Preparing for Engineering Panel Interviews

🚀 Only 2 weeks until your tech interview? Don’t panic — prep smart. I’ve worked with engineers who had just 10 days, not months, to prepare for Amazon, Meta, and top startup interviews — and they crushed it. The key? Strategic focus, not random grinding. 🗓️ 10–14 Day Smart Prep Plan (Adjust this based on your strengths & gaps) 🔹 Days 1–5: DSA Deep Dive 🎯 Goal: Master core patterns — not rack up problem counts ✅ Focus on algos and data structures such as Binary Search, Sliding Window, Two Pointers, Graphs 📌 Do 2–4 medium-level problems/day 🧠 Speak your thoughts out loud — prep like you're in the interview room 🛠 Tools: LeetCode, NeetCode, Pattern Tracker 🚫 If you're stuck >10 mins: pause → study → learn the pattern 🔹 Days 5–9: System Design + Mock Interview 🎯 Goal: Communicate architecture with clarity ✅ Pick a framework: SCOPE (Scope → Constraints → Options → Plan → Evaluate) RDASD (Requirements → Data → Access → Scale → Design) ✅ Study concepts: APIs, Load Balancers, Queues, Databases, Caching, Sharding and others 💡 Do 2–3 design prompts daily 🎙 Book a real mock — this is where your structure gets pressure-tested 📌 Don’t chase buzzwords — aim for clarity, tradeoffs, and depth 🔹 Days 8–10: Final Polish 🎯 Goal: Build confidence and composure 🌀 Rotate through: DSA → System Design → Behavioral Do 2-hour deep work blocks 📌 Review your mistakes — fix the why, not just the what 📅 Final day = light review, not frantic grinding 🔒 This plan has helped a lot of engineers to do focused prep in last 2 - 3 weeks. ✅ Bounce back stronger after rejections ✅ Go from “not ready” to confident and sharp — fast Want help tailoring this plan to your exact strengths and weak spots? Drop a comment or DM — I’m happy to share more.

After 16+ years of working in tech and interviewing 500+ candidates, I can say that the most technically skilled candidate often doesn’t get the job. In fact, I’ve seen the most technically brilliant person in the room lose the offer, more than once. Because once you’ve proven you can do the work, the question changes. The panel stops asking, “Can they code/design/ship? And starts asking: Do we actually want to work with this person every day? I’ve seen candidates talk down to interviewers, and brilliant minds fail to explain their ideas clearly. Every time, they didn’t get the offer. And then someone slightly less technical came in who was collaborative, clear, and easy to work with, and got the job. So here's what you should do to stand out. 1. Explain things simply If interviewers can’t follow your thinking, they won’t trust you to communicate in a team. Practice explaining your ideas as if you were talking to a smart friend outside your field. 2. Share credit, not just results Talk about how you worked with the designers, QAs, and the PMs. That signals you know how to play as part of a team. 3. Stay humble Panels don’t want a know-it-all. The best candidates say things like, “There are a couple of approaches here, and here’s how I’d weigh the trade-offs.” That shows maturity and openness, two traits teams trust. 4. Don’t underestimate likability This one decides more offers than you’d think. In debriefs, I’ve heard panels say, “I don’t know if they were the strongest technically, but I’d love to work with them.” This is the reality of hiring in modern product organizations. Competence gets you considered, but likability, communication, collaboration, and trust decide if you’re chosen. Repost this if it resonated. P.S. Follow me if you are a tech job seeker in the U.S. or Canada. I share real stories and proven strategies to help you land interviews at the top companies.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽: 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴! If you’re waiting to feel 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 before an interview, here’s the hard truth I learned from my brother: you’ll never feel fully prepared. There will always be more resources to read, more Leetcode questions to practice, and more topics to explore. But here’s what I’ve learned—𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻; 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲. Spend 50% of your time preparing and the other 50% doing mock interviews. Give at least 1 mock interview every day before your interview. Personally, I’ve been using Exponent for my mock interviews. They have options for different topics, like Product Management, System Design, DSA, Behavioral, SQL, and Data Science & ML. You get paired with peers who help you practice in a realistic, low-pressure setting. Mock interviews not only sharpen your skills but, more importantly, build the confidence you need when it matters most. Mock interviews have taught me how to communicate my thought process clearly, handle unexpected questions, and most importantly stay calm under pressure. So, if you’re preparing for an interview, my advice is: don’t just prepare—practice! That confidence boost can be your secret weapon in the hot seat. What’s your go-to strategy for interview prep? Let me know in the comments!

Ask questions before giving responses — if you want to perform well in tech interviews I could always tell when someone was nervous because they were quick to answer questions. That happened to me a lot. I remember when an interviewer asked me to design a pen. I never asked who was going to use it. I failed. A lot of job seekers feel pressured to respond to questions in interviews immediately. They shoot before they have a target. But the problem is a lot of questions can be ill defined or ambiguous, on purpose. Interviewers like to see if engineers have critical thinking and problem solving skills. The first step to solving a problem is to understand it. To define it. The better your understanding, the better your solution. Questions don't have to be elaborate either. What, why, how, who, and when are more than enough. Also, validating your assumptions can be invaluable. That's all part of understanding the problem. Then write down the information you have. Ideally in a place where your interviewers can see it, like a whiteboard. That way you can demonstrate your understanding. This is perfect for system design, product design, data structure and algorithms, coding exercises, etc. Albert Einstein said if he had an hour to solve a problem, he'd spend 55 minutes understanding it. That's saying something. I know nerves can get the better of everyone in interviews. If you get nervous, pause and asks questions. You'll get farther, faster. -- 👋 Hi, I'm Jonathan. I empower people in tech ace their job interviews. #techjobs #jobseekers #interviewprep #protips