3. Brute Force | State the naive solution — shows you can solve it, establishes baseline |
4. Optimize | Improve time/space complexity. Verbalize thinking process. |
5. Code | Clean, readable code. Handle edge cases. Use good variable names. |
6. Test | Walk through with examples. Test edge cases: empty, single, large, negative. |
7. Complexity | State time and space complexity with reasoning. |
Pattern Recognition
| Item | Description |
|---|
Sliding Window | Contiguous subarray/substring problems. Fixed or variable size. |
Two Pointers | Sorted arrays, palindrome, pair-sum. One from start, one from end. |
BFS/DFS | Trees, graphs, connected components, shortest path (unweighted). |
Binary Search | Sorted arrays, search space reduction. Also: binary search on answer. |
Dynamic Programming | Optimal substructure + overlapping subproblems. Recognize: maximize/minimize + choices. |
Hash Map | Count frequency, find duplicates, two-sum, caching computed results. |
Company-Specific Tips
| Item | Description |
|---|
Google | Emphasis on optimal solutions, clean code, system design depth. Expect 4-5 rounds. |
Meta | Speed matters — 2 problems in 45 min. Product architecture + coding. Communication key. |
Amazon | Leadership Principles in every round. STAR method stories required. Bar raiser final round. |
Apple | Domain expertise valued. Deep dive into past projects. Hardware/software integration questions. |
Netflix | Culture deck matters — 'Freedom and Responsibility'. Senior-only hiring. Deep system design. |
Pro Tip: Consistency beats intensity — 1 hour/day for 2 months outperforms cramming. Focus on patterns (not memorization): sliding window, two pointers, BFS/DFS, DP. Do 2-3 problems per pattern before moving on.