How to choose which problems to solve from LeetCode?

1. If you are waiting for an interview with a specific company, then the best idea would be to purchase a LeetCode Premium and solve problems from the curated list of problems of the company. Thus, you are likely to solve the problems that you will be given at the interview or very, very similar ones, or at least understand what level of problems to expect.

If you can't afford the premium for whatever reason, there are several ways to do that:
- Buy a subscription for several people - to do this, you need to find like-minded people or just suggest it to your friends.
- Find people who have a premium or ask in thematic communities to make screenshots of the lists, metrics, or whatever you need. But please do not spam people or communities all the time. Once or twice is fine, more is not polite.
- Try to find these lists yourself on GitHub or similar platforms. The main disadvantage of this point is that such lists are pirated and it's not polite. Moreover, they are not updated constantly, and there is no guarantee that you will be able to find lists for the last six months or at least a year. But such lists are free and give at least a general understanding of the level of the proposed problems.

2. If the interviews have not yet started and you are just getting started and don't know what problems to solve, then I can advise you the following: there are several patterns/topics/whatever they called, that are widely used in problems and it is quite useful to know them, so you can start by solving problems on unfamiliar patterns or patterns in which you don't feel confident enough.

Where can you find these patterns? There are a lot of lists with problems split by patterns, even at LeetCode itself:
1) Here, for example, are quite popular easy-level problems, split by patterns:
https://leetcode.com/explore/interview/card/top-interview-questions-easy/

The same lists are available for both medium- and hard-level problems.
2) You can split problems by topics at LeetCode itself at the right corner on the problems page.
3) You can also start with problems here or here. These lists are also quite good and curated and have fewer problems.
4) Also, you can take a look at this list:
http://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ZXg8-VkK3UQxYxra7oYJeX1joHKSyz3U0WG7SUjrzy0/edit?usp=sharing&hl=en.
Here you can sort problems by the topic of interest and by the number of likes, which also can be useful. The same can be done with LeetCode Premium, by the way.
5) If you have a premium, I can advise you to solve problems by their frequency as well.

If you like to read books, then you may like "Cracking the Coding Interview" by Gayle Laakmann McDowell, "Grokking Algorithms" by Aditya Bhargava, as well as a course on educative.io - "Grokking the Coding Interview: Patterns for Coding Questions".

But, remember that the fact that you know from which list to solve problems is not the main thing at all, the main thing is just to solve. Yes, it's that simple. The more problems you solve, the more topics you will cover, the more confident you will feel at the interview, but you need to balance solving problems with system design and everything else as well. So, good luck!

Some random but interesting lists of companies/startups to look for when choosing where to apply or to sign an offer with 😉:

— AI 50 2021 by Forbes — https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2021-companies-rise-europe-
— Top Cloud Companies List 2021 by Forbes — https://www.forbes.com/cloud100
— Top LinkedIn Europe Startups on the rise — https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-top-startups-2021-companies-rise-europe-
— Top internships sorted by salary/compensation by Levels.FYI — https://www.levels.fyi/internships
— Top Multinational companies by Outtalent — https://docs.outtalent.com/outtalent-target-companies/top-multinational-companies

Нашел у себя в notion.so классную сохраненную доку по поведенческим интервью (behavioral interview) и решил поделиться с вами (см. закрепленный файл)

source: https://t.me/frontend_engineer_blog/124

P.S. включил реакции на канале

Where to apply in 2022?

— AI 50 by Forbes — https://www.forbes.com/lists/ai50
— The Cloud 100 by Forbes — https://www.forbes.com/lists/cloud100
— Internships sorted by compensation by levels.fyi — https://www.levels.fyi/internships
— Top Companies by glassdoor.com — https://www.glassdoor.com/Explore/top-software-engineer-companies_IO.4,21.htm

List of companies by outtalent.com:
— Top 50 Companies — https://outtalent.com/us50/index.html
— Target companies — https://docs.outtalent.com/outtalent-target-companies
— Top local companies in Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia and Ukraine — https://docs.outtalent.com/outtalent-target-companies/common-employers-before-big-tech

Seasonal internship lists for 2022-2023:
— https://github.com/coderQuad/New-Grad-Positions-2023
— https://github.com/pittcsc/Summer2023-Internships
— https://github.com/almaszaurbekov/2023-faang-internships
— https://github.com/Onlyartist9/European-Tech-Internships-2023

Links for tech resume creators

My top-3 guides:
- Resume for Google
- Killer SWE resume
- DOs and DON’Ts for the CV

Templates:
- Overleaf resume templates:
https://www.overleaf.com/gallery/tagged/cv

templates I would recommend to use:
- click
- click
- click

Grammar check:
- Grammarly (Chrome extension available)
- LanguageTool (Chrome extension)
- FluentExpress
- Native-speaking friends (find one)

Resume review:
- @mock2help
- @sns_internships (mostly interns and recent grads)
- @resume_review (mostly experienced candidates)

Useful links from this channel:
- resume check-list
- action verbs
- guide for recent grads

Other useful links:
- Technical CV for big companies
- TechLead’s resume workshop
- Cracking the Coding Interview (it has a chapter with resume advices)

Bonus:
- Main resume tip by Tilek from outtalent.com

год подходит к концу, поэтому давайте подведем какие-то итоги.

приятно видеть такие цифры, особенно с учетом того, что рекламу я никогда не закупал)

особенно впечатлен количеством просмотров и количеством шейров, еще более впечатлен числом, которое получается если поделить число просмотров на число постов.

друзья, спасибо, что читаете и делитесь! честно говоря, я уже давно не знаю какой контент писать в канал, потому что весь мой контент-план почти исчерпан, но я думаю превратить его в технический или личный блог, а также буду рад услышать ваши мысли тоже, так что пишите в личку, если хотите что-то предложить. если есть идеи коллабов, то тоже welcome) спасибо!

в этом году мы сделали проект @mock2help, вышел мой самый любимый пост про резюме, собрал список реферов в репозиторий.
у меня еще осталось несколько идей для постов, я их постараюсь выложить уже в 2023 году.

сегодня услышал замечательную мысль, что за ночь мы не становимся другими людьми и это правда, но новый год - отличный повод начать то, что давно хотелось начать, построить тот самый продукт, о котором давно мечтал, сказать все то, что давно хотел сказать и посетить все те места, которые давно хотел посетить! вот такая вот небольшая тавтология, но надеюсь, новый год принесет всем нам больше положительных, ярких эмоций, больше путешествий и больше крутых возможностей и идей для постов 😅

на этом пока все, желаю всем хорошо встретить новый год!
всем любви и мирного неба над головой! 🕊

my resume template
https://github.com/mrhakimov/resume

Advice for Less Experienced Software Engineers in the Current Tech Market

- Consider joining a support group (@sns_newgrad, @sns_internships or CS Career Hub, for example)

- Apply to as many companies as possible, including 'unsexy' ones (big tech companies may receive thousands of applications to entry-level positions). Find companies, which do not spend their money on advertising their open roles on LinkedIn. Use platforms like https://www.indeed.com/

- Tailor your resume to each position

- Build your experience while you are job hunting — the one who spends time applying, but also built a side project, contributed to an open-source is more likely to be hired than the one who spends 12 months applying nonstop

- Contribute to open source in non-trivial ways. Contribute to production-grade projects, so you can stand out. You can find something here: click

- It's more important that you get started over getting a perfect start. So if you only have one offer: take it.

https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/advice-for-junior-software-engineers/

Outtalent’s shortlist of companies that are hiring
(well, at least senior+ engineers)

https://airtable.com/shr7wxAbnh1VCrwOu/tblcydLZABcIZxaWE

2023 Solution Challenge by Google

Открыта регистрация на хакатон Solution Challenge от гугла!
Если коротко, то суть хакатона заключается в том, чтобы предоставить решение для локальной проблемы, которая соответствует одной из 17 целей устойчивого развития ООН.

Призы
— первые 100 команд получат футболочки, а также менторство
— участники из топ-10 команд получат по $1000 каждый, возможность выступить на лайвстриме, мерч и менторство
— участники из топ-3 команд получат по $3000 каждый и все то же самое, что и участники из топ-10 команд

Кстати, все топ-100 команд также получат сертификаты

On resume preparation

— Resume is an important part of the process — it allows to pass the initial filters and to show your strengths
— Preparing resume is an art, not a science — customize your resume for each role you're applying to

Tips:
— Focus less on what you did. Lots of resumes are full of "I built X using Y technology". Instead, focus on the impact of your work: how much revenue did it bring in? how did it help the company/org achieve its goals? You want to show that you can bring value to the place you're applying to and operate at a higher level.

— Talk about your role: Lots of people can write code to build a feature. Can you go above and beyond and lead a project? Mentor others? Drive collaborations? Make that clear in your resume, and highlight what you did.

— Sell yourself: Highlight the projects you're most proud of. Focus on the highest scope projects (largest impact, most engineers/users affected, etc). I generally hate bragging but if there is one time to brag, it's during an interview.

https://mhlakhani.com/blog/2023/01/tech-job-market/

Приветы! Пришел к вам с рекомендацией канала 3.14 at Google.

Его ведет Нурбек, он является сотрудником гугла и рассказывает в канале о жизни в Цюрихе и работе в гугле, а также делится полезными материалами для стажеров и ньюградов.
Например, можете почитать в канале про опыт прохождения на стажировку в гугл с полезными советами или полюбоваться осенним Цюрихом.

#рекомендация

приветы! я запустил рассылку на Substack, где буду писать разные посты с саморефлексией и делиться полезными, на мой взгляд, материалами.

как только наберем 100 читателей, я расскажу про свой опыт получения оффера на стажировку в TikTok и офферов на фуллтайм в Google и Meta.

поэтому, пожалуйста, поделитесь этим постом с теми, кому это может быть интересно.

подписаться на рассылку:
Substack: omtiness.substack.com
Telegram проекта: @omtiness
Instagram проекта: instagram.com/omtiness

The Third Door

Life, business, success… it’s just like a nightclub. There are always three ways in.

There’s the First Door: the main entrance, where 99 percent of people wait in line, hoping to get in.

The Second Door: the VIP entrance, where the billionaires and celebrities slip through.

But what no one tells you is that there is always, always… the Third Door. It’s the entrance where you have to jump out of line, run down the alley, bang on the door a hundred times, crack open the window, sneak through the kitchen — there’s always a way.

Whether it’s how Bill Gates sold his first piece of software or how Steven Spielberg became the youngest studio director in Hollywood history, they all took the Third Door.

https://thirddoorbook.com/

Прочитал описание книги и сразу же подумал про поиск работы. Для меня подача заявки на сайте — the First Door, подача по рекомендации сотрудника компании (a.k.a. через рефера) — the Second Door, а вот людей, которые пользовались “третьей дверью”, я знаю очень мало (привет, Максим).

Давайте сделаем подборку таких прикольных историй! Отправьте вашу историю в любом удобном для вас виде, будь то текст, аудиосообщение, видео, мем или комикс, в @fooglerbot, и вместе придумаем как ее рассказать в канале (ну, например, обговорим формат, анонимно/не анонимно и тому подобное).

Очень наглядный и вдохновляющий пример использования “третьей двери”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUtRQd7_4hE

On promotions at Google

Most likely you will be surrounded by the best engineers in the world, using the most advanced development tools in the world.

Managers at Google can’t promote their direct reports. They don’t even get a vote.

Promotion decisions come from small committees of upper-level software engineers and managers who have never heard of you until the day they decide on your promotion.
You apply for promotion by assembling a “promo packet”: a collection of written recommendations from your teammates, design documents you’ve created, and mini-essays you write to explain why your work merits a promotion.

If you spent each day choosing the right problems to solve, making the codebase better, and helping your team execute efficiently, the promotion committee would magically know this and reward you for it.
Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t work like that.

Your job should be quantifiable. You should prove that anything you did had a positive impact on Google.

"For example, my team was receiving tons of distracting email alerts due to false alarms. Old me would have just fixed these alerts. But now I knew that for this work to appear in my promo packet, I should first set up metrics so that we’d have historical records of alert frequency. At promotion time, I’d have an impressive-looking graph of the alerts trending downward."

Some projects could be "destined" for promotion. For example, projects depended heavily on machine learning, which was and still is the hot thing at Google (2018).

Project that is supposed to automate a task that hundreds of human operators are doing manually, has a clear, objective impact on Google => more points at performance review.

Leading a junior developer throughout the project, generally wins points with promotion committees as well.

You’re in a business relationship with Google. Even though, Google does a good job of building a sense of community within the organization. To make you feel that you're not just employees, but that you are Google.

You're not Google. You provide a service to Google in exchange for money.

"So if Google and I have a business relationship that exists to serve each side’s interests, why was I spending time on all these tasks that served Google’s interests instead of my own? If the promotion committee doesn’t reward bugfixing or team support work, why was I doing that?"

Figure out what the promotion committee wants, and do that work exclusively.

"Before starting any task, I asked myself whether it would help my case for promotion. If the answer was no, I didn’t do it."

Each promotion is exponentially harder than the last.

https://mtlynch.io/why-i-quit-google/

What startups vs big companies like Google look for in resumes, pt.1

Some hiring managers prefer looking at LinkedIn because they find it faster to find the info they need (e.g. company logos, time spent at each company). Personal websites may also work as resumes. Fill out your profile at LinkedIn.

Startups and big companies, say Google, hire very differently. Therefore, it makes sense that a candidate should apply to a startup differently from how they’d apply to a big company.

Startups don’t usually use an automated system to screen resumes. Big companies receive a large volume of resumes, so they need a way to quickly filter out resumes, aka quick ways to say no. Startups, on the contrary, look for reasons to say yes.

Startups look for demonstrated expertise, not keywords. So using a long list of skills may be a bad idea when applying to a startup:
— It’s unconvincing. There’s a big gap between “saying that you know something” and “being good at it.”
— It can weaken your resume. Listing skills like Jupyter Notebook or Git as your competitive advantage (the only reason to include them in your resume), can only mean that you have no other competitive advantage.
— Expertise takes time to acquire, so do not list too many things.

Do not use long lists of keywords, demonstrate your expertise instead:
— Show how you acquired and use that skill in your job. If during interview, you can tell, for example, why did you chose Flink over other stream processing engines, what issues you’ve encountered, and what changes you wish to see in Flink, recruiter would be sold!
— Share your expertise on public channels, such as StackOverflow answers, open source contributions, papers, blog posts.

There are two traits startups look for to evaluate whether a candidate can get things done: initiatives and persistence.

Initiatives
To get anything done, you need to start it. There are a lot of people who can see a problem, but few who would do something about it. Startups want people who, when seeing a problem, proactively do something about it without waiting to be told. They look for initiatives a candidate has started before:
— A student club, an event, a team, a project at work. A project that you initiate doesn’t have to be about something new. Projects like writing documents or improving existing CI/CD are also extremely valuable.
— A startup. The best hires are people who have previously founded a company, even if that company didn’t work out. They know the drill.

Persistence
Persistence drives things to completion. Some signals of persistence:
— Daily contribution to GitHub for one whole year.
— Being good at anything that requires consistent effort, e.g. a Kaggle master, a chess master, a professional athlete, etc.
— Having previously joined another early startup before and stuck around.

Consistent job jumping can imply that you get bored or give up easily. A year at a job is hardly enough to get deep into a problem space and make significant contributions.

https://huyenchip.com/2023/01/24/what-we-look-for-in-a-candidate.html

What startups vs big companies like Google look for in resumes, pt.2

Startups are not looking for group thinkers or hype chasers. They look for people who can bring a unique perspective to the table. Your unique perspective can be demonstrated in your career/life choices, your writing, your side projects.

For example, popular projects like titanic are good to practice on, but they won’t help you stand out as a candidate. Do interesting projects.

Focus on impact, not meaningless metrics. Metrics are good when they serve to make a point.

Metrics should not leave recruiter confused like with this one: "Built a Transformer-based model that achieved an accuracy of 89%" (no info on the task or the baseline). Clarify your contributions.

Good metrics are probably presented with two following components:
— How they can be tied to business objectives.
— Your contribution in achieving that metric.

Fixing a bug or helping a coworker out is impactful, but hard to measure. It’s a great signal when your work receives awards and recognitions, such as promotions and glowing recommendations from previous teammates and managers.

https://huyenchip.com/2023/01/24/what-we-look-for-in-a-candidate.html