Is LeetCode the best way to prepare for interviews?

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The coding interview process is notoriously difficult, and the preparation process is even more difficult. Developers frequently spend months preparing for coding interviews. Coding problems are the most common part of the interview process at most large tech companies.

LeetCode is a popular tool for developers to use in order to prepare for technical interviews. Today, we'll take a closer look at LeetCode, as well as its benefits and drawbacks. We'll also talk about other ways to prepare for your coding interviews.

What is LeetCode?

LeetCode is a website where users can practise coding and prepare for technical interviews. The majority of their customers are software engineers. LeetCode has over 1,900 questions to practise covering a wide range of programming concepts. Every coding problem is classified as Easy, Medium, or Hard.

Algorithms and data structures are the focus of the problems. Here are some examples of problems from LeetCode:

  • Binary Search Tree (BST)
  • Level order traversal
  • Linked lists
  • Longest substring without repeating characters
  • Palindromes
  • Path sum
  • Two sum
  • Sorted arrays
  • Sorted lists
  • Subsequences
  • Valid parentheses
  • 2D matrix

Advantages of LeetCode

Multiple programming languages

LeetCode questions support multiple programming languages, which allows you to practice in the languages you use.

Supported languages:

  • Bash
  • C
  • C#
  • C++
  • Go
  • Java
  • JavaScript
  • Kotlin
  • MySQL
  • MS SQL
  • Oracle
  • PHP
  • Python
  • Python3
  • Racket
  • Ruby
  • Rust
  • Scala
  • Swift
  • TypeScript

Helpful and active community

LeetCode has a large and active community. This community provides users with a great platform to engage with other developers, gain insight into how other developers are solving problems, and learn from other developers’ mistakes.

Disadvantages of LeetCode

It’s just about the code

You need to be an impressive programmer to get hired by a top tech company, but being a good coder isn’t the only thing that matters. While LeetCode is a solid resource for coding problem practice, they have no content that covers soft skills.

Soft skills are becoming increasingly important in the tech industry. Companies are looking for great leaders and communicators. They want their candidates to have strong teamwork skills and to thrive in ambiguous situations. These are qualities that simply cannot be learned with LeetCode.

Remember that you’re being evaluated not just on your coding abilities, but also on fit. Here are some important qualities to demonstrate in a technical interview:

  • Empathy
  • Listening skills
  • Teamwork
  • Effective communication
  • Eagerness to learn
  • Etc.

Applicants who don’t receive a job offer aren’t necessarily bad candidates. Many of them got great grades, attended a top university, and spent months and months preparing for their interviews, but it’s about more than that.

Memorization vs. lasting learning

LeetCode can help you pass technical interviews, but it isn't very useful beyond that. The LeetCode solutions you memorise will not apply to real-world software engineering problems. Indeed, many tech firms are shifting away from LeetCode-style interview questions and towards job-specific questions.

Many candidates use services such as LeetCode to prepare for interviews and memorise countless problem-solving solutions. Companies are beginning to incorporate more creative coding problems into their interview process because most candidates know the answers to these questions.

More and more companies are using methods like paired programming to assess a candidate's skills, according to developers. Paired programming is an excellent way to demonstrate your communication, leadership, and teamwork abilities. Prior to applying for jobs, it is critical to gain relevant experience. This can be accomplished through a variety of means, including internships and projects.

Let's look at some other ways to prepare for coding interviews that will help you develop long-term skills for your career.

Alternative ways to prepare

While LeetCode is a popular interview prep tool, there are other ways to prepare for difficult coding interview questions. Your resume is an excellent place to highlight your abilities and experience. Let's take a look at some alternative preparation methods.

Projects
Remember that you are not the only person applying for a job. A strong resume that highlights relevant and interesting experiences and accomplishments is essential. Personal projects allow you to demonstrate your creativity and problem-solving abilities.

Your projects should make use of skills that you will use on the job on a regular basis. While you do not have to perfectly match the job requirements, ensure that your skills are relevant. Additionally, in your projects, it is a good idea to work on realistic, practical problems. Your interviewer is looking for evidence that you can solve real-world problems.

Internships
Internships are an excellent way to gain relevant experience and skills. Internships provide hands-on experience with real-world programming. A solid internship will prepare you for your full-time career and provide you with a wealth of experience to highlight when interviewing. When adding internship information to your resume, make sure to highlight relevant experience and skills, quantifiable achievements, and your unique qualities.

Interview reenactment
Mock interviews are an excellent way to hone your soft skills. See if you can team up with a friend or classmate to practise mock interviews. You can practise problem-solving skills, asking and answering questions, and demonstrating your communication, collaboration, and leadership abilities.

Wrapping up

Leetcoding is a popular way to practise different types of coding problems. Many coding interview questions are available for practise on LeetCode. Although LeetCode has its advantages, the coding interview is more than just memorised LeetCode solutions. It is critical to engage in long-term learning in order to prepare not only for your technical interview, but also for your career.

Educative provides online courses in a variety of fields, including machine learning, data science, app development, interview preparation, and much more. Begin preparing for your coding interview today by enrolling in Educative's Decode the Coding Interview course. Our interview prep course has assisted developers in preparing for interviews with top technology companies such as Netflix, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google.

By the end, you'll be ready to interview with confidence and have acquired skills that will serve you well throughout your career.