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Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

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Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#201

Post by tavavex »

bluGill wrote: post #175
hoten wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interviews go both ways ... I don't think they lost out on anything they wanted.

That is what people miss about interviews. Often when you interview you don't have reasonable leads on any other job and so you don't feel like there is a choice since you likely need a job (unemployment rarely pays as well as a job). However interviews are not only about the company deciding if they will hire you, they are also about do you want to work there and convincing you to take the job if one is offered. So…

People don't miss that about interviews, they just know that the balance of power is so skewed that the interests of the employer become the only relevant part. The employer can keep going through hundreds of applicants until they find someone who's literally perfect in every single way, they have nearly unlimited time. Meanwhile, the applicants need a job now, any job at all, they're on a hard time limit until their money runs out.

I feel like in practice, unless you're an established, senior professional in a high-paying, in-demand field with a network to rely on, this would go something like:

> What is it really like to work there. How much notice do you need to give before taking vacation? Do they really give pay raises? How often do they lay people off? What is the dress code? Do they let you take time for your kids school activities?

"Candidate ABC seems too demanding and picky, constantly inquiring about irrelevant specifics. They would be a bad fit for our company culture. I advise going with candidate XYZ instead."

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#202

Post by SAI_Peregrinus »

epolanski wrote: post #153
garrettgarcia wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My biggest problem with leetcode type questions is that you can't ask clarifying questions. Huh? Of course you can. If you're practicing on leetcode, there's a discussion thread for every question where you can ask questions till the cows come home. If you're in a job interview, ask the interviewer. It's supposed to be a conversation. > I wouldn't even mind the studying on leetcode types sites if they actually had…

Many interviews now involve automated exercises on websites that track your activity (don't think about triggering a focus change event on your browser, it gets reported). Also, the reviewer gets an AI report telling it whether you copied the solution somewhere (expressed as a % probability). You have few minutes and you're on your own. If you pass that abomination, maybe, you have in person ones. It's ridiculous wha…

At least in the US, lawyers, surgeons, & civil engineers all have accredited testing to even enter the profession, in the form of the bar exam, boards, and FE & PE tests respectively. So they do have such theoretical tests, but only when they want to gain their license to practice in a given state. Software doesn't have any such centralized testing accreditation, so we end up with a mess.

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#203

Post by yepitwas »

tavavex wrote: post #192
yepitwas wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the candidate asks if you're sure you want them to use any language and you say "yes", and then get pissy when they do, the candidate isn't the one who sabotaged anything and they're dodging a bullet if they "fail".

I feel like I'm entering a whole different universe on HN. Maybe things are this equal and fair on the senior, high-paying part of the spectrum that most people here seem to occupy, but in general there's a huge power imbalance in job interviews. Unless you're special and the company wants you in particular, it costs them nothing to turn you down in favor of the other 10000 perfect applicants, while you must find a j…

I agree that doing that without asking if they really mean "any" would in fact demonstrate traits that might be bad for a co-worker.

If the candidate reads that this may be the case, asks for, obviously, that reason, and the interviewer confirms that they mean "any", then it's a red flag for that interviewer, at least, as a co-worker, if they go on to get upset over your choice, unless it's something where you're obviously taking the piss, like Brainfuck (the later suggestion of assembly probably counts as this, but at that point the interviewer[s] had already failed the interviewee's test of them, so, whatever)

But yes, if you're desperate for a job you should indeed just ignore any red flags and do your best to fit the perfect-cog mold and do whatever emotional labor is required to seem the way you think they want you to be, and take whatever abuse they offer with a smile. That's true.

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#204

Post by tbmbob »

> Now if I actually brought these questions to an interview the interviewee could ruin my day by asking "what's the runtime complexity?"

This completely undermines the author's main point. Constraint solvers don't solve hard leetcode problems if they can't solve large instances quickly enough.

Many hard leetcode problems can be solved fairly simply with more lax runtime requirements -- coming up with an efficient solution is a large part of the challenge.

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#205

Post by johnfn »

MarcelOlsz wrote: post #172
tracker1 wrote: post #77

My biggest problem with leetcode type questions is that you can't ask clarifying questions. My mind just doesn't work like most do, and leetcode to some extent seems to rely on people memorizing leetcode type answers. On a few, there's enough context that I can relate real understanding of the problem to, such as the coin example in the article... for others I've seen there's not enough there for me to "get" the ques…

100%. I just went through an interview process where I absolutely killed the assignment (had the best one they'd seen), had positive signal/feedback from multiple engineers, CEO liked me a lot etc, only to get sunk by a CTO who thought it would be cool to give me a surprise live test because of "vibe coding paranoia". 11 weeks in the process, didn't get the role. Beyond fucking stupid. This was the demo/take-home (fo…

It's funny because this repo really does seem vibe-coded. Obviously I have no reason not to believe you, but man! All those emojis in the install shell script - I've never seen anyone other than an AI do that :) Maybe you're the coder that the AI companies trained their AI on.

Sorry about the job interview. That sucks.

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#206

Post by MarcelOlsz »

johnfn wrote: post #205
MarcelOlsz wrote: post #172

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100%. I just went through an interview process where I absolutely killed the assignment (had the best one they'd seen), had positive signal/feedback from multiple engineers, CEO liked me a lot etc, only to get sunk by a CTO who thought it would be cool to give me a surprise live test because of "vibe coding paranoia". 11 weeks in the process, didn't get the role. Beyond fucking stupid. This was the demo/take-home (fo…

It's funny because this repo really does seem vibe-coded. Obviously I have no reason not to believe you, but man! All those emojis in the install shell script - I've never seen anyone other than an AI do that :) Maybe you're the coder that the AI companies trained their AI on. Sorry about the job interview. That sucks.

I used AI for the Docker setup which I've already done before. I'm not wasting time on that. Yeah you can vibe code basic backend and frontend and whatnot, but you're not going to vibe code your way to a full inverse kinematics solution.

I'm not a math/university educated guy so this was truly "from the ground up" for me despite the math being simple. I was quite proud of that.

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#207

Post by bradlys »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #140
bradlys wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm routinely asked LC Hard questions in interviews. Sometimes more than one in one 45 minute interview. That said, I interview in silicon valley and I'm a mixed race American. (extremely rare here) I think a lot of people just don't want me to pass the interview and will put up the highest bar they can. Mind you, I often still give optimal solutions to everything within good time constraints. But I've practiced 1000…

Do you interview at startups?

Yes. I interview at everything from pre-seed to FAANG.

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#208

Post by dietr1ch »

nice_byte wrote: post #81
segmondy wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was told to use ANY language in an interview. I asked them if they were sure, so I solved it with J. They were not too pleased and asked me if I could use another language, so I did prolog and we moved on to the next question. Then the idiot had the audacity to say I should not use "J and Prolog" but any common known language. I asked if assembly was fine, and they said no. Perhaps python or javascript. I did the r…

[flagged]

What's the point of doing well if you already determined you wouldn't even look at their offer?

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#209

Post by tayo42 »

MarcelOlsz wrote: post #172
tracker1 wrote: post #77

My biggest problem with leetcode type questions is that you can't ask clarifying questions. My mind just doesn't work like most do, and leetcode to some extent seems to rely on people memorizing leetcode type answers. On a few, there's enough context that I can relate real understanding of the problem to, such as the coin example in the article... for others I've seen there's not enough there for me to "get" the ques…

100%. I just went through an interview process where I absolutely killed the assignment (had the best one they'd seen), had positive signal/feedback from multiple engineers, CEO liked me a lot etc, only to get sunk by a CTO who thought it would be cool to give me a surprise live test because of "vibe coding paranoia". 11 weeks in the process, didn't get the role. Beyond fucking stupid. This was the demo/take-home (fo…

how much did this job pay?

Re: Many hard LeetCode problems are easy constraint problems

#210

Post by tayo42 »

bluGill wrote: post #175
hoten wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Interviews go both ways ... I don't think they lost out on anything they wanted.

That is what people miss about interviews. Often when you interview you don't have reasonable leads on any other job and so you don't feel like there is a choice since you likely need a job (unemployment rarely pays as well as a job). However interviews are not only about the company deciding if they will hire you, they are also about do you want to work there and convincing you to take the job if one is offered. So…

> So make sure you use those "do you have any questions" time to ask questions!

I started giving interviews again and im surprised how many people dont ask anything. I'm an IC, not a hiring manager, and only evaluating a specific thing, (technical assement) and still nothing really.

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