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Meta New Grad VO Coding. How did I do?

11/25/2024
Open in leetcode

Round 1

Questions:

  1. Two String question

    • Gave brute force. Asked to optimise without space. Gave the correct solution. No hints needed. Asked correct questions to handle the edge cases. Gave proper time and space.
    • Made small mistakes with variable names ("string1" and "string2"), which were corrected during dry running. Acknowledged the need for more meaningful variable names.

    Follow-up Question: Specific question not provided.

  2. A really famous question that requires stack but can be done without as well (easy-medium).

    • Gave both stack and non-stack optimal solutions. Coded both and walked through 2 examples. No follow-ups.
Candidate's Approach
  • Provided a brute force solution initially and then optimized it without using extra space.
  • Correctly handled edge cases and provided time and space complexity.
  • Engaged in a discussion about the work culture after completing the questions.
Interviewer's Feedback
  • Acknowledged the candidate's awareness of variable naming and appreciated the correction.
  • No specific feedback on the follow-up question was provided.

Round 2

Questions:

  1. Easy 2 array questions.

    • Gave brute force with correct time and space complexities. Asked to do in place (not counting space needed for storing result).
    • Coded only the optimal solution and dry ran with an example, providing correct time and space complexities.

  2. Medium Tree Question. Asked to do in place.

    • Stumbled and forgot the approach initially. Coded something without confidence and asked if going in the right direction.
    • Interviewer suggested another approach, but the candidate opted to continue with their own, which was close to correct.
    • Ended up with a correct in-place solution, but the interviewer noted one redundant line that was deleted.
Candidate's Approach
  • Initially provided a brute force solution and then focused on coding the optimal solution.
  • Struggled with the tree question but managed to correct the approach with the interviewer's guidance.
  • The dry run was not as strong as in previous questions, but the candidate managed to correct mistakes during the process.
Interviewer's Feedback
  • The interviewer acknowledged the candidate's final solution as "Seems correct to me."
  • Apologized for leading the candidate in a wrong direction during the tree question discussion.