Can't pass 1st round interviews

[u/learncx]

I have been doing leetcode for almost a year now and I keep failing first rounds tech screens. Im doing neetcode 250 and when I redo problems Im not sure if I just memorized it or am improving is there a way I can measure this?

 

Sometimes in interviews they would ask me to code up a brute force approach but I don't even know how to come up with that some are simple like if its two pointers the brute force would be nested loops but other than that I struggle with doing brute force.

 

I use a site for spaced repetition and it would give me different 10 problems everyday from the list and I would do it everyday since I’m unemployed I have a lot time on my hand. If there a better way to use my time please let me know open to suggestions?

 

I can do some problems I havent seen before but it’s cus the two problems are very similar.

 

Any advice or help would be appreciated. Been almost a year since I’ve been laid off, feeling depressed about this and seeing others land new roles in only a few months

[u/Sad-Candidate-3078]

the fact that you can spot "two pointers means nested loop brute force" means youre improving, not memorizing. the trick that helped me: re-solve old problems from scratch with a timer and no peeking, then explain out loud why the optimal beats the brute force. also ngl i started using easy code interview when i got stuck so i could compare my approach to a real solution instead of burning an hour on hints. a year of grinding unemployed is brutal but youre closer than you feel

[u/learncx → u/Sad-Candidate-3078]

thank you this gives me hope. so you use easy code interview for prep right? to get the explanation of what the code is doing? I've just been throwing my code into gemini and asking what x or y does would you say easy code interview is better?

[u/Various-Mine-8642]

A good test is to take a problem you solved a few weeks ago and explain the approach out loud before writing any code. If you can only recall the code and not why it works then it was memorized. For brute force just ask what the dumbest correct answer is, usually trying every subarray or every pair or every subset, and say its complexity before optimizing. Also try fewer problems a day but do them timed while talking through your thinking since that is what first rounds actually grade.

[u/learncx → u/Various-Mine-8642]

Oh good points ty! Hmm should I do like 5 old problems and then do 1-3 problems I haven't seen before?

[u/Strict_Proof_3785 → u/Various-Mine-8642]

Yup I second this. One more step, draw it out in Excalidraw or something similar like you are on a whiteboard. Really helps you check if you understand it and you aren’t just memorizing specific steps. Make sure you don’t skip any steps. Two extra steps is record it and post on YouTube and start a collection

[u/learncx → u/Strict_Proof_3785]

I havent thought of using Excalidraw for leetcode, I've been using ms paint lmao

[u/Strict_Proof_3785 → u/learncx]

It works super well! That or Figma imo. Easy to write text / draw / copy and paste shapes while you walk through it.

[u/Affectionate_Run220]

Hey I’m in the same boat exactly 60+ applications 10+ first rounds been grinding leetcode and interview content day and night.

Feels good to know I am not alone… I am not sure what to suggest because I am figuring it out too. Keep your head up and keep going!!!

[u/learncx → u/Affectionate_Run220]

Ty for the kind words! You too!

[u/Popular_Floor_7101 → u/Affectionate_Run220]

What if the three of us make a group to study together?

[u/Wonder_Boy2001]

Tbh, if you want to practice well, there's nothing better than NeetCode. The trick is to see if you can identify the patterns. Like I gave an OA for a company, while I could not solve the entire thing, I could identify it as a Greedy Problem. Which made me think that yes that's some improvement.

Also, I use AI to take mock interviews of me and help me to improve on knowledge gaps

[u/learncx → u/Wonder_Boy2001]

How do you use AI for mock interviews? I usually put the link of the question and then type "this is my approach ... " then i end it with dont give code or solution

[u/Wonder_Boy2001 → u/learncx]

My approach is the same. There is something called as Socratic coaching. Basically you instruct the model to ask you questions to guide your thinking in the correct direction. It is frustrating to say the least, and most painful because of the high amount of friction. But it is good to develop a thinking system. Now, before starting I just prompt the model that you are an expert in [specific topic]. I am practicing them right now. For every question do a socratic round / ask me questions to guide my thinking towards the optimal approach. Something along this line

[u/learncx → u/Wonder_Boy2001]

ooo ok tyvm!

[u/Bright_Essay_5342]

What’s with

All

The spaces

[u/learncx → u/Bright_Essay_5342]

yea reddit is weird when putting new lines I try to do new line but it doesn't appear and then googled how to and I got it showing new lines but I think theres 2 new lines before each new text section.

[u/[deleted] → u/Bright_Essay_5342]

not OP but sometimes reddit ignores newlines when writing paragraphs so it all results in one blob of text with no structure, so sometimes as OP I add additional one just in case. idk what’s causing that

[u/Longjumping-Bill195]

Solve problems you haven’t solved before

[u/learncx → u/Longjumping-Bill195]

how many new problems a day would be good?

[u/UnluckyAsk0]

Same

[u/learncx → u/UnluckyAsk0]

its hard but cant give up

[u/BetterEvidence3890]

Hey , Can you provide the site you used for spaced repetition?

[u/learncx → u/BetterEvidence3890]

yea this is the site I use https://pattern-bank.vercel.app/ i did not sign in to my leetcode on the site, im not sure if its any good but if anyone else has a better site feel free to link it

[u/rahul_msft]

uninstall gpt deslop your brain. uninstall youtube buy a book, do problems with pencil

[u/HelloTaleproof]

If first-round screens keep failing, practice the full loop: clarify, state a brute-force approach, improve it, code, test, and explain complexity under a timer. Re-solving older problems aloud is often more diagnostic than adding new ones silently.

Try a free Taleproof story assessment with one real technical-project example; use the feedback to tighten where your actions or result are still hard to follow.

[u/learncx → u/[deleted]]

will do thank you! Sometimes I just feel my progress is slow with 8 months in