Last-Minute Interview Prep: 7 Days or Less

One week before an interview is not the time to start from scratch. It is the time to maximize signal on the highest-frequency topics and get mentally prepared.

What to Cover (and Skip)

Cover: arrays and two-pointers, trees (DFS/BFS), hash maps, binary search, and basic graph traversal. These cover 60-70% of medium-difficulty interview questions. Do not start new topics you have no foundation in.

Skip: advanced DP, bit manipulation, and segment trees unless you have existing familiarity. Spending three days trying to learn DP from scratch in a week will leave you worse off than spending three days polishing what you know.

Company-Specific Research

Spend at least 2-3 hours on LeakCode looking at recent reports from your specific company and role level. What round types are used? What topics appear most? Any recurring system design prompts?

For behavioral: know the company's stated values and have one specific story for each. Amazon: one story per LP. Google: 3-4 stories covering different dimensions (technical leadership, collaboration, failure). Do not go in without prepared stories.

The Day Before

Do not grind problems the day before. Review your notes. Solve one or two easy problems to get warm, not to learn. Get 8 hours of sleep. Prepare your environment (water, no interruptions, charged laptop, tested headset for remote).

Mental preparation: the interview is a conversation, not a test. The interviewer is rooting for you. Verbalizing your thinking helps you think. If you are stuck, say 'I am going to think out loud and work through this' rather than going silent.

During the Interview

Clarify before coding. Repeat the problem back. Ask about constraints (can values be negative? can the array be empty?). Name your approach before implementing. State the time and space complexity before being asked.

If stuck: move to a simpler version (smaller input, fewer constraints), state what you know, and derive the full solution from there. Partial progress is scored positively. A brute force solution that you can discuss and improve is better than silence.

Browse Target Company Questions

See the most recent questions from your target company.

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