Common Mistakes

Solving the coding question != Passing the Interview

This is a widely held belief that ONLY answering all the coding questions correctly will land you the job. This is NEVER the case. But first let me explain why so many people believe this.

In school, getting the question right means getting a higher score. Getting a higher score means you pass your test, get accepted into university, or complete your certification. This is taught to students all over the world for years and feels natural in every discipline.

Generally, job interviews DO NOT follow this format. Because the criteria for any coding interview isn’t only about solving problems. If it was, everyone would be given an online coding assessment and the highest scorers would be given a job offer. From someone who has interviewed candidates from Microsoft and Google, candidates must solve the question and communicate effectively.

Mistake #1: Not communicating enough

The single most common mistake interviewees make during their coding interviews is not communicating enough.

Common communication problems include

• Not clarifying the question.

• Not providing example edge cases.

• Not proactively dry-running the code.

• Not outlining an algorithm before coding.

• Not clearly explaining why they are stuck.

• Not identifying the bottleneck in your code.

• Not asking the interviewer what they want you to do.

We will expand on this list later below, for now let’s focus on what the biggest mistakes are and why we make them.

Under-communicating is a common mistake because interviewing resources like LeetCode or Cracking the Coding Interview only teach how to solve certain problems, not how to communicate with the interviewer. Because of this gap in communication, even applicants who solve the coding question correctly are still rejected.

The most effective way to improve your communication skills is to either have more mock interviews or have more onsite interviews. Being in front of another interviewer will absolutely help you express your thoughts out loud. Not only that but the mock interviewer will give you personal feedback on your performance and multiple on-sites immediately expose how well you can code and converse in a legitimate interview setting.