Programming Interviews For Dummies

Title Page
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Introduction
	About This Book
	How This Book Is Organized
		Part 1: Finding and Hooking Your Next Employer
		Part 2: Preparing for Your Interview
		Part 3: Everyone’s Testing Time
		Part 4: Sealing the Deal
		Part 5: The Part of Tens
	Foolish Assumptions
	Icons Used in This Book
	Beyond the Book
	Where to Go from Here
Part 1 Finding and Hooking Your Next Employer
	Chapter 1 What Should You Expect?
		Understanding the Interviewing Process Funnel
		Finding Companies That Are Hiring
			Meet online
			Meet in person
			Look at company websites
		Submitting Your Résumés
		A Company Is Interested! Now What?
			Participating in phone screens
			Going to in-person interviews
			Being prepared for tests
		Dealing with One or (Better Yet) Multiple Offers
	Chapter 2 Knowing How the Company Is Preparing
		Learning What Each Company Is Doing
			Gathering information about smaller business and startup needs
			Navigating the involved hiring process at bigger companies
			Preparing for the interviewers you’ll meet
		Leading Your Interview
			Finding out how the interviewer is approaching the interview
			Volunteering the right information to make you shine
			Showing other ways you’re the right fit
		Being Prepared Pays Off
	Chapter 3 Understanding the Investment a Company Makes
		Knowing Why Companies Are Risk-Averse
			Different risks for different companies
			Firing is hard
		Discovering What Companies Are Concerned About
		Showing How You Can Help the Company
			Explaining how you can help the team you’ll work with
			Demonstrating how you fit into the company culture
			Offering examples that back you up
Part 2 Preparing for Your Interview
	Chapter 4 Searching High and Low for Companies
		Getting Your Ducks in a Row
		Deciding Where You Want to Work
			Search for a local technology ecosystem
			Commute or move?
			Working remotely
		Figuring out the Size and Type of Company You Want to Work For
			Large companies
			Small companies
		What Type of Job Do You Want?
			Step one: Technology
			Step two: Environment
			Step three: Define your specific role
		Learning What’s Available
			Understanding the pros and cons of job search websites
			Using and managing recruitment agencies
			Networking to find the unadvertised jobs
	Chapter 5 Shining Up Your Résumé and Social Media Accounts
		Finding Out Who You Are Online
			Googling your name to get your online image
			Learning how to rebrand yourself
		Cleaning Up Your Social Networking Profiles
			Understanding your visibility online
			Learning what helps get you an interview
			Removing what can disqualify you in an employer’s eyes
		Making Your Résumé Stand Out
			Finding a professional résumé service versus doing it yourself
			Giving your résumé service the right information
			Advertising what you have to offer
			Tailoring your résumé to the job description
		Writing a Cover Letter
			Fitting the cover letter to the job description
			Adding the parts of a cover letter you need
	Chapter 6 How Your Experience Affects Your Interview
		Qualifying for Senior Status
		Being More than Just a Junior
			Show your work
			The right extracurricular activities
			Character
			Commitment
			Resolve
			Don’t forget talent
			Leave the best for the end credits
		Playing in the Majors
			Be honest about your career
			Stable or stagnant?
			Ambitious or flighty?
			Tell the rest of the story
			Education
			Leadership
			Flexibility
			Don’t forget skills
	Chapter 7 Getting Ready for the First Ring
		Preparing for Your Phone Screen
			Prep your space
			Watch your behavior
			Have your friends join in
		Reviewing the Type of Phone Screen You May Get
			Basic screen
			Technical question screen
			Live coding assignments
		Acing Your Phone Screen
			Answering basic technical and experience questions
			Coding live on an instant messaging client
			Making time to do assigned homework
			Avoiding disqualifying situations
Part 3 Everyone’s Testing Time
	Chapter 8 Testing Strategies for the Interviewee
		Preparing for Questions the Company May Ask You
			Searching online to find the top questions
			Knowing how to answer soft skills questions
		Leveling Up Your Coding Skills
			Make an honest assessment
			Getting up to speed with Codility
			Testing your skills with LeetCode
		Canvassing Your Network
			Interviewing people who have interviewed before
			Finding people who will give you mock interviews
		Getting Feedback after the Interview
	Chapter 9 Working with Data Structures: Garbage In Means Garbage Out
		Learning the Basics of Data Structures
			Managing arrays and linked lists
			Wrangling hashes
			Learning about stacks in your kitchen
			Learning about queues
		Showing You Know Data Structures
			Questions companies have asked interviewees
			Answering data structure questions the right way with Big O
		Finding More Detailed Information
	Chapter 10 Identifying Design Patterns and Using Recursion
		Recognizing Design Patterns
			Understanding the basics
			Knowing when to use design patterns
			Learning about singleton, adapter, façade, and more
		Knowing What You Need about Recursion
			Direct versus indirect
			The real stack overflow
		Understanding Your Recursion Test
			Solving a recursion word problem example
			Finding more examples and resources
	Chapter 11 Sorting with Sorting Algorithms
		Absorbing Common Sorting Algorithms
			Starting the tour with bubble sort
			Expanding your knowledge about merge sort and quick sort
			Understanding use cases for each sorting type
		Solving Two Sorting Examples
			Sorting one deck of cards
			Sorting many decks of cards
		Getting More Examples and Researching Resources
			Loads of reading material
			Moving examples
			Visualize the sort, Luke
	Chapter 12 Solving Puzzles Is Fun
		Knowing What Kind of Problems an Interviewer Will Ask
		Solving a Programming Puzzle
			Breaking down a problem
			Building your solution
		Realizing What Interviewers Want
		Getting Better at Solving Puzzles
			Working on puzzles in books
			Searching online to hone your solving skills
Part 4 Sealing the Deal
	Chapter 13 Closing the Deal
		Scheduling Interviews with Multiple Companies
		Managing Multiple Interviews with the Same Company
			Knowing the types of interviews you may have
			Meeting the team to see if you’re a good fit
			Grasping what you’ll work on with the team
			Learning about your future path with the company
		Understanding When a Company May Contact You
			Following up will not lose you the job
			Being annoying can work for you
		Coming Up Snake Eyes
			Receiving a generic response
			Asking for more information
		Receiving Your Offer
			Getting the word
			Obtaining a written offer
			Negotiating the offer over the phone
			Knowing when pay is not the top consideration
		Being Clear about Your Benefits
			Understanding the company’s health plans
			Matching your 401(k) benefits
			Learning how much time off you get
			Retiring with benefits
	Chapter 14 Honing Your Negotiating Skills
		Finding Information from Employees Online
			Glassdoor
			Comparably
			CareerBliss
		Dealing with Company Salary Information and Expectations
			Learning the company’s cards
			Keeping your cards close to your vest
			Forcing your hand
		Managing the Negotiation Process
			Giving a counteroffer
			Negotiating more than salary
			Avoiding pitting companies against each other
			Walking away
Part 5 The Part of Tens
	Chapter 15 Ten Ways to Stand Out
		Have a Professional Headshot
		Establish a GitHub Profile
		Get Plenty of Referrals
		Have a Video Résumé on Social Networking Sites
		Create Your Own YouTube Channel
		Have a Good Blog to Show Your Expertise
		Produce a Podcast and/or Vlog
		Point to Mobile Apps You’ve Already Developed in App Stores
		Write and Self-Publish a Book
		Speak at Developer and Business Events
	Chapter 16 Ten Non-Technical Questions You May Be Asked
		What is your greatest strength?
		What is your greatest weakness?
		Where do you see yourself in five years?
		Why did you leave your last company?
		Name a time you got into a conflict with a coworker, and how was that resolved?
		What did you like about your last job?
		What did you dislike?
		Why do you want to work for us (or this company)?
		Why should we hire you?
		Why are you the best candidate for this job?
	Chapter 17 Ten Reasons Your Résumé Will End up in the Round File
		Your Résumé Has Typos, Spelling Errors, and Uses Incorrect Grammar
		Your Résumé Is Too Long
		You Start Your Résumé with an Objective
		Your Résumé Layout Looks Sloppy and Is Hard to Read
		You Have Inappropriate Material on Social Media
		You Lie during the Phone Screen or Interview
		You Are Arrogant and/or Argumentative
		You Have a Bad Reputation
		You Don’t Dress Properly for the Interview
		You Give the Impression You’re Hiding Something
	Chapter 18 Ten Useful Websites to Check Out
		LeetCode
		Interview Cake
		Reddit Programming Forum
		Simple Programmer
		Pluralsight Design Patterns Library
		Hired.com
		142 Resources for Mastering the Coding Interview
		Stack Overflow Careers
		Interviewing.io
		Information Technology Résumé Services
	Chapter 19 Ten Great Books to Read
		Cracking the Coding Interview
		Never Split the Difference
		Programming Pearls
		Daily Coding Problem
		The Complete Software Developer’s Career Guide
		The Imposter’s Handbook
		How to Win Friends and Influence People
		Programming Interviews Exposed
		The Passionate Programmer
		Head First Design Patterns
Index
EULA