Technical interviews can feel like a roulette wheel—until you build a repeatable system for solving problems under pressure. Instead of chasing hundreds of random questions, focus on a small set of skills you can apply to almost anything.

1) Start with a 60-second “problem intake” routine

Before you code, force clarity:

• Restate the problem in your own words (inputs, outputs, goal).
• Ask 1–2 edge-case questions (empty input? duplicates? negative values? constraints?).
• Confirm time/space targets based on constraints (e.g., n <= 10^5 → likely O(n log n) or O(n)).

This prevents the most common failure: solving the wrong problem confidently.

2) Use a “pattern-first” map (not a question-first list)

Most interview problems are variations of a few core patterns. Build a mental menu:

• Two pointers / sliding window (subarrays, substrings, “longest/shortest”)
• Hash map counting (frequency, first unique, anagrams)
• Stack (monotonic stack, parentheses, next greater)
• BFS/DFS (graphs, trees, shortest path in unweighted graphs)
• Binary search (sorted arrays, “min feasible” with monotonic condition)

When you see a new question, ask: What pattern is this closest to? Even if you’re unsure, proposing a candidate pattern signals strong problem-solving.

3) Communicate like an engineer (not a contestant)

Interviewers grade your thinking. Try this talk track:

1. Brute force approach + complexity
2. Why it’s too slow (tie to constraints)
3. Optimized approach + data structure choice
4. Complexity, then implementation details

Tip: Say the invariants out loud, e.g., “My window always contains at most k distinct characters.”

4) Practice “production-ready” coding habits in live coding

Small habits reduce bugs dramatically:

• Write a quick example walkthrough before coding
• Use meaningful variable names (left, right, freq, seen)
• Add guard clauses for empty inputs
• After coding, run 2 tests: a normal case + an edge case

5) Debrief every session in 5 minutes

After practice, write:

• What pattern it was
• Where you hesitated
• One rule you’ll remember next time

That’s where real improvement happens.

If you had to pick one area to improve for your next technical interview—pattern recognition, communication, or debugging under pressure—which would it be, and what’s been hardest about it?