Introduction
Interview prep can be very overwhelming. There are so many different resources out there that it’s easy to get lost in the hacker ranks, leetcode problems, and YouTube videos. Even with my prep I’ve had a variety of interviews and some that I was unprepared for. Currently I am taking an algorithms class, working on individual interview prep and participating actively in a competitive coding club. Here’s some of what I’ve learned about the difference between algorithms, interview and competitive coding problems as well as what I find works best for interview prep overall.
Introduction
A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to compete in the ICPC(inter collegiate programming competition). I went into the experience with low expectations and a lack of enthusiasm. Having just started my algorithms curriculum I was unsure if I would be able to contribute to my team in a useful way. However at the end of the competition my team placed 14th in our region and had solved half of the available problems. We were by no means the top team but I was surprised at how much we had accomplished in the short 5 hours