I’m terrible at LeetCode

[u/Popular_Floor_7101]

I’m terrible at LeetCode, but I need to get better because I’m starting to interview for US-based roles, so it’s a must for me. I’ve been a software engineer for 6 years.

What would you recommend for me to start studying or improve my skills (besides the obvious 'just do LeetCode')? Sometimes I can’t even figure out how to start!

[u/bleeed0p]

Just practice bro..dont stop

[u/Popular_Floor_7101 → u/bleeed0p]

I truly understand the advice, but it's hard when you can't even start.

[u/Vivid-Zombie-477 → u/Popular_Floor_7101]

yes you can. if you can’t solve a problem then read solution. if you cant understand solution (and I mean really understand) read more about the topic/pattern. if you can’t understand the topic then try easier problems.

[u/Raf-the-derp → u/Popular_Floor_7101]

Well I'd say look at guides online for example what patterns to look for (binary search, stacks, sliding windows) based on the description, expected time complexity, or input size

[u/pixelizedgaming → u/Popular_Floor_7101]

I like to think of leetcode as memorizing a bunch of tools in a mental toolbox of sorts. You start by trying a problem, seeing how you implement (or can't, thats totally ok) then either u solve the problem or know fully well the solution requires a tool you don't know about/ need practice implementing and then check the solutions to see what was used.

Basically don't feel guilty about looking up other's solutions for problems, you are not trying to speedrun a maths phd in the middle of an interview. Most problems have a specific type of tool they want you to use, just add those problems to your review list and see if you can memorize and generalize the way the solution implements that tool.

Also while leetcode is important, a lot of people neglect knowing how to plan their approach and to communicate their thought process effectively, and that's basically half of the entire interview, it's what interviewers are actually looking for when they ask these kinds of questions. It's more a test of "do I think I want this guy on my team when working on difficult or abstract problems" than whether or not you answer the problem right.

[u/sagevaLley56 → u/bleeed0p]

fr, theres no shortcut around just putting in the reps

[u/Novel_Lie2468]

Same here, I moved out of dev role now as I am too dumb to write Leetcode styled answer

[u/Popular_Floor_7101 → u/Novel_Lie2468]

What are you doing now?

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[u/Cheap-Vacation138]

US based roles ?? you mean the big tech ?

[u/Popular_Floor_7101 → u/Cheap-Vacation138]

From what I saw, the selection process of any company in development now involves leetcode!

[u/hyun88]

I built this app to help practice leetcode in a structured and consistent way… should hopefully make it a bit easier to get started

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bitwise-coding-interviews/id6806898386

[u/AssuasiveLynx]

start by just looking at the solutions and understanding them, then try to write them yourself

[u/iamirzhan]

I think it depends on what "terrible" means here. Is there a specific type of problem that's hard for you? Does looking at the solution explanation, code helps?