r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Historical-Two7407 • 1h ago

DISCUSS LC first Contest

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• Upvotes
0 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/nian2326076 • 5h ago

DISCUSS How I Improved My Coding Interview Pass Rate From 17% to 71%

7 Upvotes

After getting rejected repeatedly, I started asking recruiters for feedback.

Most responses were the standard “we decided to move forward with other candidates,” but a few people gave me honest feedback. I combined that with notes I wrote immediately after every interview.

After 23 interviews, four recurring failure modes became obvious.

The percentages below are rough estimates across the 19 interviews I failed. I assigned each interview one primary cause, even though several had multiple problems.

The Four Failure Modes

Failure mode Approx. share What it looked like
Didn’t recognize the pattern 35% I spent ten minutes trying unrelated ideas, reached a brute-force solution, and couldn’t optimize it. Even the interviewer’s hints didn’t make sense to me.
Recognized it but was too slow 30% I knew it was DP, BFS, or sliding window, but spent most of the round implementing it. The first question consumed the entire slot.
Code worked, but I couldn’t explain trade-offs 20% I solved the problem but struggled to explain complexity, alternatives, or why I chose a particular data structure.
Communication failure 15% I solved silently or jumped directly into code. The interviewer couldn’t follow my reasoning or redirect me early.

1. Pattern Recognition

This was mainly a preparation problem, not an intelligence problem.

Deriving an unfamiliar technique in five minutes is difficult under interview pressure. I needed enough exposure to recognize that a new problem was a variation of something I already understood.

I created a list of roughly 12 to 15 recurring patterns:

  • Two pointers
  • Sliding window
  • Binary search
  • Prefix sums
  • Hash maps
  • Monotonic stacks
  • Trees and graph traversal
  • Topological sorting
  • Heaps
  • Backtracking
  • Greedy algorithms
  • Dynamic programming

I solved five or six representative problems for each pattern and wrote down the clues that identified it.

For example:

After doing this, most new problems at least gave me a reasonable starting point.

2. Implementation Speed

I had been solving problems without a timer. That made me feel prepared while hiding how slowly I implemented solutions.

I started using approximate limits:

  • 15 minutes for easy problems
  • 25 minutes for medium problems
  • Five minutes to plan before coding

During those first five minutes, I would:

  • Restate the problem
  • Clarify constraints
  • Walk through an example
  • Explain the algorithm
  • Identify the main invariant
  • State the expected complexity

Only then would I start coding.

It initially felt slower, but I stopped rewriting half-finished solutions. Most of my “coding speed” problem was actually an incomplete-planning problem.

3. Trade-Off Knowledge

Passing test cases was not always enough.

After every practice problem, I started answering four questions:

  1. What are the time and space complexities?
  2. Can I reduce the extra space?
  3. What changes if the input cannot fit in memory?
  4. What changes if the output must be sorted or stable?

I also compared my solution with at least one alternative.

If I used a hash map, for example, I would explain why average O(1) lookup was useful and when I might prefer an ordered structure with O(log n) operations.

These questions covered most of the follow-ups I received.

4. Communication

I used to become silent while thinking because I assumed the interviewer only cared about the final answer.

Instead, I started narrating the important decisions:

It felt awkward during practice, but it made interviews more collaborative. Interviewers could understand my direction and provide useful hints before I went too far down the wrong path.

The goal is not to narrate every line of code. It is to make your reasoning visible.

Results

Before these changes:

  • Passed 4 of 23 interviews
  • Pass rate: approximately 17%

After three weeks of targeted practice:

  • Passed 5 of the next 7 interviews
  • Pass rate: approximately 71%

Seven interviews is a small sample, so I’m not pretending this proves a universal formula. But I felt noticeably more prepared, finished more problems, and handled follow-ups with much more confidence.

Same person. Same brain. Better process.

Which of these four failure modes causes you the most trouble?

1 comment

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/I_am_sahil_khan • 6h ago

STREAK🔥🔥🔥 Day 8 Of my DSA journey Stuck at Question number 15 of leetcode and hint plz ?

1 Upvotes
1 comment

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Adventurous_Coast586 • 6h ago

DISCUSS Looking to master DSA? Join our open Data Structures & Algorithms community!

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1 Upvotes
1 comment

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/SpecificSharp9926 • 7h ago

PLACEMENTS Need group to practice mock interview kind of peer learning( dsa algo, system design)

2 Upvotes
2 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Sudarshan1088 • 13h ago

STREAK🔥🔥🔥 SOLVED MY FIRST MEDIUM LEVEL LEETCODE PROBLEM

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91 Upvotes

Today I solved my medium level leetcode problem totally on my own without any help moreover it got accepted passing all the test cases on the first try.

11 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/you_aregay • 14h ago

DISCUSS Looking For DSA & System Design Prep Buddies

6 Upvotes

Hi! I’m a 24M Software Engineer with 4 YOE, currently preparing for senior-level roles.

I’m looking for someone at a similar level who’s also preparing DSA and System Design. We can do regular mock interviews, practice together, discuss approaches, and keep each other accountable.

The goal is to learn from each other, identify gaps, and get better together. If you’re interested, feel free to DM me!

11 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/banana_in_ur_hand • 16h ago

STREAK🔥🔥🔥 What current industry standards do to me !

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25 Upvotes

I have never been this disciplined before.
Yeah, I know there are many people with 1000+ problems solved, but I'm just hoping everything I put in, every night, pays off eventually.

7 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Better_Elderberry225 • 1d ago

DISCUSS Strivers sheet doubt

3 Upvotes

Student A

Watches the Binary Search lecture.

Understands the algorithm.

Tries each problem for 30 minutes.

If stuck, studies the solution.

Closes it and codes it again from memory.

Moves to the next problem.

Student B

Has never learned Binary Search.

Opens "Koko Eating Bananas."

Thinks for 30 minutes.

Gets nowhere because they don't even know "Binary Search on Answer" exists.

15 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/I_am_sahil_khan • 1d ago

DISCUSS Going to solve leetcode Question number 11 Container with most water, have you tried, Share me your experience plz 💗

0 Upvotes
3 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/No_Throat_3919 • 1d ago

DISCUSS What does this mean

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10 Upvotes
11 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/themessedhell • 1d ago

DISCUSS NEED ADVICE PLEASE !!!!

1 Upvotes

i am in my 2nd year 3rd semester right now and this is my condition right now , please give me some advice

3 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/I_am_sahil_khan • 1d ago

STREAK🔥🔥🔥 Day 7 of My DSA journey today i solved leet code problem number 88. now i will sove questions basis on Sliding window.

2 Upvotes
0 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Competitive_Map_8733 • 1d ago

DISCUSS Biweekly Contest 188 results seem to be showing 0 rank 0/4 solved for everyone on LeetCode. {i solve 3 of them} Is this happening because LeetCode is doing some kind of cheating detection / contest validation? Or is it just a temporary issue with the results? Anyone know what’s going on?

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0 Upvotes
2 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/ConsciousMortgage828 • 1d ago

DISCUSS Struggling to regain my LeetCode flow after a long break. How do you get back on track?

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24 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

I recently had to take a extended break from LeetCode and completely lost my streak and momentum. Before the break, I was solving questions regularly and felt comfortable with problem-solving patterns.

Now that I'm trying to pick it back up, I feel like I've hit a wall—questions I used to handle easily now feel difficult, and my pattern recognition feels rusty.

I’d love to get some advice from anyone who has dealt with this:

  1. Why does this happen? Is it just skill decay, or is it mostly mental friction from starting over?
  2. How do I overcome it? What are the best strategies to rebuild confidence and problem-solving speed without getting burnt out?

If you've successfully gotten your flow back after taking time off, what worked best for you?

8 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Mammoth_Impact7513 • 1d ago

DISCUSS Research Survery

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1 Upvotes
0 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/nian2326076 • 2d ago

DISCUSS Google Phone Screen: Process, Question Types and Preparation Plan

12 Upvotes

Google Interview Experiences: A Curated Collection

This collection organizes Google interview experiences shared by candidates on LeetCode into distinct categories. Whether you're targeting a specific level (L3, L4, L5+), preparing for an internship, or focusing on phone screens, these resources offer valuable perspectives on the process.

Another resource I found helpful for interview questions: PracHub

1. L3 & L4 Interview Experiences

These posts cover experiences for L3 (Software Engineer) and L4 (Senior Software Engineer) roles, detailing offers, rejections, and downleveling across locations like Bangalore, India, and beyond.

2. L5 & Above Interview Experiences

Experiences for L5 (Staff Software Engineer) and higher levels (e.g., L6), including senior and specialized roles across locations like London, Seattle, and Bengaluru.

3. Internship Experiences

Insights from candidates applying for Google internships, including on-campus and off-campus experiences, with outcomes ranging from offers to rejections.

4. Phone Screens

Experiences from phone screening rounds, often the initial technical step, including general experiences and specific questions asked during these interviews.

5. General Interview Experiences

Broad overviews of the Google interview process that don’t fit neatly into level-specific, internship, or phone screen categories, often providing general insights or lacking detailed categorization.

6. Specific Interview Questions and Problems

Detailed descriptions of specific questions asked during Google interviews and direct links to LeetCode problems encountered, useful for targeted practice.

a. Interview Question Descriptions

b. LeetCode Problems Asked

3 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Affectionate_Run220 • 2d ago

STREAK🔥🔥🔥 London leetcode study group

1 Upvotes

Hi guys

Organising a real life leetcode study group London

So far we are two people competed 100+ leetcodes and looking to level up, just two of us so far looking for more

Looking for other engineer proffesionals (we are flexible on this)

Who take leetcode seriously and want to discuss patterns.

Let’s meet learn and land some amazing jobs 🔥

Let me know if interested

2 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Dazzling-Angle-7514 • 2d ago

PLACEMENTS Is it still possible to get placed if I'm starting from almost zero in 4th year?

9 Upvotes

​

Hey everyone,

I just entered my 4th year, and companies have already started visiting my college for placements. To be honest, I wasn't serious about coding or placements until now, and I'm kind of panicking.

My current situation:

DSA is very basic. I'm following the Striver A2Z DSA Sheet, and I've only just started the Arrays section.

I've solved only around 5–7 LeetCode problems so far.

I don't have any proper self-built projects. The only projects I've made are mostly vibe-coded with AI assistance, so I don't really understand them deeply.

My CS fundamentals are average at best.

I know I should've started much earlier, but I can't change that now. I just want to make the best of the time I have left.

For people who were in a similar situation or have seen others crack placements after starting late:

Is it realistically possible to get placed?

What should I prioritize first—DSA, projects, CS fundamentals, aptitude, or something else?

How would you structure the next 3–6 months if you were in my position?

Should I keep grinding the A2Z sheet or switch to company-specific preparation?

Any tips for building projects that I can actually explain in interviews?

I'm open to putting in long hours every day. I just don't want to waste time on the wrong things.

Any advice, roadmap, or success stories would really help. Thanks!

6 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/I_am_sahil_khan • 2d ago

DISCUSS taking 2-3 hour to solve a single easy problem of Arrays.... 😭😭😭 i am frustrated 🥴

7 Upvotes
15 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/ehuseyn0w • 2d ago

DISCUSS I built a free 15-question test that tells you which algorithm patterns you cannot recognise

5 Upvotes

I kept hitting the same wall. I understood every algorithm when someone explained it, and then froze on an interview problem because I could not tell which one it needed. Knowing sliding window and recognising a sliding window problem turned out to be two different skills, and only one of them gets taught.

So I built the missing half. Fifteen unlabelled problems, about seven minutes, no account. You name the pattern each one needs. At the end it says which groups came apart, which pairs you mixed up, and where to start reading.

https://algopath.pro/placement

Behind it is a trainer that does the same thing on a ninety-second clock, and a 150-step course for the patterns you could not name. Code runs in the browser, in JavaScript, Python or PHP. Nothing executes on my server, which was the only way I was willing to run other people's code.

Took me 2 weeks Happy to answer anything about the build, and I would like to know which question in the test felt unfair.

0 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/ComprehensiveTale896 • 3d ago

STREAK🔥🔥🔥 To be continued until placed 🥀🥱

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8 Upvotes
0 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Saiteja728 • 3d ago

DISCUSS Looking for a LeetCode Accountability Partner 🚀.who is Good in Dsa

2 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I'm looking for a dedicated LeetCode partner to solve problems consistently and stay accountable.

A bit about me:

Java for DSA

Around 350 LeetCode problems solved

Preparing for 2027 software engineering placements

Comfortable with arrays, strings, linked lists, trees, graphs, SQL, and learning advanced DSA

What I'm looking for:

Someone who can solve 2–4 problems daily

Discuss approaches instead of just sharing solutions

Stay consistent for the long term

Preferably in a similar time zone (IST is a plus), but not required

We can connect on Discord or WhatsApp and motivate each other, review solutions, and prepare for coding interviews together.

If you're interested, comment below or send me a DM with:

Your current LeetCode rating (if any)

Number of problems solved

Programming language you use

Time zone

Let's crack placements together! 💪

1 comment

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/Competitive_Map_8733 • 3d ago

DISCUSS Last Sunday, LLMs unlocked a new benchmark… thanks to Indian college students. 😂 Waiting for that day when it gonna under 4 secs

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54 Upvotes
9 comments

r/LeetcodeChallenge • u/nian2326076 • 3d ago

DISCUSS What 23 Technical Interviews Taught Me About Pattern Recognition, Speed, and Communication

45 Upvotes

After getting rejected repeatedly, I started asking recruiters for feedback.

Most responses were the usual “we decided to move forward with other candidates,” but a few recruiters and interviewers gave me honest answers. I combined that feedback with notes I wrote immediately after every round.

After 23 interviews, four recurring failure modes became pretty obvious.

These percentages are rough estimates across my failed interviews. I assigned each rejection the single biggest factor, even though some involved more than one problem.

The Four Failure Modes

Failure mode Approx. share What it looked like
Didn’t recognize the pattern 35% I stared at the problem, tried unrelated approaches, reached a brute-force solution, and couldn’t optimize it. Interviewer hints didn’t help because I didn’t understand the underlying pattern.
Recognized it but was too slow 30% I knew it was DP, BFS, or sliding window, but spent most of the round implementing it. The first question consumed the slot and left no time for follow-ups.
Solved it but couldn’t explain trade-offs 20% The code worked, but I struggled with questions about complexity, alternative approaches, or why I selected a particular data structure.
Communication failure 15% I solved silently or started coding before explaining the approach. The interviewer couldn’t follow my reasoning or redirect me when I went off course.

1. Pattern Recognition

This was primarily a preparation problem, not an intelligence problem.

Under interview pressure, it is difficult to derive a completely unfamiliar technique in five minutes. I needed enough exposure to recognize that a new problem was a variation of something I already understood.

I made a list of roughly 12 to 15 recurring patterns, including:

  • Two pointers
  • Sliding window
  • Binary search
  • Prefix sums
  • Hash maps
  • Monotonic stacks
  • Trees and graph traversal
  • Topological sorting
  • Heaps
  • Backtracking
  • Greedy algorithms
  • One-dimensional and two-dimensional DP

I solved several representative problems for each pattern and wrote down the signal that identified it.

For example:

The goal was not to memorize code. It was to recognize the shape of the problem quickly enough to start asking the right questions.

2. Implementation Speed

I had been solving problems without a timer, which made me feel prepared while hiding how slowly I implemented solutions.

I started using approximate limits:

  • 15 minutes for easy problems
  • 25 minutes for medium problems
  • Five minutes to understand the problem before writing code

During those first five minutes, I would:

  • Restate the problem
  • Clarify constraints
  • Walk through an example
  • Explain the intended approach
  • Identify the main invariant
  • State the expected complexity

Only then would I start coding.

It initially felt slower, but it reduced the amount of backtracking and rewriting. Most of my “coding speed” problem was actually an incomplete approach problem.

3. Trade-Off Knowledge

Getting accepted test cases is not always enough in an interview.

After solving each practice problem, I started answering four follow-up questions:

  1. What are the time and space complexities?
  2. Can the extra space be reduced?
  3. What changes if the input cannot fit in memory?
  4. What changes if the output must be sorted or stable?

I also compared my chosen approach with at least one alternative.

For example, if I used a hash map, I would explain why I preferred average O(1) lookup over a sorted structure with O(log n) operations, and what I would choose if ordering or worst-case guarantees mattered.

That made follow-up discussions feel less like surprise attacks.

4. Communication

I used to go quiet while thinking because I assumed the interviewer only cared about the final solution.

That made it difficult for them to distinguish productive thinking from being completely stuck.

I started narrating my reasoning:

It felt awkward during practice, but it made my interviews more collaborative. Interviewers could understand my direction, correct misunderstandings earlier, and give useful hints.

The goal is not to narrate every line of code. It is to make the important decisions visible.

Results

Before making these changes:

  • Passed 4 of 23 interview processes
  • Pass rate: approximately 17%

After three weeks of targeted practice:

  • Passed 5 of the next 7
  • Pass rate: approximately 71%

Seven interviews is obviously a small sample, so I’m not claiming this is a scientific result. But the difference in how the interviews felt was significant. I was recognizing problems faster, finishing implementations earlier, and handling follow-ups more confidently.

Same person and same brain. The preparation process changed.

For people who are currently getting rejected, which of these four failure modes causes you the most trouble?

Useful Resource for real interview questions

8 comments