Interviews Analyzed
3,200
What software engineers are actually asked in interviews.
Based on 3,200+ real interview reports from engineers at top tech companies.
Average Prep Time
12weeks
foundations
deep
system
polish
Offers Landed
72%
Among candidates following the plan
Avg Salary Bump
+$42k
Pre-offer vs post-offer base + equity
We pull jobs from sources most job seekers never check
01 — Companies
What top companies emphasize.
Interview focus varies significantly by company type and engineering culture.
FAANG
HighGoogle · Meta · Amazon · Apple · Netflix
100%
- Algorithms 45%
- System design 30%
- Behavioral 25%
Heavy emphasis on algorithmic thinking and system design at scale.
AlgorithmsScale
FINTECH
Medium-HighStripe · Square · Coinbase · Robinhood
100%
- Algorithms 35%
- System design 40%
- Behavioral 25%
Strong focus on system reliability, API design, and financial domain knowledge.
APIsReliability
EARLY-STAGE · SERIES A-B
MediumVarious startups · Series A-B companies
100%
- Algorithms 25%
- System design 25%
- Behavioral 20%
- Domain / fit 30%
Balanced technical assessment with strong emphasis on product sense and adaptability.
Product SenseAdaptability
02 — Topics
Most frequently tested topics
67% of interviews containing topic
01
Arrays & Strings
85%two pointers, sliding window, string manipulation, array traversal
Fundamental data structure problems appear in nearly every coding interview
02
Trees & Graphs
78%binary trees, BST, DFS, BFS, graph traversal
Tree traversal and graph algorithms are core to most technical assessments
03
Dynamic Programming
65%memoization, tabulation, optimal substructure, overlapping subproblems
DP problems test algorithmic thinking and optimization skills
04
System Design
72%scalability, load balancing, caching, databases, microservices
Architecture and design questions for mid-level and senior roles
05
Hash Tables
58%hashmaps, hash functions, collision handling, lookup optimization
Hash-based solutions for optimization and lookup problems
06
Linked Lists
45%pointers, node manipulation, cycle detection, reversal
Pointer manipulation and linked structure problems
03 — Interview loop
Typical interview process
Software engineering interviews follow a structured process with system design often being the key differentiator for senior roles.
Pass-rate funnel
Phone Screen · 65%
Coding Round 1 · 55%
Coding Round 2 · 48%
System Design · 35%
Behavioral · 68%
Final Round · 72%
Offer rate compounded ≈ 1.8%
01
Phone Screen
45-60 min · pass 65%
Initial coding problem and basic technical discussion
02
Coding Round 1
60 min · pass 55%
Medium difficulty algorithm and data structure problems
03
Coding Round 2
60 min · pass 48%
More complex coding challenges with optimization focus
04
System Design
BOTTLENECK60 min · pass 35%
Architecture design for scalable systems
05
Behavioral
45 min · pass 68%
Leadership principles and past experience discussion
06
Final Round
30-45 min · pass 72%
Culture fit and technical deep-dive with senior engineers
04 — Question bank
Real questions you'll encounter.
Actual problems from recent software engineering interviews
ARRAYS & STRINGS
Easy → MediumReverse string
- two sum
- longest substring
- merge intervals
- rotate array
TREES & GRAPHS
MediumBinary tree paths
- validate BST
- lowest common ancestor
- word ladder
- clone graph
DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING
Medium → HardCoin change
- house robber
- longest increasing subsequence
- edit distance
SYSTEM DESIGN
Medium → HardDesign URL shortener
- design chat system
- design news feed
- design search engine
HASH TABLES
Easy → MediumGroup anagrams
- valid anagram
- top k frequent
- subarray sum
LINKED LISTS
Easy → MediumReverse linked list
- merge two lists
- detect cycle
- remove nth node
850 questions in the bank
Open the full bank →05 — Prep roadmap
12-week preparation roadmap
Structured plan to master software engineering interviews from fundamentals to advanced topics
Hours / week
Total: 78 hrs
W1
W2
W3
W4
W5
W6
W7
W8
W9
W10
W11
W12
Weeks 1-3
5 hrs/wk
Foundations
Master basic data structures and algorithms. Focus on arrays, strings, and fundamental problem-solving patterns.
Data StructuresBasic AlgorithmsProblem Patterns
Weeks 4-7
7 hrs/wk
Deep Practice
Intensive coding practice with trees, graphs, and dynamic programming. Build speed and accuracy.
Trees & GraphsDynamic ProgrammingSpeed Building
Weeks 8-10
8 hrs/wk
System Design
Learn system architecture, scalability concepts, and practice designing distributed systems.
ArchitectureScalabilityDistributed Systems
Weeks 11-12
7 hrs/wk
Interview Polish
Mock interviews, behavioral prep, and final review of all topics. Focus on communication and presentation.
Mock InterviewsBehavioralCommunication
06 — Tools & resources
Tools & resources that work.
Battle-tested by candidates who landed offers.
Mix of free + premium.
InterviewPal
Guided interview prep with mentorship and structured paths.
Best for: Structured prep
Visit InterviewPal
LeetCode
2,000+ coding problems. Premium unlocks company-tagged sets.
Best for: Algorithms & DS
Visit LeetCode
System Design Primer
Free comprehensive guide. The de-facto starting point.
Best for: SD fundamentals
Visit System Design Primer
Blind
Anonymous tech community. Real interview experiences and insights.
Best for: Real signal
Visit Blind
Levels.fyi
Salary and interview data, by company and level.
Best for: Company intel
Visit Levels.fyi
Pramp
Peer mock interviews. Live practice with real people.
Best for: Live practice
Visit PrampFrequently Asked Questions
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