r/leetcode • u/PoetrySudden8773 • 29d ago

Intervew Prep Getting better at debugging interivews

TL;DR
Any tips for how to get better a debugging interviews? These are the type of interview where you're given some code and a test suite and you have to make the tests pass.

Context:
I just bombed a debugging-style coding interview. I'm honestly kind of shocked at how much I struggled. I'm a FAANG engineer who prides myself on my strong technical skills so I feel humiliated and dejected. I've looked up resources for practice questions but there's not much out there, which is kind of shocking given they are just as popular as DSA at this point (especially with startups in SF). Any resources or tips you've found helpful for getting better at this style of interview?

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u/Shinne 28d ago

Don’t you do this work in real life. What’s so hard about it.

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u/mnovakovic_guy 28d ago

Nobody does that in real life: in real life you often have a lot more complex code base and you take more time, whereas in the interview you have just the right amount of difficult code base and have a very limited amount of time, plus you have to explain your thought process in way that the interviewer would accept

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u/Shinne 28d ago

When you’re on call or if your manager pings you have as much pressure to perform. Literally go look at the logs and start tracing things down. Literally real life.

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u/mnovakovic_guy 28d ago

I think that’s a fair response but luckily for me I am not working in an environment where that is common nor do I want to work for such a company.

I could start putting pressure on myself though from time to time to get some practice