Programming Interviews Exposed [Paperback]

This is a fascinating and compulsively readable book. Although ostensibly aimed at interviewees, it's just as useful for interviewers--if only to ensure you're not using clichéd questions. Basically, it consists of short, concise and sensible advice on personal presentation and preparation followed by long discussions of small, non-obvious, programming problems. The authors present the kind of question for which you might be asked to code an answer at interview--using C for preference--followed by obvious and then less obvious solutions with background discussion on the purpose of the question, programming traps to avoid and areas worth mentioning to your interviewer (but not coding for).

Publishing such a book is a comment on the times. In the eighties and early nineties such programming problems were a mainstay of computer magazines--now they're in a book aimed at professionals. Presumably nobody reads Knuth's classic books on algorithms now. Within the pages you'll find such classics as the "find the heavy ball using a balance" problem, linked list searches, sorts, counting the ones in a binary number and string permutations (using recursion).

Few of the problems are intrinsically difficult but finding the most efficient solution in a few minutes under exam conditions is stressful. Read this and you'll be prepared for most common algorithmic questions. In fact read it anyway, lift yourself above the slog of writing yet another module for Accounts Receivable and give your brain an invigorating fun, workout. Isn't that why you started programming? --Steve Patient

Although designed for computer science undergraduates, this odd but intriguing book will find a broader readership because of its interesting discussion of problems and solutions. The author, both veteran programmers, based this work on questions they were asked during interviews with big league companies. About 22 pages cover social etiquette and dress and about 220 pages deal with solving programming queries that interviewers pose, from linked lists and tree navigation to sorting and recursion; highly recommended for all college, university, and large public libraries.

Everything you need to know to survive the programmer′s interview and get the job you wantWhether you are a veteran programmer seeking a new position, or a whiz–kid starting your first job search, interviewing for a programming job requires special preparation. The interviewer will present you with several challenging programming problems, and give you an hour or so to find the most elegant and economical solutions while being watched the entire time. This helpful guide will give you the tools necessary to breeze through the test and make a lasting impression that will land you the job! Readers will learn how to ask effective questions, how to decide what language to code in, and how to choose the best approach to solving a problem. Included are 50 interview problems and in–depth analysis of the possible solutions.

Everything you need to know to succeed in the programming interview and get the job you want Whether you are a veteran programmer seeking a new position or a whiz kid starting your career, interviewing for a programming job requires special preparation. The interview is likely to consist of an hour–long interactive oral exam in computers, programming, and logic. This helpful guide will give you the tools necessary to breeze through the test and make a lasting impression that will get you a top–dollar offer!

Mongan and Suojanen take you step–by–step through the same problems that they were asked on technical interviews. These veterans use their experience with the technical interview process to prepare you for any situation. With their help, you’ll gain critical interviewing skills such as how to ask effective questions, how to best approach a problem, and what to do when you get stuck. Integrated throughout the book are problems

taken from real interviews at top computer companies, followed by an in–depth analysis and explanation of the thought process leading to solutions. By focusing on techniques and not just answers, you’ll be able to apply what you learn to the wide variety of problems you will face during an interview. The problems included in this book will challenge your programming skills and help you ace the programming interview! Problem types include:

• Programming problems with emphasis on data structures and recursion
• Logic puzzles, counting and measuring problems, and spatial reasoning
• Knowledge–based problems that cover today’s most important technologies

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JOHN MONGAN graduated from Stanford with a BS in chemistry. He is a self–taught programmer and has been working as a consultant for Autodesk for the past two years. He has three pending patents on software testing and related technologies.

NOAH SUOJANEN graduated from Stanford with a BS in computer science. He has worked for USWeb and Boeing and is currently working for contact.com.

This book will help prepare you for the interview you will face when seeking a job in programming, developments, technical consulting, or any other field that warrants a programming interview. Programming interviews bear little resemblance to those described in traditional job hunting and interview books. They consist almost entirely of programming problems, puzzles, and technical questions about computers. We will discuss each of the kinds of problems you are likely to encounter and illustrate how they are best approached using questions form real interviews as examples.

Interview questions encompass relatively few topic areas and types of questions, and these rarely change. If you work on learning to solve not just the specific problems we present, but the types of problems we present, you'll be able to handle anything they throw at you in an interview. Where appropriate, we provide reviews of important topics before we present questions on those topics. We also illustrate the problem-solving process from beginning to solution. Learning by watching is never as effective as learning by doing. We hope that our step-by-step approach to solutions will address each problem, helping you to understand not only the answers but how to reach them.

We're both recent graduates who've been through a lot of interviews in the past few years. We've interviewed for jobs ranging from technical consulting with large established companies to writing device drivers for start-ups. This book is based on the experiences and observations we've taken from those interviews - what yielded offers and what didn't. We believe that this is the best possible basis for a book like this.

We're confident that you'll find this book useful in getting the job you want. We hope that you may also find it an entertaining exploration of some clever puzzles in your chosen profession.

Go find a killer job!