├── static ├── .nojekyll └── img │ ├── favicon.ico │ ├── speak_logo.png │ ├── tip-hero-1.jpg │ ├── tip-image-1.png │ ├── speak-logomark-256.jpeg │ └── speak_logotype_reversed.svg ├── babel.config.js ├── docs ├── week-1 │ ├── _category_.json │ ├── coding-interviews │ │ ├── _category_.json │ │ ├── pair-session-coding.md │ │ ├── pair-programming.md │ │ └── technical-interviews.md │ ├── resume-screening │ │ ├── _category_.json │ │ ├── resume-feedback.md │ │ ├── about-resumes.md │ │ ├── resume-rubric.md │ │ ├── resume-challenge.md │ │ └── resume-tips.md │ ├── coding-assessments │ │ ├── _category_.json │ │ ├── practice-coding-assessment.md │ │ ├── why-coding-assessments.md │ │ ├── time-complexity.md │ │ ├── dsa-tips.md │ │ ├── code-study-plan.md │ │ └── big-list-of-dsa-problems.md │ ├── welcome.md │ ├── interview-components.md │ ├── set-your-intentions.md │ └── screening-calls.md ├── week-2 │ ├── _category_.json │ ├── conclusion │ │ ├── _category_.json │ │ ├── congratulations.md │ │ ├── join-a-cohort.md │ │ └── recap.md │ ├── behavioral │ │ ├── _category_.json │ │ ├── mock-interview.md │ │ ├── behavioral-questions.md │ │ ├── behavioral-quizzes.md │ │ ├── practice-star.md │ │ └── star-method.md │ ├── general │ │ ├── _category_.json │ │ ├── asking-questions.md │ │ ├── negotiation-etiquette.md │ │ ├── remote-interview-checklist.md │ │ └── know-your-audience.md │ ├── whiteboarding │ │ ├── _category_.json │ │ ├── pair-session-system-design.md │ │ ├── system-design.md │ │ └── whiteboarding.md │ ├── welcome.md │ ├── take-home-projects.md │ ├── presentations.md │ └── developer-portfolio.md ├── welcome │ ├── _category_.json │ ├── how-to-contribute.md │ ├── about-speak_.md │ ├── about-cohorts.md │ ├── resources.md │ └── about-this-guide.md └── cohort-handbook │ ├── _category_.json │ ├── faq.md │ ├── welcome.md │ ├── code-of-conduct.md │ ├── post-cohort.md │ └── before-you-begin.md ├── .gitignore ├── sidebars.js ├── package.json ├── README.md ├── src ├── pages │ ├── index.module.css │ └── index.js └── css │ └── custom.css ├── docusaurus.config.js └── LICENSE /static/.nojekyll: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /babel.config.js: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | module.exports = { 2 | presets: [require.resolve('@docusaurus/core/lib/babel/preset')], 3 | }; 4 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /static/img/favicon.ico: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/speakcareers/tech-interview-prep-guide/HEAD/static/img/favicon.ico -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /static/img/speak_logo.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/speakcareers/tech-interview-prep-guide/HEAD/static/img/speak_logo.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /static/img/tip-hero-1.jpg: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/speakcareers/tech-interview-prep-guide/HEAD/static/img/tip-hero-1.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /static/img/tip-image-1.png: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/speakcareers/tech-interview-prep-guide/HEAD/static/img/tip-image-1.png -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Week 1", 3 | "position": 3, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index" 6 | } 7 | } 8 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Week 2", 3 | "position": 3, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index" 6 | } 7 | } 8 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /static/img/speak-logomark-256.jpeg: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/speakcareers/tech-interview-prep-guide/HEAD/static/img/speak-logomark-256.jpeg -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/welcome/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Welcome", 3 | "position": 1, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index" 6 | } 7 | } 8 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/cohort-handbook/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Cohort handbook", 3 | "position": 2, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index" 6 | } 7 | } 8 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/conclusion/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Conclusion", 3 | "position": 9, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index", 6 | "description": "You've completed the guide...now what?" 7 | } 8 | } 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-interviews/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Coding Interviews", 3 | "position": 7, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index", 6 | "description": "Live code with confidence." 7 | } 8 | } 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/behavioral/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Behavioral", 3 | "position": 3, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index", 6 | "description": "Strategies to pass behavioral interviews." 7 | } 8 | } 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/general/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "General", 3 | "position": 7, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index", 6 | "description": "General advice that applies to all interviews." 7 | } 8 | } 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/resume-screening/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Resume Screening", 3 | "position": 4, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index", 6 | "description": "Start strong with the perfect resume." 7 | } 8 | } 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/whiteboarding/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Whiteboarding", 3 | "position": 2, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index", 6 | "description": "Tips and what to expect with whiteboarding." 7 | } 8 | } 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-assessments/_category_.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "label": "Coding Assessments", 3 | "position": 5, 4 | "link": { 5 | "type": "generated-index", 6 | "description": "Practice makes perfect with assessments." 7 | } 8 | } 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /.gitignore: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Dependencies 2 | /node_modules 3 | 4 | # Production 5 | /build 6 | 7 | # Generated files 8 | .docusaurus 9 | .cache-loader 10 | 11 | # Misc 12 | .DS_Store 13 | .env.local 14 | .env.development.local 15 | .env.test.local 16 | .env.production.local 17 | 18 | npm-debug.log* 19 | yarn-debug.log* 20 | yarn-error.log* 21 | 22 | package-lock.json -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/whiteboarding/pair-session-system-design.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Cohort challenge: System design 6 | 7 | System design questions get asked at ALL LEVELS. It's important to understand the basics even if you are only looking for entry level roles. 8 | 9 | Luckily, it's easy to get practice! 10 | 11 | **_Instructions on how to pair up are pinned in your cohort's Discord channel._** 12 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-interviews/pair-session-coding.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Cohort challenge: Pair programming 6 | 7 | :::info 8 | 9 | This module is for candidates actively participating in a Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep cohort. Haven't joined a cohort? [Learn more.](/docs/welcome/about-cohorts) 10 | 11 | ::: 12 | 13 | Pair programming is an important interview skill. Luckily, it's easy to get practice! 14 | 15 | _Instructions on how to pair up are pinned in your cohort's Discord channel._ 16 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/resume-screening/resume-feedback.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 5 3 | description: 'Get resume feedback' 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Cohort challenge: Get resume feedback 7 | 8 | :::info 9 | 10 | This module is for candidates actively participating in a Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep cohort. Haven't joined a cohort? [Learn more.](/docs/welcome/about-cohorts) 11 | 12 | ::: 13 | 14 | Before you submit your resume, get some feedback from your peers. 15 | 16 | **_Instructions are pinned in your cohort's channel on Discord._** 17 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/conclusion/congratulations.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Congratulations! 6 | 7 | If you stuck to the timeline, you've made it through an _intense_ 2 weeks and learned a whole bunch of secrets about how to stand out during job interviews. 🙌🏻 8 | 9 | You should be proud of yourself! You made a smart decision by taking the time to learn (or review) important job search strategies and brush up on the relevant skills needed to ace the interview. 10 | 11 | If you put everything that you learned into practice, you'll be a better candidate and much more likely to win the job. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/conclusion/join-a-cohort.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Join a cohort 6 | 7 | If you haven't already, consider joining a Speak\_ cohort and go through this material in a structured way with other job-seeking engineers. 8 | 9 | Our cohorts are designed to guide you through this material, but you'll also get: 10 | 11 | - Live workshops 12 | - An instant support system 13 | - Built in opportunities to practice key skills 14 | - Access to exclusive events 15 | 16 | And it's all totally free to you. No ISAs, no fees, no strings attached. 😎 17 | 18 | Join for free! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/cohort-handbook/faq.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | description: You've got questions. We've got answers. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # FAQ 7 | 8 | Have more questions about how the Tech Interview Prep cohort works? Check out this extensive list of answers to commonly asked questions. It covers pre-program, in-program, and post-program. 9 | 10 | 🙋🏽‍♀️ [Read the FAQ.](https://speakcareers.notion.site/Speak_-FAQs-0836a3df0ea94c0896a2b2b2ff923f01) 11 | 12 | If you've checked out the FAQs and still have questions, ask in the private cohort channel in Discord. That's the fastest way to get a response and it's very likely that others have the same question, so you'll be helping everyone out. 💫 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-assessments/practice-coding-assessment.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 6 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Cohort challenge: Practice coding assessment 6 | 7 | :::info 8 | 9 | This module is for candidates actively participating in a Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep cohort. Haven't joined a cohort? [Learn more.](/docs/welcome/about-cohorts) 10 | 11 | ::: 12 | 13 | As part of the Speak\_ program, you have access to a free practice assessment on Coderbyte, a platform used by employers to test a candidate's coding abilities. 14 | 15 | The practice assessment is 2 questions with a 90-minute time limit. 16 | 17 | **_Instructions on how to take the assessment are pinned in your cohort's channel on Discord._** 18 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/behavioral/mock-interview.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 5 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Cohort challenge: Mock interview 6 | 7 | Mock interviews are the BEST way to prepare for interviews. You'll get real practice and constructive feedback in a safe, supportive environment. 8 | 9 | Past Speak\_ candidates tell us all the time that the mock interviews were the MOST helpful part of the cohort -- and candidates who go on to get hired at partner companies often cite the mock interviews as the main reason they felt confident and prepared on the day of their interviews. 10 | 11 | For this cohort challenge, you'll get real practice answering common interview questions, working on your delivery, and fine-tuning your stories to be even more impactful. 12 | 13 | **_Instructions on how to pair up are pinned in your cohort's Discord channel._** 14 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/welcome.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | description: All about the first week. Let's go! 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Welcome to Week 1 7 | 8 | Huge props for committing to preparing for your future tech interviews. That dedication is going to pay off. 🙌🏽 9 | 10 | To kick off Week 1, we'll talk about the power of intention setting, then dive into topics including resumes, coding assessments, recruiter screening calls, and coding interviews 11 | 12 | If you're in a cohort, stay tuned to the cohort channel in Discord and the weekly workshops to get a recommended timeline for staying on track with this material. 13 | 14 | If you're following this guide on your own, we recommend dedicating about an hour a day to reading the material and practice. Feel free to [join our Discord](https://discord.gg/wjnAEVjbCu) for some community support. 15 | 16 | Ready to go? Ok, let's roll! 🏎️ 17 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /sidebars.js: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | /** 2 | * Creating a sidebar enables you to: 3 | - create an ordered group of docs 4 | - render a sidebar for each doc of that group 5 | - provide next/previous navigation 6 | 7 | The sidebars can be generated from the filesystem, or explicitly defined here. 8 | 9 | Create as many sidebars as you want. 10 | */ 11 | 12 | // @ts-check 13 | 14 | /** @type {import('@docusaurus/plugin-content-docs').SidebarsConfig} */ 15 | const sidebars = { 16 | // By default, Docusaurus generates a sidebar from the docs folder structure 17 | tutorialSidebar: [{type: 'autogenerated', dirName: '.'}], 18 | 19 | // But you can create a sidebar manually 20 | /* 21 | tutorialSidebar: [ 22 | 'intro', 23 | 'hello', 24 | { 25 | type: 'category', 26 | label: 'Tutorial', 27 | items: ['tutorial-basics/create-a-document'], 28 | }, 29 | ], 30 | */ 31 | }; 32 | 33 | module.exports = sidebars; 34 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/welcome/how-to-contribute.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 4 3 | description: Help make this open source guide better. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # How to contribute 7 | 8 | This guide is completely free and open source. That means _you_ have the power to suggest changes to make it better for the whole community! 🌞 9 | 10 | To suggest changes, just click the "Edit this page" link at the bottom of any page. That will open up the source code on Github. You can edit the page right there on Github. 11 | 12 | You can also clone the [whole repository](https://github.com/speakcareers/tip), make changes locally, and then submit a pull request on Github. Please only create pull requests on the `main` branch (the `prod` branch is locked and reserved for the production version of this site). 13 | 14 | The Speak\_ team will review all edits and pull requests and merge in appropriate updates. 15 | 16 | We've chosen a Creative Commons license ([CC BY-NC-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)) that allows you to reuse the content for non-commercial use as long as you attribute us as the source. 💖 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/welcome.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | description: You've made it to the second week. Onward! 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Welcome to Week 2 7 | 8 | Hey hey, alright! You made it to Week 2. Well done. 👏🏾 9 | 10 | This week we're going to cover whiteboarding, including system design, all things behavioral (quizzes, questions, STAR), take home projects, portfolios, and presentations. 11 | 12 | We'll also round out the week with some general interview tips like knowing your audience, what questions you can ask during interviews, negotiation etiquette, and a handy remote interview checklist. 13 | 14 | If you're in a cohort, you'll give and get feedback on STAR (a powerful storytelling framework) answers and even do a mock interview to practice answering behavioral (aka soft skill) interview questions. 15 | 16 | If you're going through this guide solo, you can still practice drafting answers using the STAR method. Consider [joining a cohort](/docs/welcome/about-cohorts) to get feedback from your peers and practice answering questions in front of another human to get comfortable before your actual interviews. 17 | 18 | Let's do this! 🦾 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/general/asking-questions.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Asking Questions 6 | 7 | There is usually a moment in any interview process where you get to ask questions of your interviewer. Sometimes candidates are tempted to say, "no, I'm good," but that's a mistake. 8 | 9 | This is an opportunity to demonstrate that you care about your future at the company and about your potential future co-workers. It's also a chance for you to really learn if the role is a good fit for you. 10 | 11 | Remember, it's a two-way interview. You're checking them as out as much as they're checking you out! 😎 12 | 13 | There's obviously a balance to things like this - you don't want to make your interviewer feel bombarded with questions. It should be a natural conversation where you ask one clear question, give them space to think and respond, and then really listen to their response. 14 | 15 | Select 1-5 questions you like from the reference below (there are over 50 to choose from!) and be ready to ask questions when you're given the opportunity. 16 | 17 | :::tip Reference 18 | 19 | [51 Interview Questions You Should Be Asking](https://www.themuse.com/advice/51-interview-questions-you-should-be-asking) 20 | 21 | ::: 22 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/interview-components.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | description: Know what to expect to perform your best. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Interview Components 7 | 8 | Tech companies (especially FAANG or MANGA or whatever the new acronym is for all the top tech giants 😂) have a multi-step interview process that covers a broad range of skills. 🧑🏾‍💻 9 | 10 | Depending on the type of role that you're applying for, you'll have to: 11 | 12 | - Prove that you know how to code 13 | - Show that you know about the company and its values 14 | - Demonstrate that you have the *right stuff*™️ to excel at the job 15 | 16 | **Here are some of the things you might run into during your interviews.** 17 | 18 | 1. Resume screening 19 | 2. Coding assessments 20 | 3. Screening calls 21 | 4. Pair programming 22 | 5. Whiteboarding 23 | 6. Behavioral quizzes 24 | 7. Take-home projects 25 | 8. Presentations 26 | 9. Technical interviews 27 | 28 | It can feel like a lot, right? But fear not - you're in the right place. Speak\_ will teach you how to crush every step of the interview process so you can go into your interviews feeling prepared, confident, and ready to land that job. 29 | 30 | The lessons in this course are all designed to prepare you for the components above. Each one is important, so let's get started! 🏃🏼‍♂️ 31 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /package.json: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | { 2 | "name": "technical-interview-prep", 3 | "version": "0.0.0", 4 | "private": true, 5 | "scripts": { 6 | "docusaurus": "docusaurus", 7 | "start": "docusaurus start", 8 | "build": "docusaurus build", 9 | "swizzle": "docusaurus swizzle", 10 | "deploy": "docusaurus deploy", 11 | "clear": "docusaurus clear", 12 | "serve": "docusaurus serve", 13 | "write-translations": "docusaurus write-translations", 14 | "write-heading-ids": "docusaurus write-heading-ids" 15 | }, 16 | "license": "CC BY-NC-SA 4.0", 17 | "dependencies": { 18 | "@docusaurus/core": "^2.2.0", 19 | "@docusaurus/plugin-google-gtag": "^2.2.0", 20 | "@docusaurus/preset-classic": "^2.2.0", 21 | "@mdx-js/react": "^1.6.22", 22 | "clsx": "^1.2.1", 23 | "prism-react-renderer": "^1.3.5", 24 | "react": "^17.0.2", 25 | "react-dom": "^17.0.2" 26 | }, 27 | "devDependencies": { 28 | "@docusaurus/module-type-aliases": "^2.2.0" 29 | }, 30 | "browserslist": { 31 | "production": [ 32 | ">0.5%", 33 | "not dead", 34 | "not op_mini all" 35 | ], 36 | "development": [ 37 | "last 1 chrome version", 38 | "last 1 firefox version", 39 | "last 1 safari version" 40 | ] 41 | }, 42 | "engines": { 43 | "node": ">=16.14" 44 | } 45 | } 46 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/resume-screening/about-resumes.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | description: "Why resumes are so important." 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Why resumes are important 7 | 8 | Pretty much all employers have a hiring process that works to quickly assess anywhere from dozens to tens of thousands of candidates before choosing to spend more time considering them as potential employees. That's why the resume became a thing. 9 | 10 | Resumes are a short document that concisely list your experience, credentials, and individuality. Love it or hate it, a resume screening is almost always the very first step in the hiring process. That means to even get an interview, you're going to need your resume to pass that pesky screening phase. 😖 11 | 12 | This group of modules will cover resume tips and give you a super specific format to use to ensure your resume is easily scanned by recruiters and hiring managers. 13 | 14 | :::note Cover letters 15 | 16 | We don't get into cover letters in this guide. Ask 2 recruiters what they think of cover letters and you'll get 2 different opinions. 😂 17 | 18 | Some recruiters don't look at them at all, some of them value the personalization and care the candidate put into them. 19 | 20 | We recommend you don't spend a lot of time messing with cover letters. But if you make them, be sure they're customized for the specific company you're applying to and emphasize why you want that specific job and why you're the right person for it. 21 | 22 | ::: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-assessments/why-coding-assessments.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Why companies use coding assessments 6 | 7 | Very often, one of the first steps in a technical interview process is a coding assessment. 👩🏼‍💻 8 | 9 | Companies use coding assessments to screen candidates before inviting them to an interview process. They do this because they get a lot of applications and want to make sure that they aren’t spending time and energy interviewing people who don’t know how to code. 10 | 11 | Online assessments act as a filter because (in theory) only qualified candidates will get through. Unqualified candidates either won’t take or won’t pass the assessment, therefore saving a company the hassle of interviewing someone who isn’t ready for the role. 12 | 13 | There's talk in the industry about whether these tests are effective or relevant, and some companies have moved to pair programming or live coding as an alternative. But, regardless of whether or not you like them, plenty of companies still use assessments as an initial screening, so you need to be prepared for them. 14 | 15 | Data structures and algorithms can be notoriously difficult, but what we've seen is that with preparation and practice, you can pass them. 16 | 17 | If you're in a cohort, there are plenty of opportunities for you to practice algorithm-style questions. You'll be taking a practice assessment this week, and you’ll get to work with your peers to solve some coding problems, too. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /README.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | # Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep Guide 2 | 3 | Read this guide on [the website](https://tip.speak.careers) for the best experience. 4 | 5 | ## About this guide 6 | 7 | This is a free, public, open source guide to help software engineers prepare for tech interviews at any company. 🚀 8 | 9 | It grew out of the free, 2-week cohort-based course Speak\_ runs, which connect hundreds of job-seeking engineers to help each other get ready for interviews. 10 | 11 | ## About Speak\_ 12 | 13 | Speak_ is a new tech startup that's reinventing the hiring experience for Gen Z. Employers use our platform to give value to their candidates, whether or not they get an offer. ✨ 14 | 15 | Through community, content, and events, we deliver a social candidate experience that helps each individual prepare for their interviews, grow their network, and sharpen their skills. 16 | 17 | [Learn more about Speak\_.](https://speak.careers) 18 | 19 | ## Contribute 20 | 21 | You can suggest edits to this guide to help make it better for the community. Find a typo? Suggest a fix! Know a resource that should be included? Let us know! 👊🏾 22 | 23 | ## Get involved 24 | 25 | There are lots of ways to get value from Speak\_. 26 | 27 | - [Join our Discord](https://discord.gg/wjnAEVjbCu) 28 | - [Join our talent base to get job opportunities](https://speak.careers) 29 | - [Subscribe to our newsletter](https://bit.ly/3RvNqHE) 30 | - [Join a free cohort](https://speak.careers) 31 | 32 | We hope you get value from this guide and share it with anyone you think might appreciate it. 🙂 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/behavioral/behavioral-questions.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Behavioral questions 6 | 7 | When you make it past the coding assessments and behavioral quizzes, you'll often find yourself in a round of interviews that are less technical. 8 | 9 | In behavioral interviews, the company will be looking to see what type of person you are and whether or not you'd make a good employee **_on their team_**. 10 | 11 | - What are your values? Do they align with the company values? 12 | - How well do you collaborate? 13 | - Do you take ownership of projects/outcomes? 14 | - Are you a strong communicator? 15 | 16 | ## Example questions 17 | 18 | Here are some common interview questions that you should prepare answers for ahead of time. 19 | 20 | 1. Tell me about yourself. 21 | 2. Why do you want to work at this company? 22 | 3. What is your biggest professional strength/weakness? 23 | 4. Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a coworker. 24 | 5. Share about a project you lead that you are proud of. What were the results? 25 | 6. Tell me about a time that you made a mistake? Why? How could you avoid it in the future? 26 | 27 | ## Bonus tips for better answers 28 | 29 | - Use 'I' statements. These answers should be about you and should give the interviewer a good idea of how you think and behave in certain situations. 30 | - When sharing about a situation where something went wrong, be sure to share how you corrected the mistake or learned from the experience. 31 | - Do not speak negatively of others, even if they were at fault for a costly mistake. 32 | - If you plan to use data in your stories, be sure to include supporting information. Do not throw out numbers unless you mean them. 33 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /src/pages/index.module.css: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | /** 2 | * CSS files with the .module.css suffix will be treated as CSS modules 3 | * and scoped locally. 4 | */ 5 | 6 | .heroBanner { 7 | background-color: #000; 8 | color: #FFF; 9 | padding: 64px 0; 10 | position: relative; 11 | } 12 | 13 | .heroBanner:before { 14 | content: ' '; 15 | display: block; 16 | position: absolute; 17 | left: 0; 18 | top: 0; 19 | width: 100%; 20 | height: 100%; 21 | opacity: 0.4; 22 | background-image: url('/img/tip-hero-1.jpg'); 23 | background-repeat: no-repeat; 24 | background-position: center; 25 | background-size: cover; 26 | } 27 | 28 | .heroContent { 29 | max-width: 600px; 30 | z-index: 0; 31 | } 32 | 33 | .hero__title { 34 | font-size: 40px; 35 | -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 36 | } 37 | 38 | .hero__subtitle { 39 | font-size: 18px; 40 | font-weight: 500; 41 | -webkit-font-smoothing: antialiased; 42 | } 43 | 44 | .hero__btn__div { 45 | margin-bottom: 1rem; 46 | } 47 | 48 | .heroBtn { 49 | background-color: #FFFFFF; 50 | color: #000000; 51 | } 52 | 53 | .heroLogo { 54 | width: 100px; 55 | } 56 | 57 | /*main { 58 | margin: 0 auto; 59 | max-width: 600px; 60 | padding: 64px 0 0; 61 | }*/ 62 | 63 | .section { 64 | padding: 64px 0; 65 | } 66 | 67 | .narrow { 68 | margin: 0 auto; 69 | max-width: 600px; 70 | } 71 | 72 | .bgColor1 { 73 | background-color: #F6F6F2; 74 | } 75 | 76 | .verticalCenter { 77 | align-items: flex-start; 78 | display: flex; 79 | flex-direction: column; 80 | justify-content: center; 81 | } 82 | 83 | /*@media screen and (max-width: 996px) { 84 | .heroBanner { 85 | padding: 2rem; 86 | } 87 | } 88 | 89 | .buttons { 90 | display: flex; 91 | align-items: center; 92 | justify-content: center; 93 | }*/ 94 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/behavioral/behavioral-quizzes.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Behavioral quizzes 6 | 7 | Behavioral quizzes are those online tests where you’re asked questions like the one below. These aren't quite as fun as those viral ones where you find out which character you would be in your favorite TV show or which Hogwarts house you belong to (Gryffindor?), these are more about your personality and how you'd fit in the company's culture. 8 | 9 | We're talking stuff like this - 10 | 11 | :::note Example Behavioral Question 12 | 13 | Which of the following statements best describes you? 14 | 15 | - [ ] I like for things to be clearly structured. 16 | - [ ] I look forward to the opportunity to learn new things. 17 | 18 | ::: 19 | 20 | It can feel like a trick question, can’t it? 😵‍💫 21 | 22 | But behavioral quizzes are, for the most part, simply a way for a company to learn a little bit more about you. 23 | 24 | The best thing you can do is be completely honest. (Shocker, right? We keep saying that...) 25 | 26 | You might be wondering, “If there isn’t a right or wrong answer, why do I have to take the quiz in the first place?” Well, that’s a valid question, but there are plenty of reasons a company might give a quiz like this. 27 | 28 | - **They want to find candidates with certain behavioral characteristics.** Maybe the company really needs risk-takers who don't need data before taking action for a particular role. Or maybe they need cautious, analytical thinkers who can be trusted to work with sensitive customer data. 29 | - **They want their employees to succeed.** A big part of hiring is to put people in a role and environment where they can do their best work. This doesn't mean the company is right or the candidate's way of doing things is wrong - it's just about finding the right fit so that everyone can succeed. 30 | 31 | Be honest, and be yourself. Because, hey, you're pretty awesome. 32 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/general/negotiation-etiquette.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | description: The dos and donts when you negotiate. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Negotiation Etiquette 7 | 8 | Now that you're a tech interview expert, it's likely that you'll start landing offers and want to know how to negotiate with your potential employers. That's a great position to be in! 9 | 10 | **Here are some common mistakes we see candidates make.** 11 | 12 | 1. Accepting the offer and then trying to negotiate afterwards. 13 | 14 | Don't do this! It's like making a promise to someone and then going back on your word as soon as it doesn't suit you. You don't want to lose trust in one of your first interactions with your new employer. The time to negotiate is _before_ you accept the offer. 15 | 16 | 2. Using a cookie-cutter negotiation strategies without customizing or personalizing it at all. 17 | 18 | It can be a red flag if you make a request that doesn't fit your situation just because you learned someone else had success with it. Base your requests on your exact situation. 19 | 20 | 3. Lying about competing offers in order to demand a higher salary. 21 | 22 | Recruiters are pretty good at detecting lies. They also know the market very well and can tell when your request is way off. We don't recommend fabricating things as a negotiation tactic because it can really backfire if it's uncovered. 23 | 24 | ## A good life skill to hone 25 | 26 | Negotiation is an important part of the hiring process - and lots of other situations in life - but it can be tough to navigate, especially if you don't understand the terminology or know what to expect. 27 | 28 | :::tip Resource 29 | 30 | Here's a great guide from Candor on salary negotiation in tech. It goes over common compensation packages and offers tips for getting the best outcome. 31 | 32 | 👉 [Salary negotiation strategies everyone in tech already knows — but you don’t](https://candor.co/guides/salary-negotiation) 33 | 34 | ::: 35 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/conclusion/recap.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Recap 6 | 7 | Over the last 2 weeks, you've reviewed quite a lot about how to prepare for every step of the technical hiring process at any company. 8 | 9 | You might run into any of these possible interview components at any company, so keep practicing! 10 | 11 | **Here's everything we covered** 12 | 13 | - Using implementation intentions to hold yourself accountable 14 | - What the possible components of a tech hiring process are 15 | - How to write a powerful resume that separates you from the pack 16 | - Why companies use online assessments and how to ace them 17 | - How to effectively study for online assessments 18 | - What a screening call is and how to prepare for them 19 | - What interviewers really look for during coding interviews 20 | - Why pair programming is so important and how to do it 21 | - What whiteboarding is and how has it changed in the remote era 22 | - What to expect during system design interviews 23 | - Why companies use behavioral quizzes 24 | - Example behavioral questions that you should prepare for in advance 25 | - How to use the STAR framework to be an effective communicator 26 | - What a take-home project entails and how can you go above and beyond 27 | - Which projects, and how many, you should put in your developer portfolio 28 | - How to rock a capstone presentation 29 | - Why it's so important to research any company you apply to 30 | - When to ask questions and why you should do so 31 | - How to present yourself well on remote interviews 32 | - Common negotiation mistakes and how to avoid them 33 | 34 | OMG whoa! Take that all in. That's a lot of ground you covered, right?! 🤯 35 | 36 | Way to go! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 37 | 38 | This guide will remain free and open source, so feel free to refer back here whenever you have a new interview coming up. It's always wise to refresh your knowledge of the fundamentals. 39 | 40 | We hope you found this guide helpful. And if you did, please share it with a friend! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/behavioral/practice-star.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 4 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Challenge: Practice STAR 6 | 7 | This challenge is all about putting this fancy STAR method to work for you. By completing it, you'll give yourself a HUGE advantage when you head into your live interviews. 8 | 9 | It is VERY likely that you will see some version of these questions in real interviews (for real), so spend time perfecting your answers and revise them over time. 10 | 11 | :::tip Tips 12 | 13 | - Use 'I' statements. (For example: "I observed a very bad result." vs "They did a terrible job.") 14 | - When sharing about a situation where something went wrong, be sure to share how you corrected the mistake. 15 | - Employers value people that take ownership and action rather than blaming others. 16 | - If you plan to use data in your stories, be sure to include supporting information or have it ready to speak to if asked. Don't throw out numbers unless you mean them. 17 | 18 | ::: 19 | 20 | ## Instructions 21 | 22 | 1. Make a copy of the [STAR worksheet](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1dpTNrraULcgYxjggvLmoo6FlOnLkgwJH/copy) 23 | 2. Fill out the worksheet with your answers 24 | 25 | :::danger Important! 26 | 27 | If you are going through a Speak\_ cohort, you will use your STAR worksheet again in your mock interview pair session. 28 | 29 | Doing mock interviews and practicing your STAR delivery is **the best** way to prepare for behavioral interviews. 30 | 31 | ::: 32 | 33 | ### Bonus tips 34 | 35 | To _really_ go above and beyond, here's what to do: 36 | 37 | 1. Record yourself delivering your STAR answers 38 | 2. Watch the recording ON MUTE and make notes about your body language. How can you improve it? 39 | 3. Listen to the recording (without watching) and make notes about your delivery. How do you sound? How can you improve? 40 | 4. Practice & repeat. The better you get at delivering these answers, the more confident you'll feel during your interviews. 41 | 42 | If you have any technical difficulties or questions, ask in the discord. 43 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/cohort-handbook/welcome.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | description: For candidates participating in a cohort. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Welcome to the cohort! 7 | 8 | :::info 9 | 10 | The "Cohort handbook" guide module is for candidates actively participating in a Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep cohort. 11 | 12 | Haven't joined a cohort? [Learn more.](/docs/welcome/about-cohorts) Or you can jump ahead to [Week 1](/docs/week-1/welcome). 13 | 14 | ::: 15 | 16 | ### Introduction 17 | 18 | Woohoo! We’re so glad you’re here. 🎉 19 | 20 | This module in the guide will serve as your cohort handbook. It covers steps you'll need to take before you start the cohort, what to expect, what resources are available to you, and frequently asked questions. 21 | 22 | There are 3 places for you to pay attention to during the cohort. 23 | 24 | 1. This guide. 25 | 2. The private cohort channel in the Speak\_ Discord. (See the [next lesson](/docs/cohort-handbook/before-you-begin) for details.) 26 | 3. Pinned messages inside the cohort channel. 27 | 28 | If you have questions, ask them in the cohort channel and your Program Director will be there to support you. 29 | 30 | ### A new you 31 | 32 | The Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep cohort-based course is designed to be an intensive and transformative experience. In just 2 weeks, you’ll get prepared for technical interviews, learning everything you need to perform your best. 33 | 34 | You might be already working a job, caring for your family, or finishing school, so we know your time is valuable. Regardless of your situation, you can use this opportunity to sharpen your skills and improve your chances of getting an offer. You’ll get out of it what you put in into it. 35 | 36 | Our community is inclusive and supportive. You can be yourself here, and you can be vulnerable because we’re all working toward the same goal - trying to be our best selves. 37 | 38 | Speak\_ is not the company you’ll be applying for, so you can let your guard down and not worry about being something you’re not. We hope you can be exactly who you are, where you are, and let’s lift each other up because there’s a perfect role out there for each of us. 39 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-assessments/time-complexity.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 5 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Time & Space Complexity 6 | 7 | Before we dive into the list of problems, let’s review an important concept related to technical assessments. 8 | 9 | ## Time Complexity 10 | 11 | The time complexity of an algorithm quantifies the amount of time taken by an algorithm to run as a function of the length of the input. 12 | 13 | Note that the time to run is a function of the length of the input and not the actual execution time of the machine on which the algorithm is running on. 14 | 15 | ## Space Complexity 16 | 17 | The space complexity of an algorithm quantifies the amount of space taken by an algorithm to run as a function of the length of the input. 18 | 19 | ## Asymptotic Notations 20 | 21 | Asymptotic notations are mathematical tools to represent the time complexity of algorithms for asymptotic analysis. 22 | 23 | ### Big O Notation 24 | 25 | Big O is used to describe how quickly an algorithm's runtime grows relative to its input as the input becomes arbitrarily large. 26 | 27 | If you solve an algorithm question during an interview, your interviewer might ask you about the runtime of your code. 28 | 29 | Learn more in [this article from freeCodeCamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/big-o-notation-why-it-matters-and-why-it-doesnt-1674cfa8a23c/). 30 | 31 | If Big O is new to you and you'd like an in-depth look, watch this YouTube video: 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | ### Other notations 36 | 37 | In addition to Big O Notation, you might also want to learn a little bit about Big Omega and Big Theta. They don't come up as much in most interviews -- but you should still know what they are. 38 | 39 | - Big Omega - Used to describe the _best case running time_ for an algorithm. 40 | - Big Theta - Used to describe the exact performance value of the algorithm or a useful, narrow range between upper and lower bounds. 41 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/cohort-handbook/code-of-conduct.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 4 3 | description: Keep Speak_ a safe, inclusive space. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Code of conduct 7 | 8 | By participating in the Speak\_ community - including messaging on Discord, attending events, taking courses, and contributing code to this guide - you agree to our code of conduct. 🫡 9 | 10 | We expect full cooperation from all participants to ensure a safe environment for everybody. 11 | 12 | _Be excellent to each other, show empathy, and help make this a safe space to grow._ 13 | 14 | ## Pretty much this 15 | 16 | Speak\_ is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, ethnicity, experience, or religion (or lack thereof). 17 | 18 | We do not tolerate harassment of Speak\_ participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate, including anything communicated on Discord, calls, events, social media, or any other outlets. 19 | 20 | Speak\_ participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the community at the discretion of the Speak\_ team. 21 | 22 | ## More specifically 23 | 24 | Harassment includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of programming or other content, and unwelcome sexual attention. 25 | 26 | Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, the Speak\_ team may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the community. 27 | 28 | If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the Speak\_ team immediately by direct messaging Team Speak\_ on discord or by emailing learn@speak.careers. 29 | 30 | Thank you for respecting this code of conduct and making the Speak\_ community a special and safe place for everyone who wants to participate. 31 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/whiteboarding/system-design.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # System Design 6 | 7 | You might get asked to solve system design questions that are more open-ended. These challenges test how you might develop complex and large-scale systems. 8 | 9 | ## Helpful tips 10 | 11 | Going through the tips below will help you deliver a solid system design answer. 12 | 13 | :::tip Bonus Resource 14 | 15 | Are you new to system design? Don't worry! Check out this amazing resource for a complete overview of system design, including study tips, anki flashcards, and more. 16 | 17 | [System Design Primer](https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer) 18 | 19 | ::: 20 | 21 | ### Clarify the requirements 22 | 23 | There’s not going to be one solution to the problem you’re presented with. Get clear on anything that’s ambiguous before you dive in. 24 | 25 | Just know that sometimes the answer you’re given is, “you already have all the information you need!” That’s the interviewer's way of saying that they’re not going to give you more details and you should proceed as best as you can with the information you already have. Good luck. 😁 26 | 27 | ### Set some high-level criteria 28 | 29 | What scale is expected from the system? What do users need to be able to do? Show that you’re thinking ahead by sharing some of your assumptions. 30 | 31 | ### Define the technical needs 32 | 33 | What APIs are needed? Is there a frontend, backend, and a datastore? 34 | 35 | ### Define the data model 36 | 37 | Define a high-level structure for the important objects in your solution. Also, note the relationships between these objects. This is a prototype of your database schema. 38 | 39 | ### Do the high-level design 40 | 41 | Draw a block diagram with 5-6 boxes representing the core components of our system. Identify enough components that are needed to solve the actual problem from end to end. 42 | 43 | ### Do the detailed design 44 | 45 | Keep going! Consider trade-offs between different options while keeping system constraints in mind. 46 | 47 | ### Identify and resolve bottlenecks 48 | 49 | If time allows, see if you can catch any potential bottlenecks and start solving those. Also, take a moment to appreciate yourself. You’re clearly a total badass. 👏 50 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-interviews/pair-programming.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Pair programming 6 | 7 | Pair programming is where two developers work using only one machine - or in the remote world, where one person shares their screen. 👩🏾‍🦳💻👨🏼‍🦰 8 | 9 | There are a few ways of running pair programming sessions, but the most popular is where one person acts as the "driver" who writes code, the other acts as the "navigator" who will check the code being written and also figure out where to go next. These roles can be switched at any time. 10 | 11 | At some companies, pair programming is a core part of the engineering experience. It can be an important tool where code quality is critical, like in banking or similar industries where compliance requires security and safety measures for users. 12 | 13 | You'll be working in pairs multiple times in this cohort. For your first pair session, the focus is *pair programming,* so here’s a quick framework you should follow. 14 | 15 | ## Driver/Navigator Pair Programming Framework 16 | 17 | **The Driver will...** 18 | 19 | - Write code, run tests, have control of code 20 | - Focus on one problem at a time 21 | - Self-narrate at a high level (e.g. "Okay, now let's introduce a random number function", NOT "I'm now creating a variable named X that I'm assigning the value 4") 22 | - Assume your navigator can read the code and understand it; the goal is to communicate purpose and intention, not mechanics 23 | 24 | **The Navigator will...** 25 | 26 | - Keep a "todo" list 27 | - Politely nudge the driver in the right direction (without taking control). Examples: 28 | - Can we write a test for that? 29 | - Can we refactor a bit now? 30 | - Let's check in 31 | - Let's revert 32 | - Let's take a break 33 | - *Aways ask permission* before grabbing the keyboard 34 | - "Do you mind if I drive now?" 35 | - Silently count to 10 before interrupting with (e.g. a typo or syntax error) 36 | - Chances are that the driver will notice and fix it themselves 37 | 38 | :::tip References 39 | 40 | - [IBM's Program in Pairs](https://www.ibm.com/garage/method/practices/code/practice_pair_programming/) 41 | - [Pair Programming Guide by Weblab](https://medium.com/@weblab_tech/pair-programming-guide-a76ca43ff389) 42 | 43 | ::: 44 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/cohort-handbook/post-cohort.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 5 3 | description: Great! It's over...now what? 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # After the cohort 7 | 8 | Congrats! 🎉 You've made it through an _intense_ 2 weeks and learned a whole bunch of secrets about how to stand out during job interviews. 9 | 10 | We hope you’ve gotten a lot of value out of participating in the cohort and working with your peers in the community. It was a fast-paced couple of weeks and you should be proud of the work you did to improve your chances at landing a great new job. 11 | 12 | ## What happens now?! 13 | 14 | Now that you've joined the Speak\_ talent base, Whenever you're eligible for a role at one of our partner companies, we'll share your resume with them for review. It's then up to them who to invite to their company-specific community, followed by an interview. 15 | 16 | We're adding new partner companies every month, and we’ll continue to try and match you with job opportunities. You’ll get automatically invited if you’re eligible, so no need to reapply or go through another cohort. 17 | 18 | Otherwise, you're all set and we genuinely hope you learned a lot about the technical interview process and feel much more confident heading into your interviews. Your dream job is just around the corner! 💰 19 | 20 | ## Ways to stay involved in Speak\_ 21 | 22 | Our mission at Speak\_ is to eliminate underrepresentation in tech by helping qualified talent match with employers who value diversity. We need your help to achieve this daunting, but urgent mission. 23 | 24 | - **Add yourself as a Speak\_ Alum on LinkedIn**! You can find us in the Education section. 25 | - **Tell your friends about what we’re doing**! Who do you know that could benefit from Speak\_? 26 | - **Stay active in Discord** by answering questions, welcoming new community members, and sharing your journey with everyone. 27 | - **Come to our events** and bring along your friends! Alums get to ask questions at live events. 28 | - **Tell recruiters about how helpful Speak\_ was for you**. Encourage them to check us out for their talent communities. 29 | - **Subscribe to our newsletter** to be first in line for events, new opportunities, and exclusives. 30 | 31 | Thank you for being a part of this community and for being open to growth and connection. We know that there’s a perfect job out there for you and you’re going to find it. We’re here to help. 👊🏾 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/welcome/about-speak_.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | description: Find out how Speak_ can help you. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # About Speak_ 7 | 8 | ## Social hiring 9 | 10 | Speak\_ is a new tech startup that's reinventing the hiring experience for Gen Z. Employers use our platform to give value to their candidates, whether or not they get an offer. ✨ 11 | 12 | Through community, content, and events, we deliver a social candidate experience that helps each individual prepare for their interviews, grow their network, and sharpen their skills. 13 | 14 | ## Our mission 15 | 16 | We've also grown a diverse community of software engineers to help connect underrepresented talent to the job opportunities they deserve. We offer 100% free resources - including this guide and its cohort-based course - to help prepare candidates for the interview process at top tech companies that value diversity. 17 | 18 | The job search process can be lonely and stressful, but it doesn't have to be. 19 | 20 | What if you could practice with peers and get the exact help you need to perform well in tech interviews? What if it were a collaborative experience with personalized support? 21 | 22 | That's the world Speak\_ is creating! 🌈 23 | 24 | We believe there's not a lack of information online, but it can be hard to know what's important and to learn and improve on your own. Curated, social experiences are the best way to prepare you to ace the interview and thrive in your first or next role. 25 | 26 | ## Free resources 27 | 28 | In addition to this guide, here are some other goodies to help you in your job search. 29 | 30 | 💬 **Discord community** 31 | Join our chat community for software engineers to meet your peers, get coding advice, share tips and project feedback, and more. It's safe, constructive space, and all are welcome. 32 | [Join our discord.](https://discord.gg/wjnAEVjbCu) 33 | 34 | 😎 **Talent base** 35 | When you apply to Speak\_, you're joining our talent base to get matched with job opportunities. You can unsubscribe from opportunities any time. 36 | [Get job offers.](https://speak.careers) 37 | 38 | 🗞️ **Community newsletter** 39 | Our weekly newsletter is where we share engineering-related events, tips, and community news. 40 | [Subscribe to our newsletter.](https://bit.ly/3RvNqHE) 41 | 42 | 🤝 **Tech Interview Prep cohorts** 43 | We run a free, 2-week cohort-based course to bring this guide to life and get support from your peers and our team. 44 | [Learn about cohorts.](/docs/welcome/about-cohorts) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/resume-screening/resume-rubric.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Resume rubric 6 | 7 | On the lesson called `Challenge: Update your resume` in this module, we'll share the Speak\_ resume template with you so that you can complete it and submit it. 8 | 9 | For Speak\_ to attempt to match you with partner companies, you must follow the rubric. If your resume doesn’t check all of the boxes below then we cannot accept it. 10 | 11 | :::danger important! Do not change the formatting. 12 | 13 | **If you change the formatting then your resume will be automatically rejected.** 14 | 15 | We cannot share your resume with our partner companies if you don't follow the rules listed below. Formatting is important. 16 | 17 | Do not change: 18 | - Fonts 19 | - Colors 20 | - Margins 21 | - Line spacing 22 | - Section titles 23 | - Text alignment 24 | 25 | You can always make another version to share outside of Speak\_. 😉 26 | 27 | ::: 28 | 29 | ## The Speak\_ resume rubric 30 | 31 | Use the following rubric to make sure that your Speak\_ resume can be accepted. 32 | 33 | ### General 34 | 35 | - [ ] The Speak\_ Resume formatting has not been changed at all. 36 | - [ ] The Speak\_ Resume is 1 or 2 pages long. 37 | 38 | ### Resume heading 39 | 40 | - [ ] The name in the header has been changed to your name. 41 | - [ ] The email address correctly links to your email. 42 | - [ ] The fake phone number has been replaced with your real number. 43 | - [ ] The LinkedIn link points to your LinkedIn profile. 44 | - [ ] The Github link points to your Github profile. 45 | - [ ] The Portfolio link points to your developer portfolio website. If you don’t have a portfolio site, then you can remove the Portfolio link from the resume. 46 | - [ ] The location has been replaced with your location. 47 | - [ ] The pronouns have been updated or removed. 48 | 49 | ### Resume personalization 50 | 51 | - [ ] The Summary is less than two lines. 52 | - [ ] The Skills section lists your technical skills. 53 | - [ ] The Education section includes all college degrees and/or coding bootcamps. 54 | - [ ] The Experience section only includes relevant work experience and/or internships. 55 | - [ ] The Projects section has fewer than 5 total projects. (2-3 is the sweet spot!) 56 | - [ ] No Education, Experience, or Project listed has more than 4 bullet points. 57 | 58 | :::caution Note 59 | 60 | If you don’t have a full year of experience with a skill but want to include it, use a decimal point. 61 | 62 | Example: Python 0.25 | JavaScript 0.5 63 | 64 | ::: 65 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/set-your-intentions.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | description: A proven trick to achieve your goals. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Challenge: Set your intentions 7 | 8 | ## What is an intention? 9 | 10 | An intention is a **commitment to yourself** to follow through on something. 🎯 11 | 12 | Typically, an intention follows the format: 13 | 14 | :::note template 15 | 16 | "During the next week, I will partake in at least [MINUTES] of [ACTIVITY] on [DAY] at [TIME OF DAY] at/in [PLACE]." 17 | 18 | ::: 19 | 20 | Here’s a good example: 21 | 22 | :::note example 23 | 24 | “Over the next month, I will do at least 60 minutes of Leetcode practice every Tuesday and Thursday at 7pm in my office.” 25 | 26 | ::: 27 | 28 | ## Why should you set one? 29 | 30 | The simple step of writing down when, where, and how you plan on reaching your goal can have a powerful effect. Doing so makes it much more likely that you follow through on your plans. 31 | 32 | Science-backed data shows that an [implementation intention](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation_intention) (like the one above) can result in a higher probability of successful goal attainment. It makes sense - getting specific and visualizing an outcome makes it more likely to come true. 🔮 33 | 34 | And there's a bunch of science that supports this. 35 | 36 | Watch this video for a deep dive into how effective implementation intentions can be: 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | --- 41 | 42 | :::tip 43 | 44 | Check out these articles if you want to deep dive into the topic. 45 | 46 | - [Implementation Intentions by James Clear](https://jamesclear.com/implementation-intentions) 47 | - [Impementation Intentions summary on Iresearchnet](http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/control/implementation-intentions/) 48 | - [Implementation Intentions Facilitate Action Control](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dont-delay/201001/implementation-intentions-facilitate-action-control) 49 | - [Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065260106380021) 50 | 51 | ::: 52 | 53 | ## Take Action! 54 | 55 | At Speak\_, we're providing a ton of resources to help you prepare for upcoming interviews, but it's ultimately up to you to follow through by learning and practicing the skills that will land you your dream job. 56 | 57 | Now is your chance to create your own intention and start off your job search on the right foot. 58 | 59 | If you're in a cohort, follow the link in the pinned message of the cohort channel to share your intention to create accountability during the program. 60 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/welcome/about-cohorts.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | description: Don't prepare alone. Join your peers. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # About cohorts 7 | 8 | The job search can be a long, lonely, difficult, stressful, disheartening, and demoralizing experience. It can make even the best candidates question themselves. 😔 9 | 10 | But it doesn't have to be that way. 😃 11 | 12 | At Speak\_, we work hard to create a positive, safe, inclusive environment where software engineers can turn to one another for support. And we foster this sense of community even more through free 2-week Tech Interview Prep cohorts. 13 | 14 | ## What's included? 15 | 16 | Each Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep cohort lasts 2 weeks and includes: 17 | 18 | - Cohort workshops 19 | - Multiple pair sessions with peers 20 | - Practice online coding assessments 21 | - Access to private discord channels 22 | - Support from engineers recently hired 23 | - Support from the Speak\_ team 24 | 25 | 26 | ## Community-powered 27 | 28 | The best part of joining a cohort is connecting with peers going through the same experience as you. 29 | 30 | It's a way for you to: 31 | 32 | - Instantly build up a support system of other software engineers 33 | - Create relationships that live on beyond the cohort 34 | - Easily find partners for pair sessions and coding practice 35 | - Get peer feedback on how to improve 36 | - Share wins (and losses) in a supportive community 37 | 38 | Just check out what past participants have had to say about the cohort experience. 39 | 40 | > _"I was able to meet and speak with all types of people! Normally I am quite shy and reserved, but here I was able to find my voice."_ 41 | > 42 | > \- Richard K. 43 | 44 | > _"I finished Speak\_ right around the end of my bootcamp and it came at just the right time. It held me accountable to my learning thus far and pushed me to keep going. This was absolutely a great experience in terms of taking ownership of the tech prep process and stepping out of my comfort zone to meet other devs. There is a huge supportive community waiting for you here at Speak\_!"_ 45 | > 46 | > \- Dakota F. 47 | 48 | > _"The program really helped me gain confidence in my interviewing skills by sharpening my data structures and algorithm skills and also my behavioral interview skills."_ 49 | > 50 | > \- Jose R. 51 | 52 | > _"Applying to jobs, especially in tech, is such an isolating and demoralizing process. Through Speak\_, I was given the opportunity to network with peers and have access to resources that bolstered my confidence, making me both a better interviewee and a better programmer."_ 53 | > 54 | > \- Mihir L. 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | ## How do I join a cohort? 59 | 60 | We run cohorts every month and you're welcome to join us. You can apply for the next one by clicking that button below. 👇🏾 61 | 62 | Apply for the next cohort 63 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-interviews/technical-interviews.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Coding interviews 6 | 7 | Technically, not all tech interviews are technical. But the coding interview definitely is. 😝 8 | 9 | ## What is a coding interview? 10 | 11 | In the coding interview, you’re usually matched up with a member of the team that you’d be working with if you got hired and tasked with a realistic challenge, which might mean whiteboarding or live coding. (More about these types of interviews in other modules.) 12 | 13 | Sometimes a coding interview is just another Leetcode question -- but this time with the watchful eyes of a potential team member. If that's the case, remember to use [REACTO](/docs/week-1/coding-assessments/dsa-tips.md) to really shine. 14 | 15 | The challenges that you’re given will usually not require more than 30-45 minutes to complete, and you’ll work through them in real-time under the guidance of your interviewer. They’ll watch as you work, ask clarifying questions, and nudge you in the right direction if you get off track. 16 | 17 | There are a few things the interviewer is looking for. 18 | 19 | ### Does your reality match your resume? 20 | 21 | We hear a lot from employers that it’s a big red flag if they start digging into experience listed on a candidate’s resume and it turns out things weren’t represented honestly. 22 | 23 | We also hear that anything on your resume is fair game for questions during the coding interview, and your interviewer will know how to code and be able to tell if you understand these topics. 24 | 25 | Be honest and be willing to show off what you do know and admit when you don’t know something. Nobody knows everything! 26 | 27 | ### How well can you code? 28 | 29 | In addition to being able to complete the task, the interviewer might be paying attention to your code formatting, how often you use comments, your naming conventions, and more. Before you go into the interview, you should do a bit of research into the company’s best practices and see if they have a public style guide that you can follow. 30 | 31 | ### How well can you communicate? 32 | 33 | Coding in a coding interview is less about the code itself and more about your thought process, attitude, ability to solve problems, and receptiveness to input from others. Be a great communicator by clearly explaining what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and what you expect the result to be. 34 | 35 | Stay positive and take any hints the interviewer gives you along the way. 36 | 37 | ### How well can you work with others? 38 | 39 | The person interviewing you might become your day-to-day teammate. Be receptive to their input and keep in mind that they’re trying to help. If you’re resistant to hints and interrupt them when they’re speaking, you’ll leave a negative impression. Follow their guidance, use their suggestions, and work with them to solve the challenge. 40 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/welcome/resources.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 5 3 | description: Community-sourced goodies. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Resources 7 | 8 | Here are some great resources related to preparing for tech interviews recommended by members of the Speak\_ community. Check them out! 👊🏼 9 | 10 | :::caution Suggest resources 11 | 12 | Do you know of a killer resource that’s missing here? Just click "Edit this page" at the bottom of the post and make a recommendation. 13 | 14 | ::: 15 | 16 | ## Websites 17 | 18 | **General** 19 | 20 | - [freeCodeCamp](https://www.freecodecamp.org/) 21 | - [Codecademy](https://www.codecademy.com/learn) 22 | - [Tech Interview Handbook](https://www.techinterviewhandbook.org/) 23 | 24 | **CSS** 25 | 26 | - [Josh Comeau](https://www.joshwcomeau.com/css/designing-shadows/) 27 | 28 | **Data structures & algorithms** 29 | 30 | - [Neetcode](https://neetcode.io/) 31 | - [Firecode](https://firecode.io/pages/landing) 32 | - [Structy](https://www.structy.net/) 33 | 34 | **JavaScript** 35 | 36 | - [HTML Cheatsheet](https://htmlcheatsheet.com/js/) 37 | - [JavaScript Info](https://javascript.info/) 38 | - [Eloquent JavaScript](https://eloquentjavascript.net/) 39 | - [Kent C Dodds](https://kentcdodds.com/blog/using-fetch-with-type-script) 40 | - [NodeSchool](https://nodeschool.io/#workshopper-list) 41 | 42 | ## YouTube 43 | 44 | **Data structures & algorithms** 45 | 46 | - [Constantin Irimia](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-HHxlBILQUFDKMkaoSRPPg) ← Speak\_ Community Member! 47 | - [Algorithms with Attitude](https://www.youtube.com/c/AlgorithmswithAttitude) 48 | 49 | **General** 50 | 51 | - [The Coding Train](https://youtube.com/c/TheCodingTrain) 52 | - [Network Chuck](https://www.youtube.com/c/NetworkChuck) 53 | - [Fireship](https://www.youtube.com/c/Fireship) 54 | - [CSDojo](https://youtube.com/c/CSDojo) 55 | - [sentdex](https://youtube.com/c/sentdex) 56 | 57 | **C++** 58 | 59 | - [Bucky Roberts](https://youtube.com/user/thenewboston) 60 | 61 | **JavaScript** 62 | 63 | - [JavaScript Mastery](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmXmlB4-HJytD7wek0Uo97A) 64 | - [funfunfunction](https://www.youtube.com/c/funfunfunction) 65 | 66 | **Python** 67 | 68 | - [Arjan Codes](https://www.youtube.com/c/ArjanCodes) 69 | 70 | **Ruby** 71 | 72 | - [Giraffe Academy](https://youtube.com/c/GiraffeAcademy) 73 | 74 | ## Tools 75 | 76 | - [CodeGrepper Chrome Extension](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/grepper/amaaokahonnfjjemodnpmeenfpnnbkco?hl=en) 77 | - [CodePen](https://codepen.io/) 78 | 79 | ## Courses 80 | 81 | **AWS** 82 | 83 | - [Stephane Maarek](https://www.udemy.com/user/stephane-maarek/) 84 | 85 | **HTML & CSS** 86 | 87 | - [CS50 - Harvard](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alnzFK-4xMY) 88 | - [Understanding HTML and CSS](https://www.udemy.com/course/understanding-html-and-css/) 89 | 90 | **JavaScript** 91 | 92 | - [Angela Yu's Web Dev Bootcamp](https://www.udemy.com/course/the-complete-web-development-bootcamp/) 93 | - [Understand JavaScript](https://www.udemy.com/course/understand-javascript/) 94 | 95 | **Game dev** 96 | 97 | - [GameDev](https://www.gamedev.tv/) 98 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/general/remote-interview-checklist.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 4 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Remote Interview Checklist 6 | 7 | The world is a-changin', y'all. These days, companies that used to fly you out for in-person interview events are running the whole operation online through tools like Zoom. 8 | 9 | Some companies are going back to requiring everyone to work in an office, some are going with a hybrid model where employees are expected to visit the office a few times a week, but many notable companies have gone fully remote with no plans to return to the office anytime soon. 10 | 11 | Whether or not you've worked remotely or had a remote interview before, it's important you know what you need to be successful in this type of online setting. 12 | 13 | We've got you covered. Here's a checklist you can use for every remote interview to make sure you're good to go. 14 | 15 | ## Remote Interview Checklist 16 | 17 | - [ ] Get a stable internet connection 18 | - [ ] Test your webcam 19 | - [ ] Use headphones 20 | - [ ] Test your microphone 21 | - [ ] Find a quiet, well-lit area 22 | - [ ] Breathe and stay positive 23 | 24 | ### Get a stable internet connection 25 | 26 | Nothing is more frustrating than losing time and getting all flustered in your interview because you've got a laggy or unstable internet connection. 27 | 28 | Even if you have to relocate somewhere for the interview time, set yourself up to succeed by not worrying about your internet dropping out on you in a really critical time. 29 | 30 | ### Test your webcam 31 | 32 | A big percentage of human communication is non-verbal. It's expected that you'll be on camera for remote interviews. You can use a built-in laptop camera or an external webcam plugged into your computer. 33 | 34 | Practice being on camera because doing it for the first time during an interview is needlessly nerve-wracking. 35 | 36 | ### Use headphones 37 | 38 | Headphones will minimize external noise for you and your interviewer. You can also better control how well you can hear them, which makes answering challenging questions way easier. Plus, headphones usually help you avoid feedback issues. 39 | 40 | ### Test your microphone 41 | 42 | You're an engineer, so you're definitely smart enough to get your mic settings dialed in. 43 | 44 | You don't want to blow your interviewer's head off with an overly-loud mic input level. Oh, and you also don't want to make your interviewer strain to hear you either. Test this out during Speak\_ to find the right levels so it goes smoothly in your interviews. 45 | 46 | ### Find a quiet, well-lit area 47 | 48 | Go somewhere you won't get interrupted and can stay focused. 49 | 50 | Try to get enough light in front of you so that your face is visible and not in silhouette (that's just creepy). Face the window when bright light is coming in. Turn on all the lights in your room. If you wanna get super fancy, get one of those ring lights all the Instagram influencers use. 💁🏽‍♀️ 51 | 52 | ### Breathe and stay positive 53 | 54 | Breathing helps calm your nerves and focus. 55 | 56 | It brings you into the moment, which is great because thinking of the past (_I should've prepared more_) or the future (_what if I don't get this job?_) can sometimes be stressful. 57 | 58 | If you can remain optimistic and positive before and during your interview, you'll be able to better manage any bumps in the road, and your interviewer will appreciate that, too. 59 | 60 | :::tip 61 | 62 | Some of these tips might seem silly or inconsequential to you, but having a decent remote interview setup can make a big difference in how you perform. 63 | 64 | Take advantage of every little improvement you can in order to stand out, do your best, and make a great impression. 65 | 66 | ::: 67 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-assessments/dsa-tips.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # DS&A Tips 6 | 7 | When you're taking online assessments or doing live coding interviews, you might think that the only thing that matters is whether or not the test cases pass. In some cases, this is true. But most of the time, the company is less interested in the solution and more interested in _how you arrived at it_. 🧠 8 | 9 | You have to prove: 10 | 11 | - You understand the question 12 | - You understand the solution to the question 13 | - You understand that there are multiple approaches (and what the tradeoffs are) 14 | 15 | Luckily, there are frameworks you can use that make it MUCH easier to hit all these points. We'll go over one in this lesson called REACTO. 16 | 17 | ## What is REACTO? 18 | 19 | REACTO is an acronym. 20 | 21 | **R** - Repeat the question 22 | **E** - Examples 23 | **A** - Approaches 24 | **C** - Code 25 | **T** - Test 26 | **O** - Optimize 27 | 28 | It outlines a simple path for you to follow as you tackle any algorithm-style question, whether it's in an online assessment or during a live technical interview. 29 | 30 | If you follow the steps, you'll give yourself a great chance at not only successfully answering the question, but also clearly showing your thought process. 31 | 32 | Watch the video below to get a complete breakdown of the framework. 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | And then read the [full article from Fullstack Academy](https://www.fullstackacademy.com/blog/whiteboard-coding-interviews-a-6-step-process-to-solve-any-problem) for even more information. 37 | 38 | ## Additional tips 39 | 40 | Aside from following the REACTO framework, here are a few other things you can do to put yourself at an advantage and help you stand out from other candidates. 41 | 42 | ### Comment your code 43 | 44 | This tip gets tossed around all the time but we _rarely_ see anyone actually do it. As you solve algorithms for online assessments, write descriptive comments about what you're doing and why. 45 | 46 | This helps code reviewers understand your decision making. And if you ever have to revisit, explain, or defend your code later on then these comments will make it much easier for you to remember your own thought process. 47 | 48 | ### Solve first, optimize second 49 | 50 | A lot of candidates get hung up trying to figure out the most optimal solution. 51 | 52 | And then they run out of time. 53 | 54 | As you try to pass online assessments, your first goal should be to **solve the problem and get the test cases to pass.** Even if you have to brute force it. 55 | 56 | For online assessments, a 10/10 brute force solution is better than a 0/10 unfinished solution. 57 | 58 | If you're in a live interview, ask your interviewer for their preference. They might prefer that you spend the entire time working toward the optimal solution -- but some might prefer that you get the test cases to pass and then spend the remainder of your time talking about alternative approaches. 59 | 60 | There's no one-size fits all answer because all interviewers are different, but you can't go wrong if you're friendly and communicative. 61 | 62 | Above all, don't get frustrated! Stay calm, cool, and collected even in the face of pressure. Remember, you're trying to show your interviewers that you'll make a great teammate. 63 | 64 | ### Use descriptive variable names 65 | 66 | Descriptive variable names make your code more human-readable. 67 | 68 | This makes it easier for an interviewer (or for your future self) to follow the logic of your code as they read through it. 69 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /src/css/custom.css: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | /** 2 | * Any CSS included here will be global. The classic template 3 | * bundles Infima by default. Infima is a CSS framework designed to 4 | * work well for content-centric websites. 5 | */ 6 | 7 | /* You can override the default Infima variables here. */ 8 | 9 | @import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Barlow:ital,wght@0,400;0,600;1,400&display=swap'); 10 | 11 | :root { 12 | --ifm-color-primary: #000; 13 | --ifm-color-primary-dark: #000; 14 | --ifm-color-primary-darker: #000; 15 | --ifm-color-primary-darkest: #000; 16 | --ifm-color-primary-light: #000; 17 | --ifm-color-primary-lighter: #000; 18 | --ifm-color-primary-lightest: #000; 19 | --ifm-code-font-size: 80%; 20 | --ifm-font-weight-bold: 600; 21 | --docusaurus-highlighted-code-line-bg: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); 22 | } 23 | 24 | /* For readability concerns, you should choose a lighter palette in dark mode. */ 25 | [data-theme='dark'] { 26 | --ifm-color-primary: #25c2a0; 27 | --ifm-color-primary-dark: #21af90; 28 | --ifm-color-primary-darker: #1fa588; 29 | --ifm-color-primary-darkest: #1a8870; 30 | --ifm-color-primary-light: #29d5b0; 31 | --ifm-color-primary-lighter: #32d8b4; 32 | --ifm-color-primary-lightest: #4fddbf; 33 | --docusaurus-highlighted-code-line-bg: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.3); 34 | } 35 | 36 | /* Custom CSS */ 37 | 38 | hmtl, 39 | body, 40 | h1, 41 | h2, 42 | h3, 43 | h4, 44 | h5, 45 | h6, 46 | a { 47 | font-family: Barlow; 48 | -webkit-font-smoothing: subpixel-antialiased; 49 | } 50 | 51 | a { 52 | text-decoration: underline; 53 | } 54 | 55 | a:hover { 56 | font-weight: 600; 57 | } 58 | 59 | a.card { 60 | text-decoration: none; 61 | } 62 | 63 | code { 64 | padding: 2px 4px 3px; 65 | } 66 | 67 | .footer { 68 | background-color: #FFF; 69 | border-top: 1px solid rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1); 70 | margin: 0 auto; 71 | max-width: 1140px; 72 | padding: 3rem 0 2rem; 73 | width: 100%; 74 | } 75 | 76 | .footer .container { 77 | padding: 0 1rem; 78 | max-width: 100%; 79 | } 80 | 81 | .footer a { 82 | color: #000; 83 | } 84 | 85 | .footerLogo { 86 | width: 100px; 87 | } 88 | 89 | .menu__link, 90 | .table-of-contents__link, 91 | .breadcrumbs__link, 92 | .navbar__link, 93 | .footer__link-item, 94 | .pagination-nav__sublabel, 95 | .pagination-nav__link--next, 96 | .pagination-nav__link--prev { 97 | text-decoration: none; 98 | } 99 | 100 | blockquote { 101 | padding: 1rem; 102 | background-color: #f6f6f2; 103 | } 104 | 105 | .pad { 106 | margin: 2rem 0 1rem; 107 | } 108 | 109 | .theme-doc-markdown, 110 | .theme-doc-footer { 111 | max-width: 75ch; 112 | margin: 0 auto; 113 | } 114 | 115 | .btn { 116 | display: inline-block; 117 | margin-top: 1rem; 118 | padding: 1em 2em; 119 | font-size: 15px; 120 | color: #fff; 121 | background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); 122 | border: none; 123 | border-radius: 4px; 124 | cursor: pointer; 125 | outline: none; 126 | text-decoration: none; 127 | } 128 | 129 | .btn:hover { 130 | background-color: #32ebbe; 131 | color: #000; 132 | font-weight: normal; 133 | text-decoration: none; 134 | } 135 | 136 | .footer__bottom.text--center { 137 | text-align: left; 138 | } 139 | 140 | .footer__copyright { 141 | font-size: 12px; 142 | } 143 | 144 | .navbar__inner { 145 | margin: 0 auto; 146 | max-width: 1140px; 147 | } 148 | 149 | .navbar__toggle { 150 | position: absolute; 151 | right: 8px; 152 | } 153 | 154 | iframe { 155 | margin: 1rem 0; 156 | } 157 | 158 | @media (max-width: 996px) { 159 | .footer .footer__col:nth-child(2) { 160 | display: none; 161 | } 162 | } 163 | 164 | @media (min-width: 1440px) { 165 | .container.narrow { 166 | max-width: 600px; 167 | } 168 | .navbar__inner, .footer { 169 | max-width: 1320px; 170 | } 171 | } -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/whiteboarding/whiteboarding.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # What is whiteboarding? 6 | 7 | Whiteboarding is where you write on a board (in real life or online) to demonstrate your problem-solving skills without actually running code. You’ll be working live in front of a technical interviewer. These engineers want to learn about how you think, how you communicate, and your process for tackling difficult problems. 8 | 9 | The purpose of this style of interview isn’t to make sure that your code is running perfectly (I mean...you can’t run code that’s hand-written on a whiteboard, right?) Instead, the engineers are focused on your problem-solving skills and approach. They want to learn how you think when you’re faced with difficult situations or new problems. 10 | 11 | ## Recommended Steps 12 | 13 | Here are our recommended steps to follow in your whiteboarding interview, regardless of the challenge type. 14 | 15 | 1. **Repeat the question.** Make sure you do understand the problem. 16 | 2. **Ask clarifying questions** to ensure you’re on the right track in solving the problem 17 | 3. Come up with your **approach** to the problem. Usually, you can use brute force first. 18 | 4. **Think out loud** - share your process. 19 | 20 | There are 2 major types of challenges you might do during a whiteboarding interview - algorithms or system design. 21 | 22 | ## Algorithms 23 | 24 | You might get asked Leetcode-style algorithm questions and then have to solve them on an actual whiteboard by hand-writing code. 25 | 26 | Here are some helpful tips that you should add to the recommended steps above. 27 | 28 | 1. Get insights by **writing out examples**. Make a 2-column table with the input on the left and the output on the right. 29 | 2. Write a code outline using **pseudocode** to demonstrate your approach. 30 | 3. Make sure your code **accounts for the example cases** you came up with above. 31 | 4. **Optimize** the (time & space) complexities of your algorithm. 32 | 33 | ## On-site vs Virtual 34 | 35 | Whiteboarding interviews have changed a lot over the past few years, so let’s go over the two different types you might run into. 36 | 37 | 1. **The on-site whiteboarding interview** 38 | 39 | This is where you’re actually in the room with a couple of engineers from the company that you’re interviewing for. 40 | 41 | 2. **The virtual whiteboarding interview** 42 | 43 | During the pandemic, lots of companies have moved away from on-site interviews in favor of remote. As a result, whiteboarding interviews have changed quite a bit. 44 | 45 | - Physical whiteboards have been replaced by text editors with live screen sharing (like Google Doc, HackerRank, etc.) 46 | - The free-form space of a canvas is often replaced with constrained text editors, and so you’ll have to express yourself more through text than through hand-drawn diagrams. 47 | - In-person meetings have been replaced with video calls. (Refer to the “Remote Interview Checklist” module from Week 1 for tips on how to make a good impression on a video call.) 48 | 49 | Find out which tools you'll be using for your interview ahead of time. If you need to use a tool like [Miro](https://miro.com/), you'll want to have created an account to log in and try making charts and writing text. 50 | 51 | :::tip Resources 52 | 53 | There are lots of great videos on Youtube about whiteboarding interviews. Google freely to learn and absorb the internet wisdom! And here are a few great links to start with. 54 | 55 | - [Sample Whiteboard Coding Interview Questions (Youtube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTuHz7uSq7M) 56 | - [The Best Whiteboard Interview Advice I Ever Received](https://hackernoon.com/the-best-whiteboard-interview-advice-i-ever-received-3ebbfa72e4a) 57 | - [A 6 Step Process to Solve Any Whiteboarding Problem](https://www.fullstackacademy.com/blog/whiteboard-coding-interviews-a-6-step-process-to-solve-any-problem) 58 | 59 | ::: 60 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/general/know-your-audience.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Know Your Audience 6 | 7 | One of the worst things you can ask during your interview is, “what do you do here?” 8 | 9 | **_Seriously?!_** 😱 10 | 11 | If you don’t even know what the company does, it means you don’t really care about that role, that employer, or your future. This is just one of many places you’re applying to and it’s going to be “just a job” for you. Tech companies don’t want to hire that person. 12 | 13 | But it’s not just during the interview where you really need to know your audience. It’s true for your resume, for any presentations, for pair sessions...pretty much at every step of the process. 14 | 15 | Stand out by being prepared, passionate, and, honestly, just giving a damn about your own success! 😄 16 | 17 | ## Preparation Tips 18 | 19 | Before your interviews, do everything you can to put yourself in a position to succeed. 20 | 21 | - Research your industry and narrow down your list of target companies. 22 | - Spend time tailoring your resume to companies on your target list. 23 | - Reach out to people who work at your target companies. 24 | - Look through your network for potential referrals. 25 | - Directly message hiring managers and tech recruiters for the open role. 26 | 27 | ### Customize your resume 28 | 29 | Draw from your primary template that has everything on it to include *only what’s relevant* to the role and company you’re applying for. 30 | 31 | Modify your resume summary, if needed, so it screams out that you’re a great fit for the role. It might seem like a lot of extra work, but you'd be surprised how fast recruiters can reject a resume. 32 | 33 | They’re looking for reasons why candidates are not a fit as much as reasons why they might fit since there are often so many resumes to screen. 34 | 35 | ### Know the company 36 | 37 | Research what the company does and know that going into your interview. 38 | 39 | Understand what your role on a specific team means to the company. Also, most companies have a page that shows off their mission and values. Be aware of these values and think of ways to incorporate them into your STAR answers to common interview questions (this might even be required like it is with the Amazon interview process). 40 | 41 | ### Learn who will be present at each interview stage 42 | 43 | If you’re giving a presentation, definitely try to learn who you’ll be presenting to. You can ask the recruiter you're in touch with to share this info. 44 | 45 | Are they technical? What goals do they have? Maybe you’re meeting with the VP of Engineering for a technical interview. Look them up on LinkedIn and ask them about their career and how they ended up at the company. 46 | 47 | Oh, and be ready to answer more technical questions about your resume, too. Anything you put on there is fair game for deeper questioning. 48 | 49 | You might not always know ahead of time who will be there at each interview stage, but you can find out at the start of the conversation with them. Pay attention to who they are and speak directly to them in their role and function at the company. 50 | 51 | Just like you want to be seen and valued, so do your interviewers. 52 | 53 | ### Add value 54 | 55 | Show that you care by thinking of solutions to potential problems. Build a mini-app that solves a pain point or addresses negative customer feedback. Write a blog post about how amazing the company is and how you've adopted their tech stack for your own personal projects. 56 | 57 | Do everything you can to show that you care about a company and share their values. 58 | 59 | :::tip Additional Resources 60 | 61 | Check these helpful guides out for more info on how to research a company. 62 | 63 | - [6 Ways to Research a Company Before Applying](http://www.longwood.edu/career/articles/2020/6-ways-to-research-a-company-before-applying/) 64 | - [The Ultimate Guide to Researching a Company Pre-Interview](https://www.themuse.com/advice/the-ultimate-guide-to-researching-a-company-preinterview) 65 | 66 | ::: 67 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/screening-calls.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 6 3 | description: Exchanging questions and expectations. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Screening Calls 7 | 8 | ## What is a screening call? 9 | 10 | Very often, you'll have to do screening calls with technical or non-technical recruiters. If you're invited to a screening call, it means your resume matched the role criteria they were looking for and now they need to make sure what was on your resume matches reality. 🧐 11 | 12 | These calls might be done by phone, but are more commonly held over a Zoom, or similar. Get that camera ready! They're usually around 30 minutes long. 13 | 14 | ## What questions can you expect? 15 | 16 | If you get a non-technical recruiter, they'll know all the jargon and the right languages and frameworks to ask about your experience with, but the conversation won't go super deep into technical topics. 17 | 18 | If you get a technical recruiter, they might go a few questions deeper into things you've shared in your resume. "What precisely was your role in using TensorFlow on this project?" "Do you prefer React Native or Swift for iOS apps?" Etc. 19 | 20 | The goal for you in these calls is to answer all their questions and proceed on to the next stage of their interview process. 21 | 22 | **Here are some questions you’re likely to get:** 23 | 24 | - Tell me about yourself. (btw, this is the #1 most common interview question, so you should definitely have a good answer prepared!) 25 | - Do you have any questions about the role? 26 | - What most excites you about the chance to work at [company]? 27 | 28 | ## How to get ready for a screening call 29 | 30 | Here’s what you can do to go in prepared. 31 | 32 | ### 1. Practice ahead of time 33 | 34 | Pick a project on your resume and record yourself explaining it out loud. 35 | 36 | When you review your recording, think about areas that were difficult to explain clearly and concisely. 37 | 38 | Ask yourself: 39 | 40 | - How can I explain this in terms that anybody can understand? 41 | - What are the key points I'm trying to communicate? 42 | - How can I shorten this explanation while still getting the point across? 43 | - Would a person without technical knowledge be able to follow your thought process? 44 | 45 | ### 2. Answer honestly 46 | 47 | You'd be surprised how often we've heard recruiters say that they've caught a candidate stretching the truth about their experience or their specific role in working on a project. Don't do that! It's a huge red flag because it creates trust issues and makes it hard to tell what your actual skills are. 48 | 49 | It's always smart to be honest about your experience. And you can trust that your interviewer will ask you questions about things on your resume, so be prepared to answer those questions. 50 | 51 | ### 3. Bring your own questions 52 | 53 | > “Do you have any questions for me?” - Your interviewer 🎤 54 | 55 | This isn’t a trick question! 56 | 57 | Use this time as an opportunity to express your interest in the company and the specific role. In fact, if you don't have any questions, it can feel to the recruiter like you're not really interested in this particular job or company. 58 | 59 | Ask genuine questions. Here are some sample topics you might want to dive into. 60 | 61 | - What are the company's mission and values? 62 | - What resources are available to employees? 63 | - How does the interview process work? 64 | 65 | Do your own research into the company and ask questions that matter to you. This is an excellent chance for you to make sure that the company is a good match for you and is somewhere where you can grow and succeed. ✅ 66 | 67 | Lastly, just know that sometimes recruiters don't work inside of the company they are interviewing for, so they might not even have all the answers to your questions. As always, be polite, professional, and patient and you can't go wrong. 68 | 69 | :::tip Bonus resource: Questions to ask 70 | 71 | Select a 1-5 questions from the reference from The Muse below (there are over 50 to choose from!) 72 | 73 | [51 Interview Questions You Should Be Asking](https://www.themuse.com/advice/51-interview-questions-you-should-be-asking) 74 | 75 | ::: 76 | 77 | Feeling good about your ability to ace the screening interview? Awesome! Let’s move on to the next section. 78 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/take-home-projects.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 4 3 | description: Coding from the comfort of your home. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Take Home Projects 7 | 8 | Companies will occasionally ask you to do a take-home project as a way to see how you perform in a context more like actual work than coding assessments. 9 | 10 | These projects are usually short coding tasks that you can complete by yourself outside of the interview context. 11 | 12 | The best ones are time-boxed to an hour or two, but sometimes they might even take days (there are plenty of unhappy developers griping about those ones!) 13 | 14 | Take-home projects do offer a few benefits over traditional coding assessments. 15 | 16 | - **You can complete the task in your own time.** Assessments can be stressful because of the strict time limit, but take-home projects let you work at your own pace. Want to stop and eat tacos halfway through? No problem! 🌮 17 | - **You can show employers a realistic work sample.** Take-home projects give candidates who haven’t memorized algorithms a chance to show off their creative thinking and their ability to code. 18 | - **You can stand out from others.** Look into a company’s style guide or coding conventions and use them in your take-home project! This will show the company that you’ve done your research and demonstrate your ability to go above and beyond. 19 | 20 | Most take-home projects are designed to test you on a particular skill. For example... 21 | 22 | - A frontend project might ask you to take a Figma design and turn it into a pixel-perfect website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. 23 | - A backend project might be to build an API backend using Express.js. 24 | - A DevOps project might challenge you to deploy a containerized application to AWS. 25 | 26 | ## Tips 27 | 28 | Here are some tips to knock your take-home projects out of the park. 29 | 30 | ### Keep it simple 31 | 32 | You might be tempted to do more than is asked of you. Don’t let feature-creep derail your project. Follow the guidelines that you’re given and don’t add unnecessary work for yourself. 33 | 34 | Remember that frontend project example above? You might have a great idea about how to improve the design or UI, but it would be a bad idea to implement those changes in this challenge. 35 | 36 | Instead, create the pixel-perfect site that they asked for and just share some comments about the possible UI improvements. This will show that you can do the task at hand but also signal that you’re thinking about the bigger picture and capable of adding value. That’s a win-win! 🤝🏾 37 | 38 | ### Leverage frameworks 39 | 40 | These days there are frameworks and open source libraries for tons of functionality. You can lean on these tools for your take-home projects so you don’t have to build everything from scratch. 41 | 42 | Besides, most tech companies use (or maybe sometimes even create) these same libraries, so you’ll be demonstrating your proficiency and efficiency. 43 | 44 | ### Make a list of edge cases before you code 45 | 46 | Don’t get rejected because of simple edge cases breaking your code. 47 | 48 | - What happens when you hit the search button with no input? 49 | - What about when you insert a special character? 50 | - Resizing the browser window? 51 | 52 | **Don’t let that stuff break your project!** List out the common edge cases before you even start coding, and you’ll be sure to cover those as you build. 53 | 54 | ### First prototype, then build it out 55 | 56 | You might risk not completing your project at all if you try to make everything perfect from the start. Instead, get the big pieces of functionality working first, then loop back around for all the other details. If you need to build a frontend and a backend, just get the backend working first. 57 | 58 | ### Add documentation 59 | 60 | One thing your potential employer will be looking for is that you can write clean, well-documented code since that’s such an important skill to work well on a team. 61 | 62 | The README file is a place for you to show that you’re organized and can communicate well. 63 | 64 | - What does the app (or similar) do? 65 | - How do you run it? 66 | - What were the big design decisions you made? 67 | - What are some areas for improvement? 68 | 69 | And don’t forget to write inline code comments, too, where it’s helpful. 70 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docusaurus.config.js: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | const lightCodeTheme = require('prism-react-renderer/themes/github'); 2 | const darkCodeTheme = require('prism-react-renderer/themes/dracula'); 3 | 4 | const config = { 5 | title: 'Tech Interview Prep Guide by Speak_', 6 | tagline: 'PA free resource to help you ace your tech interviews.', 7 | url: 'https://.pages.dev', 8 | baseUrl: '/', 9 | onBrokenLinks: 'throw', 10 | onBrokenMarkdownLinks: 'warn', 11 | favicon: 'img/favicon.ico', 12 | trailingSlash: false, 13 | i18n: { 14 | defaultLocale: 'en', 15 | locales: ['en'], 16 | }, 17 | presets: [ 18 | [ 19 | 'classic', 20 | ({ 21 | docs: { 22 | sidebarPath: require.resolve('./sidebars.js'), 23 | editUrl: 'https://github.com/speakcareers/tech-interview-prep-guide/tree/main/', 24 | }, 25 | theme: { 26 | customCss: require.resolve('./src/css/custom.css'), 27 | }, 28 | }), 29 | ], 30 | ], 31 | 32 | themeConfig: 33 | ({ 34 | navbar: { 35 | logo: { 36 | alt: 'Speak_ Logo', 37 | src: 'img/speak-logomark-256.jpeg', 38 | }, 39 | items: [ 40 | { 41 | href: '/', 42 | position: 'left', 43 | label: 'Tech Interview Prep Guide', 44 | }, 45 | { 46 | to: '/docs/welcome/about-this-guide', 47 | label: 'Read the guide', 48 | position: 'right', 49 | }, 50 | { 51 | to: 'https://speak.careers', 52 | label: 'Join a cohort', 53 | position: 'right', 54 | }, 55 | ], 56 | }, 57 | footer: { 58 | style: 'light', 59 | links: [ 60 | { 61 | items: [ 62 | { 63 | html: ` 64 | 65 |
Tech Interview Prep Guide
66 | 67 | `, 68 | }, 69 | ], 70 | }, 71 | { 72 | items: [ 73 | { 74 | html: ` 75 |
76 | `, 77 | }, 78 | ], 79 | }, 80 | { 81 | title: 'Community', 82 | items: [ 83 | { 84 | label: 'Discord', 85 | href: 'https://discord.gg/wjnAEVjbCu', 86 | }, { 87 | label: 'LinkedIn', 88 | href: 'https://www.linkedin.com/school/speakcareers/', 89 | }, 90 | { 91 | label: 'Instagram', 92 | href: 'https://www.instagram.com/speakcareers/', 93 | }, 94 | { 95 | label: 'Twitter', 96 | href: 'https://twitter.com/speakcareers', 97 | }, 98 | ], 99 | }, 100 | { 101 | title: 'Speak_', 102 | items: [ 103 | { 104 | label: 'Cohort-based courses', 105 | href: 'https://speak.careers', 106 | }, 107 | { 108 | label: 'Podcast', 109 | href: 'https://www.youtube.com/@speak_', 110 | }, 111 | { 112 | label: 'Blog', 113 | href: 'https://speak.careers/blog', 114 | }, 115 | ], 116 | }, 117 | ], 118 | copyright: `Copyright ©${new Date().getFullYear()} Speak_. Built with Docusaurus.`, 119 | }, 120 | prism: { 121 | theme: lightCodeTheme, 122 | darkTheme: darkCodeTheme, 123 | }, 124 | }), 125 | plugins: [ 126 | [ 127 | '@docusaurus/plugin-google-gtag', 128 | { 129 | trackingID: 'G-W0RVPWQ9PC', 130 | anonymizeIP: false, 131 | }, 132 | ], 133 | ], 134 | }; 135 | 136 | module.exports = config; -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/resume-screening/resume-challenge.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 4 3 | description: "Here's how to submit your resume..." 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Challenge: Update your resume 7 | 8 | ## Make a copy of the Speak\_ Resume Template 9 | 10 | This template will be the building block for your resume. It'll provide the structure and outline, and all you’ll have to do is plug in your own information. At the end of this assignment, you’ll have a strong, recruiter-friendly resume. 11 | 12 | Click the button below to make a copy of the Google Docs template. This will open up a new version of the template that you can customize. By default, your copy won't be shared with anyone. 13 | 14 | Copy the Speak_ Resume Template 15 | 16 | ## Speak\_ Resume FAQs 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | Question: I already have a great resume, do I need to use the Speak_ Resume Template? 21 | 22 |
23 |
24 |

Answer: Yes.

25 |

26 | You might already have a fantastic resume, and that’s great! But you must use the Speak_ Resume Template to be considered by our partner companies. 27 |

28 |

29 | This is because we work directly with our partner companies to help them find talented engineers, and having a standardized resume format makes it super easy for them to look through resumes quickly. 30 |

31 |
32 |
33 |
34 | 35 |
36 | 37 | Question: When I use this template, my resume becomes 2 pages long. I’ve heard that it’s better to have a 1-page resume. What should I do? 38 | 39 |
40 |
41 |

Answer: It’s okay to have a 2-page resume as long as the content supports the length!

42 |

You should not eliminate important content from your resume simply to keep it to 1-page.

43 |

If you keep it to 1-page, great. But 2 page resumes are a-okay, too. And in many cases they’re necessary to show off all of the incredible skills that you have.

44 |
45 |
46 |
47 | 48 |
49 | 50 | Question: I don’t have any previous work as a software engineer. Does that mean I should leave the Experience section blank? 51 | 52 |
53 |
54 |

Answer: You should include professional work experience, especially if you are making a career transition. But you should not include completely irrelevant work like barista, cashier, retail salesperson, or server.

55 |

If you worked in an office and did most of your work on a computer, then you should include that work — even if it isn’t software engineering.

56 |

If you worked at a fast food restaurant to pay your rent while you went to college, you should not include that.

57 |
58 |
59 |
60 | 61 |
62 | 63 | Question: Can I remove the Education, Experience, Projects, or Awards & Certifications sections? 64 | 65 |
66 |
67 |

Answer: Yes. If you do not have anything to include in a section then you may remove it. However, every section that you remove decreases the strength of your resume.

68 |

Instead of removing a section, we recommend working hard to fill in the holes on your resume.

69 |

For example, if you don’t have projects, then spending time working on 2 high-quality projects would be an excellent use of your time.

70 |
71 |
72 |
73 | 74 | ## Submit your Speak\_ Resume 75 | 76 | Before you submit your resume, read the next lesson called `Cohort challenge: Get resume feedback`. This is an important step to make sure you get personalized feedback on your resume before submitting it. 77 | 78 | Got your feedback? Great! 79 | Did you double check that your resume follows the [Speak\_ Resume Rubric](/docs/week-1/resume-screening/resume-rubric)? Excellent! 80 | 81 | **NOTE: Submit your Speak\_ Resume as a PDF to avoid formatting errors.** 82 | 83 | Now, click the button below to submit your Speak\_ Resume. 84 | 85 | Submit completed Speak_ Resume -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /src/pages/index.js: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | import React from 'react'; 2 | import clsx from 'clsx'; 3 | import Link from '@docusaurus/Link'; 4 | import useDocusaurusContext from '@docusaurus/useDocusaurusContext'; 5 | import Layout from '@theme/Layout'; 6 | 7 | import styles from './index.module.css'; 8 | 9 | function HomepageHeader() { 10 | const { siteConfig } = useDocusaurusContext(); 11 | return ( 12 |
13 |
14 | Speak_ Logo 15 |

Tech Interview Prep Guide

16 |

A free resource to help you ace your interviews and get hired.

17 |
18 | 19 | Dive into the guide 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 |
24 |
25 | ); 26 | } 27 | 28 | export default function Home() { 29 | const { siteConfig } = useDocusaurusContext(); 30 | return ( 31 | 35 | 36 |
37 |
38 |

Get ready for your tech interviews.

39 |

Twice a month for over a year, Speak_ has run a free cohort-based course that helps software engineers get prepared for their tech interviews at any company. This is the guide that grew out of our learnings from running those cohorts.

40 |

Designed to introduce all the possible challenges you might face in a tech interview, this guide can help you know what to expect and how to prepare.

41 |

We decided to open source it so that anyone can get access to this knowledge and so our community can take an active part in improving the content. This helps us grow our talent base, and allows us to support more qualified underrepresented candidates in finding jobs, which is our mission.

42 |
43 |
44 |
45 |
46 |
47 |
48 | 49 |
50 |
51 |

Inside the guide.

52 |
    53 |
  • Technical hiring process deep dive
    • 54 |
  • Hard & soft skill frameworks
    • 55 |
  • Recruiter-friendly resume template
    • 56 |
  • Data structures & algorithms study plan
    • 57 |
  • Remote interview checklist
    • 58 |
  • And lots more!
    • 59 |
60 |
61 |
62 |
63 |
64 |
65 |
66 |

Don't go it alone.

67 |

Preparing for tech interviews is hard. You don’t have to do it all by yourself though. Join your peers in a 2-week cohort-based course to sharpen your hard and soft skills. It’s totally free — no strings attached.

68 |

Speak_ Tech Interview Prep cohorts include:

69 |
    70 |
  • Putting this guide into practice
    • 71 |
  • Live, interactive workshops
    • 72 |
  • Multiple pair sessions with peers
    • 73 |
  • Access to private discord chat channels
    • 74 |
  • Advice from engineers recently hired
    • 75 |
  • Support from the Speak_ team
    • 76 |
77 | Join a cohort! 78 |
79 |
80 | 81 | ); 82 | } 83 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/welcome/about-this-guide.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 1 3 | description: Learn what this guide is all about. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # About this guide 7 | 8 | Hello and welcome to the Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep Guide! 👋🏽 9 | 10 | We’re excited that you’re here and can’t wait to help you get ready for interviews and land your dream job. This guide is intended to give you, in just 2 weeks, an overview of all the possible aspects of a tech interview you might run into. 11 | 12 | Before you dive in, take a minute to look over the important points below so you know what to expect. 13 | 14 | ## Why you need this guide 15 | 16 | Despite being in high demand, many entry-level software engineers struggle to find their first job. 17 | 18 | In fact, the typical software engineering job search can last months. Many candidates waste time applying for hundreds of jobs that they aren’t qualified for, or worse, that they wouldn’t even take if offered the role! 19 | 20 | A common reason many programmers struggle with the job search is that they focus on the wrong things. 21 | 22 | - Nitpicking over resume fonts and colors 23 | - Applying to tons of jobs without a clear strategy 24 | - Building a bunch of shallow portfolio projects based on YouTube tutorials 25 | - Aimlessly networking, which can come across as spammy or insincere 26 | 27 | If any of this sounds at all like you, don’t despair. You're not alone. But there’s a better way! In this guide, we’ll help you spend your time doing the things that matter with the goal of preparing for your tech interviews and getting hired fast. 28 | 29 | ### You will... 30 | 31 | 1. Put together an amazing resume 32 | 2. Begin to build an effective developer portfolio 33 | 3. Learn powerful frameworks for both hard and soft skills 34 | 4. Make a bulletproof study schedule with built-in accountability 35 | 5. Grow your professional network with genuine connections (cohort-only) 36 | 6. Practice real interview skills with real people (cohort-only) 37 | 38 | You’ll be on your way to an amazing dream job if you take action and follow through on all the strategies outlined in this guide. 🚀 39 | 40 | ## A few quick notes 41 | 42 | ### This guide is… 43 | 44 | - **Open source.** Come back often to see updates, new strategies, and improved workflows. And if you have suggestions on how we can improve the guide, please contribute. [Here's how!](/docs/welcome/how-to-contribute) 45 | - **A step-by-step guide.** Go through it in order. Each module that you complete will get you one step closer to landing your dream job. 46 | - **Actionable.** In each module, you'll learn a key concept and how to apply it. We’ll show you what you need to do, but it’s up to you to follow through. 47 | - **An evergreen resource.** The job landscape is constantly shifting, but the strategies outlined here will _always_ help you. You’ll be learning and applying a holistic job search strategy crafted specifically for software engineers. 48 | - **Designed for community.** The magic of Speak\_ is human connection. This guide was created for candidates participating in our free cohort-based course, engaged on our discord, pairing up to practice, and joining online events. (More about this in the next lesson.) 49 | 50 | ### This guide is not… 51 | 52 | - **A coding bootcamp.** This guide is designed for people who already know how to code. Our goal is to help you sharpen your skills and get ready for interviews. 53 | - **A listicle.** (You know, like, “10 things every engineer must do to ace the interview…”) Tweetable tactics can only get you so far. We’d rather help you build a solid foundation for your whole career. 54 | - **“Set it and forget it.”** Following this guide will take work, but the more energy you put into it, the more value you'll get out of it. Follow through on the challenges and continue to use what you learn. 55 | 56 | ## How to use this guide 57 | 58 | This guide grew out of the 2-week cohorts Speak_ runs each month for engineering candidates, so the modules are organized around that timeline. If you're using this guide on your own, you can obviously go at your own pace, but challenge yourself to move fast! 59 | 60 | The best experience is to join a cohort to bring this guide to life. There are other software engineers going through this exact process together _right now._ Team up with your peers and get active in the community in order to get the most out of this opportunity. It's totally free. 61 | 62 | [Learn more about cohorts.](/docs/welcome/about-cohorts) 63 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/resume-screening/resume-tips.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Resume tips 6 | 7 | :::tip GOAL 8 | 9 | At the end of this module, you will have an awesome resume. We’ll use it to try and refer you to roles at our partner companies and you’ll also be able to use it on your own to apply for jobs outside of Speak\_. 10 | 11 | ::: 12 | 13 | ## What is the Speak\_ resume? 14 | 15 | We’ve worked with recruiters at our partner companies to come up with the ideal resume. 16 | 17 | It gets straight to the point, but still gives you a chance to show off your strengths. It’s also well-designed, so it looks good and gives off a strong first impression. 18 | 19 | To make this resume template, we talked to hiring managers to find out exactly what they’re looking for. Then, we trimmed away the excess _resume bloat_ and fine-tuned everything. 20 | 21 | The result? A streamlined, concise, powerful resume. Customized for you. 22 | 23 | The catch? There’s nowhere to hide. 👀 24 | 25 | As you fill out this resume, you may notice that you have some weak areas. That’s okay! The rest of this course will help address those weaknesses. 26 | 27 | By the end of the cohort, you will feel confident that your resume is as strong as possible. Plus, you’ll have a roadmap to fill in or bolster any weak areas. 28 | 29 | Ready to get started? 30 | 31 | ## Simplify, simplify 32 | 33 | A great resume answers the questions: 34 | 35 | 1. Who are you? 36 | 2. What skills do you have? 37 | 3. Is your experience level a match for the role? 38 | 4. What was your precise contribution to the things listed on your resume? 39 | 40 | The Speak\_ resume template makes it easy to answer these questions. But even more importantly, it makes it easy for recruiters and hiring managers to find what they’re looking for. 41 | 42 | We do this by using a simplified template that highlights the important things. 43 | 44 | ## Write good resume bullet points 45 | 46 | Each Experience and Project that you list on your resume can have up to 4 supporting bullet points. It is a really good idea to make use of all 4 bullet points, but each point needs to be powerful. 47 | 48 | **In your Projects section you should make your bullet points as robust as possible.** 49 | 50 | - Remove nondescriptive bullet points and instead write longer sentences about what the app does, what technologies you utilized, and your specific contributions. 51 | - Remember, you're showing off your programming skills to any tech recruiter that happens to see your resume. So make each bullet point a little bit technical. 52 | - Each bullet point should be about something you did and not just a general description of what the project is. Tech recruiters and hiring managers want to know what your contributions were. 53 | 54 | ### Bad bullet point examples 55 | 56 | - Managed project design. 57 | - Built a text-based cryptocurrency exchange. 58 | - Used HTML, CSS, JavaScript, MongoDB, Express, React and Node.js hosted on Heroku and Netlify. 59 | 60 | ### Good bullet point examples 61 | 62 | - Used Next Image to preprocess and optimize images which resulted in 30% faster load times and a responsive user experience. 63 | - Wrote Bash, PowerShell, and Python scripts to automate the deployment of 64 | software profiles on a network of 150 computers. 65 | - Incorporated Machine Learning AI using Python and NEAT that supports infinite difficulty levels and can be implemented on any 2D track. 66 | 67 | :::tip Here's a good framework to help you write better bullet points: 68 | 69 | - [Action word] [technology] [skill/task] [result/impact] 70 | 71 | ::: 72 | 73 | :::caution Want to really spice up your resume? 74 | 75 | Here’s an extra resource to help you choose the right words. 76 | 77 | [Resume Word Choices](https://speakcareers.notion.site/Resume-Word-Choices-b6713184a9bf4c3b857c01f9b793982a) 78 | 79 | ::: 80 | 81 | ## Formatting matters 82 | 83 | When it comes to resumes, you know what tech recruiters love to see? Clarity. Skim-ability. 84 | 85 | Seriously. Boring is good here. 86 | 87 | ### Must have 88 | 89 | - Standard formatting 90 | - Legible font 91 | - Single color 92 | - No typos 93 | 94 | ### Do not add 95 | 96 | - Icons 97 | - Tables 98 | - Sections 99 | - Custom Formatting 100 | 101 | Luckily, the Speak\_ Resume takes care of resume formatting for you. All you have to do is copy the template and fill in your information. It’s super easy. 102 | 103 | ![SupereasyBarelyAnInconvenienceGIF](https://media.tenor.com/dP_0YeNlPMQAAAAC/supereasy-barely-an-inconvenience.gif) 104 | 105 | You’ll learn more about the Speak\_ Resume on the next page. 106 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/presentations.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 6 3 | description: How to wow. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Presentations 7 | 8 | If you get asked to give a technical presentation as part of a job interview, congratulations! That means you’ve got your foot firmly in the door, and this is a great opportunity to show off your brilliance in front of your potential future teammates. 9 | 10 | Let’s dive in! 🏊🏾 11 | 12 | Interview presentations, sometimes called capstone presentations, are an opportunity for you to demonstrate your knowledge and for your interviewers to get to know you better. Sometimes you’re only presenting to 1-2 people, other times you might be in front of a whole panel of 5 or more people. 13 | 14 | You should always ask what the format will be: how long are you expected to present? What are the desired topics? Who will be present? Do you need to prepare slides? Etc. That way you can prepare and set yourself up for success. 15 | 16 | Since you’ll be communicating in front of a group of people, pretty much all the great advice out there about presentations applies. 17 | 18 | ## General tips 19 | 20 | Start off your presentation with an attention-getting fact or statement! 21 | 22 | Hey, we’re all suckers for great opening lines, right? 23 | 24 | - “What if I told you that...” 25 | - “Imagine a world where...” 26 | - “Everyone assumes X, but it’s actually not true...” 27 | 28 | ### Tell a story. 29 | 30 | Humans understand information better when it’s presented in the format of a story. 31 | 32 | That means instead of a string of unrelated ideas, you share a narrative where one thing leads to the next. 33 | 34 | ### Include data and facts 35 | 36 | That helps give you credibility and shows that you can do the work to back up your ideas. It also helps people understand the scope and details of what you’re communicating. 37 | 38 | ### Incorporate visuals 39 | 40 | If allowed, use a slide deck to present a visual representation of your key points. 41 | 42 | Some people best understand new information visually, plus it will make you look more prepared and allow you to express yourself more through design choices. 43 | 44 | Be minimal with your visuals and keep text to a minimum (use huge text sizes to help you do so!) Less is more with slides. 45 | 46 | ### Focus 47 | 48 | Make sure you’re presenting a cohesive narrative that your interviewers can follow and understand. 49 | 50 | The more complexity you bring in, the simpler the communication needs to be. It’s better to clearly communicate fewer ideas than poorly communicate many. 51 | 52 | ### Be prepared for questions 53 | 54 | If all goes well, you’ll likely get asked some follow-up questions. If you practice presenting to friends or peers (hello Speak\_ community!), get some practice answering their questions, too. 55 | 56 | ## Interview-specific tips 57 | 58 | Use the tips below to "wow" your interviewers and set yourself apart from other candidates. 59 | 60 | ### Be positive 61 | 62 | This is an important theme across all stages of an interview. 63 | 64 | Remember, your interviewers are real people, and they’ll gain or lose energy based on your attitude throughout the presentation. Start off on the right foot by introducing yourself and showing enthusiasm for the role and the company. 65 | 66 | ### Know your audience 67 | 68 | As mentioned above - before putting together a presentation, you should always know exactly who you will be presenting to. 69 | 70 | It wouldn’t make sense to fill your presentation with technical jargon and advanced programming concepts if the person on the other side of the table doesn’t know how to code. 71 | 72 | ### Follow a structure 73 | 74 | It doesn’t have to be complicated, just make sure that your presentation has a beginning, a middle, and an end. 75 | 76 | It could look like this: 77 | 78 | 1. Tell them what topics you are going to present to them. 79 | 2. Tell them about the topics in more detail. 80 | 3. Recap the key points that you made throughout the presentation. 81 | 82 | ### Don’t make stuff up 83 | 84 | Someone might interrupt your presentation to ask questions. That’s okay! Honestly answer the questions to the best of your knowledge, but don’t be afraid to say if you don’t know something. In that situation, explain how you might find the answer if you were given more time. 85 | 86 | ### Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse 87 | 88 | Practice giving your presentation out loud and go in prepared. Know how long your presentation takes. Try giving your presentation to a friend and asking for feedback and constructive criticism. 89 | 90 | Remember, the interviewer is on your side! They want you to succeed. You’ve made it through several steps in the interview process already, and they’re simply looking for further confirmation that you’ll be an excellent fit for their team. 91 | 92 | Be yourself, be confident, and stay positive. 93 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/cohort-handbook/before-you-begin.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | description: First steps, what to expect, and more. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Before you begin 7 | 8 | Read everything on this page carefully to make sure you don't miss a key step. 😉 9 | 10 | ## Join the Discord 11 | 12 | Join your peers in the Speak\_ Discord and make sure that you’ve got access to all of the right channels. 13 | 14 | :::caution important 15 | 16 | _Joining our Discord is required to participate in a cohort._ 17 | 18 | **Steps** 19 | 20 | 1. [Join the Speak\_ Discord server.](https://discord.gg/wjnAEVjbCu) 21 | 2. Post your first name and last initial in the #rollcall channel. 22 | 23 | ::: 24 | 25 | :::tip how #rollcall works 26 | 27 | - After you post your name in the #rollcall channel we'll check you in and give you access to cohort-specific private channels. 28 | - If your post in #rollcall has a green check (✅) you have been successfully checked in. You should now have access to extra channels in your left-hand sidebar. 29 | - If your post in #rollcall has a blue check (☑️) then we were unable to check you in. Please reach out to a member of the Speak\_ team for support. 30 | - If your post in #rollcall does not have a check, that just means that we haven’t gotten to you yet. We’ll get you checked in as quickly as we can. 31 | 32 | ::: 33 | 34 | ## Get the most out of this experience 35 | 36 | Past participants say the Speak\_ Tech Interview Prep cohort is intense! There’s a lot to cover in a short amount of time, but going through all of the material and applying what you learn is guaranteed to make you look (and feel!) more hirable. 37 | 38 | The cohort is structured to last 2 weeks, but the materials here will be available to you even after the cohort ends. Our recommendation is to focus on the community while the cohort is active. 39 | 40 | ### During the cohort 41 | 42 | - **Be active in the community.** Participate in the live events, connect with your peers, ask lots of questions, and follow along with the recommended schedule. 43 | - **Do lots of pair programming.** Learning how to speak aloud while coding is an important skill for software engineers in the job search. Pair programming is the best way to practice. 44 | - **Do lots of mock interviews.** Interviews can be scary, but they don’t need to be. Practice answering common behavioral interview questions and get feedback to improve your answers. Do this enough and you'll go into interviews feeling confident and well-prepared. 45 | - **Take lots of practice assessments.** We’ll provide some practice assessments, but we’ll also teach you how to make your own. Love 'em or hate 'em, online assessments are the #1 way companies screen potential software engineers as the first step in their hiring process. Get really good at algorithms to give yourself a huge advantage. 46 | 47 | ### After the cohort ends 48 | 49 | - **Refine and improve.** During the cohort, you’ll learn a bunch of ways to spice up your resume, your portfolio, your project READMEs, and more. Revisit the checklist below often to make sure that you’re keeping everything updated and optimized. 50 | - **Stay focused.** There will always feel like a million things to do, but most of them aren’t going to help you land your next role. Stick to the strategy outlined in the guide and don’t get sidetracked thinking that you have to learn a new language, master a new tool, or build a new Twitter clone in order to get hired. 51 | - **Put in the work.** Until you land your first job (hopefully soon!) you should treat the job search as a priority. This includes studying, practicing, and coding. But it also includes doing outreach, making connections, and applying for jobs. We’ll give you an example schedule to ensure you’re spending enough time on everything, but it’s up to you to stay consistent and keep working toward your goals. 52 | 53 | ## Job search checklist 54 | 55 | At the end of this guide, it’s our hope that you have everything you need to land your dream job. Here's a handy checklist you can use to make sure you're getting all the value out of this experience. 56 | 57 | We recommend writing this checklist down and putting it somewhere where you'll see it every day. As you go through the materials, check each of these items off as you complete them. 💪🏿 58 | 59 | **One-time** 60 | 61 | - [ ] I have a strong resume 62 | - [ ] I have an effective developer portfolio 63 | - [ ] I’ve committed to a study schedule for practicing coding 64 | - [ ] I’ve written down and rehearsed my answers to common interview questions 65 | 66 | **Ongoing** 67 | 68 | - [ ] I am practicing my pair programming with a variety of people 69 | - [ ] I am doing mock interviews with a variety of people 70 | - [ ] I continue to build professional relationships on LinkedIn with hiring managers 71 | 72 | :::caution Hey, pssst 73 | 74 | Have you written down the checklist above? Yes? Ok, perfect! That means it's time to get started. 😎 75 | 76 | ::: 77 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/developer-portfolio.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 5 3 | description: An often overlooked professional asset. 4 | --- 5 | 6 | # Developer Portfolio 7 | 8 | This lesson is a brief overview of what a developer portfolio is and why you should make one. 9 | 10 | For a complete breakdown of how to make an effective developer portfolio, we HIGHLY recommend [Josh Comeau's free guide](https://www.joshwcomeau.com/effective-portfolio/). 11 | 12 | ## What is a developer portfolio? 13 | 14 | A developer portfolio is a website where you show off your best projects. 15 | 16 | It acts as a landing page specifically made for technical recruiters and hiring managers. You can think of it like a _resume extension._ Except instead of more buzzwords and corporate lingo, you get to add personality and context. 17 | 18 | A bad developer portfolio can do more harm than good. But a great portfolio can give you a huge advantage over other candidates with the same level of experience. 19 | 20 | ## Why is it important? 21 | 22 | Software engineers, especially those without previous work experience, need to be able to show potential employers that they are good programmers. 23 | 24 | Your developer portfolio is your chance to prove that you know how to code. 25 | 26 | This goes beyond simple syntax, too. A complete portfolio of 2 or 3 deep projects shows potential employers a lot about who you are and what you're capable of. 27 | 28 | They can dive into your projects and look for qualities that they find important. 29 | 30 | - Do you write easy-to-understand code? 31 | - Is your code well-documented with robust READMEs and lots of inline comments? 32 | - Are you following best practices for whatever language/framework you're using? 33 | 34 | Not every company is going to be looking for the same thing, but having a solid portfolio gives off a strong impression that you know what you're doing. 35 | 36 | ## Who is it for? 37 | 38 | Most of the time it will be tech recruiters and hiring managers who check out your developer portfolio. And they'll usually be checking it out because you don't have a ton of professional experience for them to ask about. 39 | 40 | The portfolio serves as a bridge between student and professional. It's an opportunity to show that you can build stuff, are a great learner, and that you're continuing to practice coding even outside of school/work. This is a good signal to potential employers. 41 | 42 | Since it will be tech recruiters and hiring managers who are looking at your portfolio, they should be your _target audience_. What does this mean? 43 | 44 | It means that your portfolio should be highlighting **skills relevant to positions that you are applying for**. A lot of candidates think that an impressive portfolio is one that shows the biggest variety of skills/languages/frameworks -- but that's just not the case. 45 | 46 | A great portfolio goes really deep into the specific skills that a company is looking for. 47 | 48 | If you're applying for React jobs, your portfolio should be React projects. 49 | 50 | Do some research into your potential landing spots and look for the common threads that all of the positions have in common. Then, tailor your portfolio to show off that you have those skills! 51 | 52 | ## How to choose projects 53 | 54 | Aside from using a tech stack that aligns with your dream job, here are a few dos and don'ts for choosing projects for your portfolio. 55 | 56 | ### Do include 57 | 58 | - Projects that solve a specific problem. 59 | - Projects that are "live" and being used by real people "in the wild." 60 | - Projects that show your interests and values, like a climate-change app that shows that you care about the environment. Or a crypto app that shows that you're interested in Web3. 61 | 62 | ### Don't include 63 | 64 | - Tutorial projects that you didn't come up with on your own. 65 | - School/bootcamp assignments that "everybody" else in the class also built. 66 | - Shallow or incomplete projects that don't have much original code. 67 | - Unrelated, non-dev projects (like photography, YouTube videos, etc.). 68 | - The portfolio site itself. 69 | 70 | ## Number of projects to include 71 | 72 | **3 is the magic number.** 73 | 74 | You can get away with 2 if they are interesting, robust projects that clearly took a lot of time and effort to build, are deployed to the world, and especially if they are used by real people to solve a real problem. 75 | 76 | But only having 1 project won't give the tech recruiter or hiring manager enough information. 77 | 78 | On the flip side, once you hit more than 5 projects you're starting to drift into "too much" territory. It's unlikely that the person reviewing your resume is actually going to check out every single one of your projects, so even if you have a ton of projects you should carefully select your top 3-5 to include. 79 | 80 | Your goal is to show off your best work, so only include your 3-5 best projects (even if you have more projects completed.) 81 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /static/img/speak_logotype_reversed.svg: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-assessments/code-study-plan.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 2 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Coding assessment study plan 6 | 7 | ## How to practice for coding assessments 8 | 9 | Here's a quick list of tips to help you practice efficiently and effectively. 10 | 11 | ### Practice in a realistic setting. 12 | 13 | If you wouldn’t take a real assessment at the coffee table with Netflix on in the background, why are you practicing like that?! Think about where you plan on being when you have to take an assessment that counts, and take all of your practice assessments in that same spot. (This really helps, promise.) 14 | 15 | ### Create your own practice assessments. 16 | 17 | We’ve compiled a [list of relevant Leetcode questions](docs/week-1/coding-assessments/big-list-of-dsa-problems.md) for you to practice. Choose two of them and set a timer for 60 minutes. The more you practice, the easier (and less intimidating) it gets. 18 | 19 | ### Review and repeat. 20 | 21 | If you can’t figure out a solution to a problem in under 30 minutes, don’t panic! Look up the solution online, learn how to solve it, and then move on. In a day or two, revisit that problem and see if you can solve it this time without having to look anything up. 22 | 23 | ## Tips for taking coding assessments 24 | 25 | ### Don't copy and paste code. 26 | 27 | One thing you should know - copying and pasting code into the assessment will trigger cheating detection within assessment software like Coderbyte or HackerRank. Re-type your code in to avoid this flag. 28 | 29 | ### Don't cheat. 30 | 31 | When it comes time to take an actual coding assessment given to you by a potential employer, it's very important to not cheat. 32 | 33 | What is cheating? Looking up the answer and immediately solving it in the assessment in 10 minutes. Switching languages for each challenge because you found an answer online in that language first. 34 | 35 | Most of the platforms used to give coding assessments record part of your screen (the code editor) as you take them, so employers can literally see how you work. Don't disqualify yourself by cheating. 36 | 37 | ### Don’t switch tabs too often. 38 | 39 | Online judges only record the code editor — so you don’t have to worry about them recording your entire screen — but they do take notes on how often you leave the editor… and for how long. 40 | 41 | If you leave the tab multiple times, especially for extended periods of time, then you might get flagged as cheating. And it could still look bad even if you don’t get flagged, because any interviewer who happens to review your coding assessment will be able to tell that you were switching back and forth between the code editor and something else. 42 | 43 | ### Do your best! 44 | 45 | In the end, your interviewers are going to learn what your real proficiency level is. Can you get a few steps further in the process by hacking your way? Maybe. But ultimately it's going to damage your chances of getting hired because it will be discovered that you misrepresented your skills, and that will result in an immediate rejection. 46 | 47 | It's ok to be exactly where you are. No one was born coding! Do the best you can, and that will often be good enough. And if it's not, you'll learn where you need practice if you want to get a particular job. People who don't give up are impossible to defeat. 48 | 49 | :::tip Share 50 | 51 | Have any extra study tips or resources you absolutely love and think others could benefit from? Share them in the [Speak\_ Discord](https://discord.gg/wjnAEVjbCu) and let us know! 52 | 53 | ::: 54 | 55 | ## Which LeetCode questions should I study? 56 | 57 | Instead of trying to memorize a one-line answer to a few common algorithm questions (We’re looking at you, FizzBuzz), you should try to do a lot of LeetCode problems so that you can start to recognize algorithm patterns. 58 | 59 | We recommend following a list because it lets you focus on studying instead of fretting about which questions might be important. 60 | 61 | To help you with this, we’ve put together a Big List of DS&A Problems with the help of a hiring manager at Amazon. This curated list is an excellent study companion, and if you go through the entire thing then you’ll be in great shape heading into any online assessment. 62 | 63 | :::tip Note 64 | 65 | There are a lot of amazing LeetCode lists out there. Almost any of them will work! 66 | 67 | The most commonly recommended LeetCode List by Speak\_ candidates is [Grind 75](https://www.techinterviewhandbook.org/grind75). If you haven’t heard of it before, check it out! It’s a list of 75 LeetCode questions meant to be solved _in order_ over the next 8 weeks. 68 | 69 | ::: 70 | 71 | ## How long should I study for? 72 | 73 | Now that you know _what_ to study (A LeetCode List), you might be wondering, “How much time should I dedicate to LeetCode every day?” 74 | 75 | This is a great question! The answer is… _it depends._ 76 | 77 | If you have 90 minutes to spare, then doing a 60 minute practice assessment followed by 30 minutes of review is going to be the most effective way to study. 78 | 79 | And we’re not talking about looking at the clock and saying, “I’ll practice LeetCode for about an hour.” No, we mean actually setting a timer and trying to race against the clock! 80 | 81 | Why? Because the best way to practice is by pretending you’re taking a real online assessment. 82 | 83 | If you only have 60 minutes to study, then we recommend setting a 60 minute timer and trying to solve two LeetCode questions within that hour. 84 | 85 | The time limit is the key! If you finish both of the questions and have time left over, use that extra time for review. 86 | 87 | - Refactor your code to be more optimal. 88 | - Go back and add descriptive comments. 89 | - Watch a YouTube video about the questions you just solved to make sure that you fully understand the best solution. 90 | 91 | It's incredibly simple to create your own online assessment, for free, with just a few minutes of preparation. Let’s get right into it. 92 | 93 | ## How to make your own practice assessment 94 | 95 | Follow the steps below to make a practice assessment for yourself. 96 | 97 | ### Step 1: Choose two questions 98 | 99 | Prepare your practice assessment by choosing 2 questions from the [Big List of DS&A Questions](docs/week-1/coding-assessments/big-list-of-dsa-problems.md). 100 | 101 | What difficulty you choose is up to you, but we recommend 1 easy and 1 medium challenge. 102 | 103 | :::tip 104 | 105 | We recommend mixing and matching categories. For example: 106 | 107 | - Question 1: String Manipulation - [Detect Capital](https://leetcode.com/problems/detect-capital) 108 | - Question 2: Dynamic Programming - [House Robber II](https://leetcode.com/problems/house-robber-ii/) 109 | 110 | ::: 111 | 112 | ### Step 2: Take the practice assessment 113 | 114 | Once you've chosen 2 questions, set a timer for 60 minutes and get to work. 115 | 116 | Do your best to simulate a real test environment: 117 | 118 | - Avoid distractions. 119 | - Try to answer both questions before the timer goes off. 120 | - Don't copy/paste solutions. Assessment platforms like Coderbyte will flag you as cheating if you copy/paste in the editor. 121 | - Don't take extended breaks in the middle of the test. In a real test, you won't be able to do one question and then eat lunch before coming back to finish question two. Do them both in one sitting. 122 | 123 | If you get stuck on the first problem and can't solve it in under 30 minutes, move on to the second problem. You can go back and try to complete the first problem if you have time left over at the end. 124 | 125 | ### Step 3: Review your solutions and repeat 126 | 127 | After you finish your homemade assessment, review your solutions. 128 | 129 | **Answer the following questions:** 130 | 131 | 1. Did you get the test cases to pass? (most important) 132 | 2. Do you understand the space and time complexities? Can you think of ways to improve your answer? You don't have to solve the questions in best way possible, but it does help to think through how you could refactor if you had extra time. 133 | 3. Could you solve this problem again tomorrow (without looking anything up)? 134 | 135 | The more you practice, the better off you'll be. 136 | 137 | You’ve got this! 💪🏿 138 | 139 | ## Additional study tips 140 | 141 | ### 1. Study in short bursts 142 | 143 | It's been proven that it's better to study in 20 different 30-minute increments rather than a single 10 hour marathon, for example. Spread your studying out over as much time as you have, but always try to recreate a test environment whenever possible. 144 | 145 | ### 2. Study at a consistent time 146 | 147 | It's even more beneficial to study in the same location and at the same time of day that you'll be taking the real online assessment. If you can be consistent with your schedule, do it. 148 | 149 | ### 3. Study with intent 150 | 151 | Before you study, set an intention about what you want to learn or accomplish. A great way to study intentionally is to create your own practice assessments. 152 | 153 | ### 4. Remember what you learned 154 | 155 | Use [active recall](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btLPgWxKISM) to test your knowledge. Spaced repetition programs like Anki and Remnote are great for this. 156 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-1/coding-assessments/big-list-of-dsa-problems.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 4 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # Big List of DS&A Problems 6 | 7 | Welcome to the Big List of DS&A Problems. This curated list of data structure & algorithm challenges is designed to help you study for online technical assessments in a structured way. (You can also pull from this list for the pair sessions.) 8 | 9 | The key to success? Practice, practice, practice! 10 | 11 | ## About the List 12 | 13 | We’ve curated Leetcode problems based on key topics so you don’t have to hunt for them. Each topic has a “top challenge”, which is a commonly seen problem on technical assessments, and then “additional challenges”. 14 | 15 | If you find the top challenge tricky and need additional practice, work through the additional coding challenges for that topic. Many of the problems use the same strategies with slight variations, so look for patterns! 16 | 17 | Treat this list like a buffet. You do not need to be able to solve every problem on this list in order to pass the upcoming technical assessment. It’s just a guide, meant to be used as an overview of the types of questions that you might run into. Cool? Cool. 18 | 19 | Here are some study tips to help you get the most out of algorithm practice: 20 | 21 | - Set a timer (we recommend 30 minutes per problem). 22 | - Practice in the same room where you would take a real assessment. 23 | - If you struggle with a challenge, look up (aka google) a solution to see how it was answered. Then, try that problem again the next day. 24 | 25 | ## Big List of DS&A Questions 26 | 27 | The questions below will help you prepare for online assessments. We recommend attempting to solve the **Top Challenge** and then looking up a solution walkthrough on YouTube. 28 | 29 | Even if you're able to get the test cases passing, looking up a solution will help you see other ways to approach the problem. 30 | 31 | ### String Manipulation 32 | 33 | **Top Challenge** 34 | 35 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-string](https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-string) 36 | 37 | **Additional Challenges** 38 | 39 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/detect-capital](https://leetcode.com/problems/detect-capital) 40 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-words-in-a-string-iii](https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-words-in-a-string-iii) 41 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-palindrome](https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-palindrome) 42 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-vowels-of-a-string](https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-vowels-of-a-string) 43 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-common-prefix](https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-common-prefix) 44 | 45 | ### Arrays 46 | 47 | **Top Challenge** 48 | 49 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/two-sum/](https://leetcode.com/problems/two-sum/) 50 | 51 | **Additional Challenges** 52 | 53 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/number-of-islands/](https://leetcode.com/problems/number-of-islands/) 54 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-array-by-parity](https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-array-by-parity) 55 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/transpose-matrix](https://leetcode.com/problems/transpose-matrix) 56 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/flipping-an-image](https://leetcode.com/problems/flipping-an-image) 57 | 58 | ### Sorting 59 | 60 | **Top Challenge** 61 | 62 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/merge-intervals](https://leetcode.com/problems/merge-intervals) 63 | 64 | **Additional Challenges** 65 | 66 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-anagram](https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-anagram) 67 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/array-partition](https://leetcode.com/problems/array-partition) 68 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/find-all-anagrams-in-a-string](https://leetcode.com/problems/find-all-anagrams-in-a-string) 69 | 70 | ### Divide & Conquer 71 | 72 | **Top Challenge** 73 | 74 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-list/](https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-list/) 75 | 76 | **Additional Challenge** 77 | 78 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/merge-k-sorted-lists/](https://leetcode.com/problems/merge-k-sorted-lists/) 79 | 80 | ### Stacks 81 | 82 | **Top Challenge** 83 | 84 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-parentheses](https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-parentheses) 85 | 86 | **Coding Challenges** 87 | 88 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/baseball-game](https://leetcode.com/problems/baseball-game) 89 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/next-greater-element-i](https://leetcode.com/problems/next-greater-element-i) 90 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/backspace-string-compare](https://leetcode.com/problems/backspace-string-compare) 91 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/score-of-parentheses](https://leetcode.com/problems/score-of-parentheses) 92 | 93 | ### Linked Lists 94 | 95 | **Top Challenge** 96 | 97 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/add-two-numbers/](https://leetcode.com/problems/add-two-numbers/) 98 | 99 | **Additional Challenges** 100 | 101 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-linked-list](https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-linked-list) 102 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-linked-list-ii](https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-linked-list-ii) 103 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/odd-even-linked-list](https://leetcode.com/problems/odd-even-linked-list) 104 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/intersection-of-two-linked-lists](https://leetcode.com/problems/intersection-of-two-linked-lists) 105 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-nodes-in-k-group](https://leetcode.com/problems/reverse-nodes-in-k-group) 106 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/lru-cache](https://leetcode.com/problems/lru-cache) 107 | 108 | ### Trees 109 | 110 | **Top Challenge** 111 | 112 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/validate-binary-search-tree/](https://leetcode.com/problems/validate-binary-search-tree/) 113 | 114 | **Coding Challenges** 115 | 116 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/n-ary-tree-postorder-traversal](https://leetcode.com/problems/n-ary-tree-postorder-traversal) 117 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/leaf-similar-trees](https://leetcode.com/problems/leaf-similar-trees) 118 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/same-tree](https://leetcode.com/problems/same-tree) 119 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/sum-of-left-leaves](https://leetcode.com/problems/sum-of-left-leaves) 120 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/diameter-of-binary-tree](https://leetcode.com/problems/diameter-of-binary-tree) 121 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-univalue-path](https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-univalue-path) 122 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/find-bottom-left-tree-value](https://leetcode.com/problems/find-bottom-left-tree-value) 123 | 124 | ### Hashmaps & Sets 125 | 126 | **Top Challenge** 127 | 128 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/group-anagrams/](https://leetcode.com/problems/group-anagrams/) 129 | 130 | **Additional Challenges** 131 | 132 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-substring-without-repeating-characters/](https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-substring-without-repeating-characters/) 133 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-anagram/](https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-anagram/) 134 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/jewels-and-stones](https://leetcode.com/problems/jewels-and-stones) 135 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/unique-morse-code-words](https://leetcode.com/problems/unique-morse-code-words) 136 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/happy-number](https://leetcode.com/problems/happy-number) 137 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/uncommon-words-from-two-sentences](https://leetcode.com/problems/uncommon-words-from-two-sentences) 138 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/distribute-candies](https://leetcode.com/problems/distribute-candies) 139 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/groups-of-special-equivalent-strings](https://leetcode.com/problems/groups-of-special-equivalent-strings) 140 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/intersection-of-two-arrays](https://leetcode.com/problems/intersection-of-two-arrays) 141 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-sudoku](https://leetcode.com/problems/valid-sudoku) 142 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/isomorphic-strings](https://leetcode.com/problems/isomorphic-strings) 143 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/word-pattern](https://leetcode.com/problems/word-pattern) 144 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/design-hashmap](https://leetcode.com/problems/design-hashmap) 145 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/design-hashset](https://leetcode.com/problems/design-hashset) 146 | 147 | **Multiset** 148 | 149 | - (Make sure to use a multiset for these problems as opposed to sorting) 150 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/find-all-anagrams-in-a-string](https://leetcode.com/problems/find-all-anagrams-in-a-string) 151 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/first-unique-character-in-a-string](https://leetcode.com/problems/first-unique-character-in-a-string) 152 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/subdomain-visit-count](https://leetcode.com/problems/subdomain-visit-count) 153 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/find-the-difference](https://leetcode.com/problems/find-the-difference) 154 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-characters-by-frequency](https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-characters-by-frequency) 155 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/most-common-word](https://leetcode.com/problems/most-common-word) 156 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-characters-by-frequency](https://leetcode.com/problems/sort-characters-by-frequency) 157 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/set-mismatch](https://leetcode.com/problems/set-mismatch) 158 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/number-of-atoms](https://leetcode.com/problems/number-of-atoms) 159 | 160 | ### Recursion & Memoization 161 | 162 | **Top Challenge** 163 | 164 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/powx-n](https://leetcode.com/problems/powx-n) 165 | 166 | **Additional Challenges** 167 | 168 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/best-time-to-buy-and-sell-stock](https://leetcode.com/problems/best-time-to-buy-and-sell-stock) 169 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/edit-distance](https://leetcode.com/problems/edit-distance) 170 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/house-robber-ii](https://leetcode.com/problems/house-robber-ii) 171 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/regular-expression-matching/](https://leetcode.com/problems/regular-expression-matching/) (Do not use a built-in regex for this one) 172 | 173 | ### Dynamic Programming 174 | 175 | **Top Challenge** 176 | 177 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/coin-change/](https://leetcode.com/problems/coin-change/) 178 | 179 | **Additional Challenges** 180 | 181 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/best-time-to-buy-and-sell-stock](https://leetcode.com/problems/best-time-to-buy-and-sell-stock) 182 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/edit-distance](https://leetcode.com/problems/edit-distance) 183 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/house-robber-ii](https://leetcode.com/problems/house-robber-ii) 184 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/regular-expression-matching/](https://leetcode.com/problems/regular-expression-matching/) (Do not use a built-in regex for this one) 185 | 186 | ### Queues 187 | 188 | **Top Challenge** 189 | 190 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/first-unique-character-in-a-string/](https://leetcode.com/problems/first-unique-character-in-a-string/) 191 | 192 | **Additional Challenges** 193 | 194 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/implement-stack-using-queues/](https://leetcode.com/problems/implement-stack-using-queues/) 195 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/implement-queue-using-stacks/](https://leetcode.com/problems/implement-queue-using-stacks/) 196 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/rotate-array](https://leetcode.com/problems/rotate-array) 197 | 198 | ### Graphs 199 | 200 | **Top Challenge** 201 | 202 | - BFS [https://leetcode.com/problems/course-schedule](https://leetcode.com/problems/course-schedule) 203 | 204 | **Additional Challenges** 205 | 206 | - BFS/DFS [https://leetcode.com/problems/island-perimeter](https://leetcode.com/problems/island-perimeter) 207 | - BFS [https://leetcode.com/problems/is-graph-bipartite](https://leetcode.com/problems/is-graph-bipartite) 208 | - BFS [https://leetcode.com/problems/word-search](https://leetcode.com/problems/word-search) 209 | - Top Sort [https://leetcode.com/problems/course-schedule-ii](https://leetcode.com/problems/course-schedule-ii) 210 | - Top Sort [https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/given-sorted-dictionary-find-precedence-characters/](https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/given-sorted-dictionary-find-precedence-characters/) 211 | - [https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-increasing-path-in-a-matrix](https://leetcode.com/problems/longest-increasing-path-in-a-matrix) 212 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /docs/week-2/behavioral/star-method.md: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | --- 2 | sidebar_position: 3 3 | --- 4 | 5 | # STAR Method 6 | 7 | **Preface: Ok, so this is a BIG lesson - but it's super important and worth your time to read!** 8 | 9 | The STAR method is one of the most helpful (and in Amazon's case, essential) tools for answering interview questions. 10 | 11 | In the next lesson you'll get practice using the STAR method, so make sure to look at the examples below and really think about how you can apply this framework to your own professional experiences. 12 | 13 | Preparing for behavioral interview questions can be challenging. There are endless potential questions that can be asked, so even starting to prepare for them can feel overwhelming. That's why we love the STAR Method. You can think of it as a storytelling framework. 14 | 15 | ## What is the STAR Method? 16 | 17 | The STAR Method is an acronym that is best understood by what it stands for: 18 | 19 | - **Situation** – Describe the context 20 | - **Task** – Provide details on your responsibilities 21 | - **Action** – Demonstrate how you responded or took charge 22 | - **Result** – Explain the impact you made or the lessons you learned 23 | 24 | This gives you a structured way to answer interview questions. Without a strategy like this, it can be easy to ramble and be unfocused in your responses. This is especially true if you’re asked a question you’ve never heard of before and you’re thinking on the spot. 25 | 26 | Now that you know what the STAR Method stands for, let’s go into each component in detail. 27 | 28 | ### Situation 29 | 30 | When providing the context of your experience, try to start off with a hook that draws your interviewer’s attention. Set the stage so that you demonstrate that the experience you went through was significant, interesting, and/or challenging. Just like any good movie or book, setting the right tone from the start is crucial to keeping your interviewer engaged. 31 | 32 | **Examples** 33 | 34 | - As a consultant at X firm, I was working on a $10M project to help a $20B healthcare client with its pharmaceutical drug pricing strategy. Immediately after the first few weeks, I was put into a meeting with the CEO and CFO. 35 | - During my previous marketing internship, I was placed in an awkward situation when my manager asked me to change some numbers to make our data look more impressive. I was confused because my boss had an outstanding reputation at work. 36 | - Last year when I was a sophomore in college, I realized that there were very few food delivery options on campus but a hungry market of college students who were often too busy or lazy to get food themselves. So I thought to myself – why don’t I start a food delivery business? 37 | 38 | ### Task 39 | 40 | After getting your interviewer hooked at the beginning, you'll next need to describe the task at hand. Don’t over-exaggerate to the point where your tasks seem unbelievable, but also don’t sell yourself short. Elaborate on why you were an important part of a team or project to showcase that you have experience working and excelling in challenging environments. 41 | 42 | **Examples** 43 | 44 | - My project leader’s style was to throw consultants into the fire so they could learn as quickly as possible. My job was to present four slides during a meeting with our client. I’m not really afraid of public speaking having been on debate teams, but I must admit presenting to C-suite executives for the first time was a little intimidating. 45 | - At first, I wasn’t sure how to respond because I had never been put in a situation where I was asked to do something unethical for a company I worked at. I went back to my desk and sat there to consider my different options. 46 | - Having never started a business before, I suddenly had a lot to do. I needed to form a team to help build the product, research the market by interviewing potential customers, and look into any potential competition. 47 | 48 | ### Action 49 | 50 | This next step is where you get to the real meat of the story you’re telling. Think of this as the climax of a book or movie. Explain how you responded to the tasks you faced and more importantly, how and why you made your decisions. Interviewers love to dive deep into the reasons behind your actions. Impress your interviewer by staying a step ahead of them! 51 | 52 | **Examples** 53 | 54 | - In order to prepare for the meeting, I spent several hours making sure the slides were perfect. I then called some of the senior consultants I knew and spent a few hours on the phone practicing presenting the slides and asking for feedback. During the meeting, I was still a bit nervous, but all the practice had paid off and the presentation went smoothly. 55 | - After giving it some thought, I first conducted a Google search to see if others had been in my situation. Reading a few articles definitely helped and I gathered the knowledge I could online. I then spoke with a few of my older colleagues to ask for their advice. Surprisingly, they told me that my boss had a history of asking for things that seem unethical because he doesn’t always know the full picture. So with all the courage I could muster, I knocked on his door and explained to him why I didn’t feel comfortable changing the numbers as he requested, providing backup data for my reasoning. He immediately said he agreed with me and had me change the numbers back and said he appreciated all the extra work I put into the presentation. 56 | - I immediately got to work by collaborating with my friend, who caught the vision as soon as I pitched it to her. In a few months, we interviewed 25 students, got 5 restaurants onboard, and launched a mobile app for a food delivery business. I was in charge of the business operations and customer support, and even had my own cell phone number as the business contact number so I received calls at all hours of the night! I worked harder than I ever did in my life because there was always something to do every minute, but I loved it. 57 | 58 | ### Result 59 | 60 | It’s not enough to just explain what the result was – instead, you should explain to the interviewer the impact *you* made and/or an important lesson you learned. 61 | 62 | Sometimes, by the end of a behavioral interview answer, candidates feel like they need to stop talking and skimp out on this part of the STAR Method. As every great movie needs a great conclusion, your behavioral answer will need a memorable ending in order to round out a strong behavioral interview answer. 63 | 64 | In essence, you are answering the question “So What?” The result tells your interviewer why they should care about the story you just told them. The answer? Because you have a track record of achievement and will take the lessons you learned from this story and apply them as an employee at their company. 65 | 66 | **Examples** 67 | 68 | - This experience had a profound impact on me. I learned firsthand that even the most senior and experienced people in the world are willing to listen to a 25-year-old, as long as they're well prepared and put in the work. From that meeting onwards, I challenged myself by consistently asking to present as many slides as possible to the client. I wasn’t always given the green light of course, but at my next performance review, my drive to present to clients was a big differentiator between me and others in my cohort. 69 | - Simply put, this experience taught me not just that it’s never wrong to do the right thing, but that a great company will support the right decisions. I was nervous at first that my boss might get mad at me or I would insult him by questioning him. However, after speaking with him, I realized that my boss had a stellar reputation for a reason. I found it so empowering to be in a supportive and ethical environment, and those are key attributes I look for in a company. 70 | - Ultimately, we were able to receive an investment from a venture fund for $25,000 in seed money. My team and I operated the business for a few years, but growth slowed once bigger delivery apps came onto the market. Even though this startup wasn’t a home-run success, I am proud of the success we did achieve, and place a high value on this experience for all the things I learned about business – from treating your customers right to accounting, and even legal compliance. Most importantly, I took away the lesson that if you see a problem and tackle it with hard work and smart strategy, there are an endless amount of opportunities to succeed. 71 | 72 | --- 73 | 74 | ## What kind of questions does the STAR method work for? 75 | 76 | Questions that the STAR Method are good for are easy to spot. Typically, they ask about a situation you were in and how you acted. Here are a few star method example questions: 77 | 78 | - Tell me about a time when you needed to convince someone. 79 | - Describe a situation when you had to confront a team member about a problem and how you went about it. 80 | - Describe a time when you were given an ambiguous assignment and how you went about getting the job done. 81 | - Tell me about a time when you took the initiative. 82 | - Tell me about a time when you failed. 83 | - Tell me about your greatest accomplishment. 84 | - Describe an ethical dilemma you faced and what the outcome of the situation was. 85 | - Give me an example of a time when you motivated others to get a job done. 86 | - Tell me about a time when you had a large number of conflicting responsibilities on your plate and how you managed your priorities. 87 | 88 | --- 89 | 90 | ## Tips on using the STAR method 91 | 92 | Here are a few extra tips to squeeze the most juice out of STAR. 93 | 94 | ### Think of your answers as stories 95 | 96 | The best way to use the STAR Method is to prepare your answers as stories. Everyone likes a good story, and so will your interviewers. Plus, telling a story makes the answer seem less contrived. 97 | 98 | As with every story, you’ll need a good hook, a buildup to the drama, and a great ending. This is in essence how the STAR Method is built. 99 | 100 | Think less of it as a structure for an interview answer and more like a way to tell a story. That will make preparing for behavioral interviews fun and your answer will become more authentic and engaging. 101 | 102 | ### Choose impactful experiences 103 | 104 | Interviewers spend hours and hours speaking to candidates and the answers that stand out most are the ones that are different. 105 | 106 | No one likes a boring book or movie and no one likes a boring story either. Think deeply about your experiences and choose the ones that have shaped you the most, but also where you were doing the most impactful work. 107 | 108 | ### Don’t be rigid with the structure 109 | 110 | By this point, a lot of interviewers know what the STAR Method is because it’s such a widely known strategy. 111 | 112 | You don’t want to have all your answers rigidly say, “My situation was A, my task was B, my action was C, and my result was D.” 113 | 114 | Make your answer free-flowing and emphasize the portions you think are most interesting and important to your story. 115 | 116 | If at times you have to skip back and forth to different parts of the method, that’s fine. Being organized is a must, but there’s no one way to be organized. 117 | 118 | ### Be honest and personal 119 | 120 | No one is perfect and the only way to learn is to make mistakes. 121 | 122 | So don't make the mistake of pretending you are perfect! A lot of interviews include direct questions about your weaknesses, mistakes you've made, or conflicts you've dealt with. 123 | 124 | You are the storyteller, so you have the power to frame negative outcomes as learning experiences, and sharing that makes you relatable and trustworthy. 125 | 126 | Remember that if you don't have a relevant professional story to answer with, you can share relevant stories from your personal life. 127 | 128 | Now go forth and tell amazing stories using the STAR method! 129 | 130 | ### Tasks vs Actions 131 | 132 | If you find yourself thinking that the "task" and "action" seem like the same thing - the "task" is dedicated to giving the specifics of what your responsibilities were in that particular scenario, as well as any objective that was set for you, before you dive into what you actually did. 133 | 134 | ### What to avoid 135 | 136 | **Blaming others:** it's always good to own your experience and your part in it. 137 | 138 | **Not being sincere:** honesty is always the best policy. 139 | 140 | **Being negative:** It's always great to put things in a positive light. 141 | 142 | Now go forth and tell amazing stories using the STAR method! 143 | 144 | :::tip Related Content 145 | 146 | - [8 Fit Interview Questions and Their Fatal Mistakes](https://managementconsulted.com/8-fit-interview-questions-and-their-fatal-mistakes/) 147 | - [Hero Stories – How to Talk About Yourself with Measured Confidence in Interviews](https://managementconsulted.com/hero-stories-how-to-talk-about-yourself-with-measured-confidence-in-interviews/) 148 | 149 | ::: 150 | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /LICENSE: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International 2 | 3 | ======================================================================= 4 | 5 | Creative Commons Corporation ("Creative Commons") is not a law firm and 6 | does not provide legal services or legal advice. Distribution of 7 | Creative Commons public licenses does not create a lawyer-client or 8 | other relationship. Creative Commons makes its licenses and related 9 | information available on an "as-is" basis. Creative Commons gives no 10 | warranties regarding its licenses, any material licensed under their 11 | terms and conditions, or any related information. Creative Commons 12 | disclaims all liability for damages resulting from their use to the 13 | fullest extent possible. 14 | 15 | Using Creative Commons Public Licenses 16 | 17 | Creative Commons public licenses provide a standard set of terms and 18 | conditions that creators and other rights holders may use to share 19 | original works of authorship and other material subject to copyright 20 | and certain other rights specified in the public license below. The 21 | following considerations are for informational purposes only, are not 22 | exhaustive, and do not form part of our licenses. 23 | 24 | Considerations for licensors: Our public licenses are 25 | intended for use by those authorized to give the public 26 | permission to use material in ways otherwise restricted by 27 | copyright and certain other rights. Our licenses are 28 | irrevocable. Licensors should read and understand the terms 29 | and conditions of the license they choose before applying it. 30 | Licensors should also secure all rights necessary before 31 | applying our licenses so that the public can reuse the 32 | material as expected. Licensors should clearly mark any 33 | material not subject to the license. This includes other CC- 34 | licensed material, or material used under an exception or 35 | limitation to copyright. More considerations for licensors: 36 | wiki.creativecommons.org/Considerations_for_licensors 37 | 38 | Considerations for the public: By using one of our public 39 | licenses, a licensor grants the public permission to use the 40 | licensed material under specified terms and conditions. If 41 | the licensor's permission is not necessary for any reason--for 42 | example, because of any applicable exception or limitation to 43 | copyright--then that use is not regulated by the license. Our 44 | licenses grant only permissions under copyright and certain 45 | other rights that a licensor has authority to grant. Use of 46 | the licensed material may still be restricted for other 47 | reasons, including because others have copyright or other 48 | rights in the material. A licensor may make special requests, 49 | such as asking that all changes be marked or described. 50 | Although not required by our licenses, you are encouraged to 51 | respect those requests where reasonable. More_considerations 52 | for the public: 53 | wiki.creativecommons.org/Considerations_for_licensees 54 | 55 | ======================================================================= 56 | 57 | Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International 58 | Public License 59 | 60 | By exercising the Licensed Rights (defined below), You accept and agree 61 | to be bound by the terms and conditions of this Creative Commons 62 | Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License 63 | ("Public License"). To the extent this Public License may be 64 | interpreted as a contract, You are granted the Licensed Rights in 65 | consideration of Your acceptance of these terms and conditions, and the 66 | Licensor grants You such rights in consideration of benefits the 67 | Licensor receives from making the Licensed Material available under 68 | these terms and conditions. 69 | 70 | Section 1 -- Definitions. 71 | 72 | a. Adapted Material means material subject to Copyright and Similar 73 | Rights that is derived from or based upon the Licensed Material 74 | and in which the Licensed Material is translated, altered, 75 | arranged, transformed, or otherwise modified in a manner requiring 76 | permission under the Copyright and Similar Rights held by the 77 | Licensor. For purposes of this Public License, where the Licensed 78 | Material is a musical work, performance, or sound recording, 79 | Adapted Material is always produced where the Licensed Material is 80 | synched in timed relation with a moving image. 81 | 82 | b. Adapter's License means the license You apply to Your Copyright 83 | and Similar Rights in Your contributions to Adapted Material in 84 | accordance with the terms and conditions of this Public License. 85 | 86 | c. BY-NC-SA Compatible License means a license listed at 87 | creativecommons.org/compatiblelicenses, approved by Creative 88 | Commons as essentially the equivalent of this Public License. 89 | 90 | d. Copyright and Similar Rights means copyright and/or similar rights 91 | closely related to copyright including, without limitation, 92 | performance, broadcast, sound recording, and Sui Generis Database 93 | Rights, without regard to how the rights are labeled or 94 | categorized. For purposes of this Public License, the rights 95 | specified in Section 2(b)(1)-(2) are not Copyright and Similar 96 | Rights. 97 | 98 | e. Effective Technological Measures means those measures that, in the 99 | absence of proper authority, may not be circumvented under laws 100 | fulfilling obligations under Article 11 of the WIPO Copyright 101 | Treaty adopted on December 20, 1996, and/or similar international 102 | agreements. 103 | 104 | f. Exceptions and Limitations means fair use, fair dealing, and/or 105 | any other exception or limitation to Copyright and Similar Rights 106 | that applies to Your use of the Licensed Material. 107 | 108 | g. License Elements means the license attributes listed in the name 109 | of a Creative Commons Public License. The License Elements of this 110 | Public License are Attribution, NonCommercial, and ShareAlike. 111 | 112 | h. Licensed Material means the artistic or literary work, database, 113 | or other material to which the Licensor applied this Public 114 | License. 115 | 116 | i. Licensed Rights means the rights granted to You subject to the 117 | terms and conditions of this Public License, which are limited to 118 | all Copyright and Similar Rights that apply to Your use of the 119 | Licensed Material and that the Licensor has authority to license. 120 | 121 | j. Licensor means the individual(s) or entity(ies) granting rights 122 | under this Public License. 123 | 124 | k. NonCommercial means not primarily intended for or directed towards 125 | commercial advantage or monetary compensation. For purposes of 126 | this Public License, the exchange of the Licensed Material for 127 | other material subject to Copyright and Similar Rights by digital 128 | file-sharing or similar means is NonCommercial provided there is 129 | no payment of monetary compensation in connection with the 130 | exchange. 131 | 132 | l. Share means to provide material to the public by any means or 133 | process that requires permission under the Licensed Rights, such 134 | as reproduction, public display, public performance, distribution, 135 | dissemination, communication, or importation, and to make material 136 | available to the public including in ways that members of the 137 | public may access the material from a place and at a time 138 | individually chosen by them. 139 | 140 | m. Sui Generis Database Rights means rights other than copyright 141 | resulting from Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of 142 | the Council of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases, 143 | as amended and/or succeeded, as well as other essentially 144 | equivalent rights anywhere in the world. 145 | 146 | n. You means the individual or entity exercising the Licensed Rights 147 | under this Public License. Your has a corresponding meaning. 148 | 149 | Section 2 -- Scope. 150 | 151 | a. License grant. 152 | 153 | 1. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Public License, 154 | the Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, 155 | non-sublicensable, non-exclusive, irrevocable license to 156 | exercise the Licensed Rights in the Licensed Material to: 157 | 158 | a. reproduce and Share the Licensed Material, in whole or 159 | in part, for NonCommercial purposes only; and 160 | 161 | b. produce, reproduce, and Share Adapted Material for 162 | NonCommercial purposes only. 163 | 164 | 2. Exceptions and Limitations. For the avoidance of doubt, where 165 | Exceptions and Limitations apply to Your use, this Public 166 | License does not apply, and You do not need to comply with 167 | its terms and conditions. 168 | 169 | 3. Term. The term of this Public License is specified in Section 170 | 6(a). 171 | 172 | 4. Media and formats; technical modifications allowed. The 173 | Licensor authorizes You to exercise the Licensed Rights in 174 | all media and formats whether now known or hereafter created, 175 | and to make technical modifications necessary to do so. The 176 | Licensor waives and/or agrees not to assert any right or 177 | authority to forbid You from making technical modifications 178 | necessary to exercise the Licensed Rights, including 179 | technical modifications necessary to circumvent Effective 180 | Technological Measures. For purposes of this Public License, 181 | simply making modifications authorized by this Section 2(a) 182 | (4) never produces Adapted Material. 183 | 184 | 5. Downstream recipients. 185 | 186 | a. Offer from the Licensor -- Licensed Material. Every 187 | recipient of the Licensed Material automatically 188 | receives an offer from the Licensor to exercise the 189 | Licensed Rights under the terms and conditions of this 190 | Public License. 191 | 192 | b. Additional offer from the Licensor -- Adapted Material. 193 | Every recipient of Adapted Material from You 194 | automatically receives an offer from the Licensor to 195 | exercise the Licensed Rights in the Adapted Material 196 | under the conditions of the Adapter's License You apply. 197 | 198 | c. No downstream restrictions. You may not offer or impose 199 | any additional or different terms or conditions on, or 200 | apply any Effective Technological Measures to, the 201 | Licensed Material if doing so restricts exercise of the 202 | Licensed Rights by any recipient of the Licensed 203 | Material. 204 | 205 | 6. No endorsement. Nothing in this Public License constitutes or 206 | may be construed as permission to assert or imply that You 207 | are, or that Your use of the Licensed Material is, connected 208 | with, or sponsored, endorsed, or granted official status by, 209 | the Licensor or others designated to receive attribution as 210 | provided in Section 3(a)(1)(A)(i). 211 | 212 | b. Other rights. 213 | 214 | 1. Moral rights, such as the right of integrity, are not 215 | licensed under this Public License, nor are publicity, 216 | privacy, and/or other similar personality rights; however, to 217 | the extent possible, the Licensor waives and/or agrees not to 218 | assert any such rights held by the Licensor to the limited 219 | extent necessary to allow You to exercise the Licensed 220 | Rights, but not otherwise. 221 | 222 | 2. Patent and trademark rights are not licensed under this 223 | Public License. 224 | 225 | 3. To the extent possible, the Licensor waives any right to 226 | collect royalties from You for the exercise of the Licensed 227 | Rights, whether directly or through a collecting society 228 | under any voluntary or waivable statutory or compulsory 229 | licensing scheme. In all other cases the Licensor expressly 230 | reserves any right to collect such royalties, including when 231 | the Licensed Material is used other than for NonCommercial 232 | purposes. 233 | 234 | Section 3 -- License Conditions. 235 | 236 | Your exercise of the Licensed Rights is expressly made subject to the 237 | following conditions. 238 | 239 | a. Attribution. 240 | 241 | 1. If You Share the Licensed Material (including in modified 242 | form), You must: 243 | 244 | a. retain the following if it is supplied by the Licensor 245 | with the Licensed Material: 246 | 247 | i. identification of the creator(s) of the Licensed 248 | Material and any others designated to receive 249 | attribution, in any reasonable manner requested by 250 | the Licensor (including by pseudonym if 251 | designated); 252 | 253 | ii. a copyright notice; 254 | 255 | iii. a notice that refers to this Public License; 256 | 257 | iv. a notice that refers to the disclaimer of 258 | warranties; 259 | 260 | v. a URI or hyperlink to the Licensed Material to the 261 | extent reasonably practicable; 262 | 263 | b. indicate if You modified the Licensed Material and 264 | retain an indication of any previous modifications; and 265 | 266 | c. indicate the Licensed Material is licensed under this 267 | Public License, and include the text of, or the URI or 268 | hyperlink to, this Public License. 269 | 270 | 2. You may satisfy the conditions in Section 3(a)(1) in any 271 | reasonable manner based on the medium, means, and context in 272 | which You Share the Licensed Material. For example, it may be 273 | reasonable to satisfy the conditions by providing a URI or 274 | hyperlink to a resource that includes the required 275 | information. 276 | 3. If requested by the Licensor, You must remove any of the 277 | information required by Section 3(a)(1)(A) to the extent 278 | reasonably practicable. 279 | 280 | b. ShareAlike. 281 | 282 | In addition to the conditions in Section 3(a), if You Share 283 | Adapted Material You produce, the following conditions also apply. 284 | 285 | 1. The Adapter's License You apply must be a Creative Commons 286 | license with the same License Elements, this version or 287 | later, or a BY-NC-SA Compatible License. 288 | 289 | 2. You must include the text of, or the URI or hyperlink to, the 290 | Adapter's License You apply. You may satisfy this condition 291 | in any reasonable manner based on the medium, means, and 292 | context in which You Share Adapted Material. 293 | 294 | 3. You may not offer or impose any additional or different terms 295 | or conditions on, or apply any Effective Technological 296 | Measures to, Adapted Material that restrict exercise of the 297 | rights granted under the Adapter's License You apply. 298 | 299 | Section 4 -- Sui Generis Database Rights. 300 | 301 | Where the Licensed Rights include Sui Generis Database Rights that 302 | apply to Your use of the Licensed Material: 303 | 304 | a. for the avoidance of doubt, Section 2(a)(1) grants You the right 305 | to extract, reuse, reproduce, and Share all or a substantial 306 | portion of the contents of the database for NonCommercial purposes 307 | only; 308 | 309 | b. if You include all or a substantial portion of the database 310 | contents in a database in which You have Sui Generis Database 311 | Rights, then the database in which You have Sui Generis Database 312 | Rights (but not its individual contents) is Adapted Material, 313 | including for purposes of Section 3(b); and 314 | 315 | c. You must comply with the conditions in Section 3(a) if You Share 316 | all or a substantial portion of the contents of the database. 317 | 318 | For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 4 supplements and does not 319 | replace Your obligations under this Public License where the Licensed 320 | Rights include other Copyright and Similar Rights. 321 | 322 | Section 5 -- Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitation of Liability. 323 | 324 | a. UNLESS OTHERWISE SEPARATELY UNDERTAKEN BY THE LICENSOR, TO THE 325 | EXTENT POSSIBLE, THE LICENSOR OFFERS THE LICENSED MATERIAL AS-IS 326 | AND AS-AVAILABLE, AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF 327 | ANY KIND CONCERNING THE LICENSED MATERIAL, WHETHER EXPRESS, 328 | IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHER. THIS INCLUDES, WITHOUT LIMITATION, 329 | WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR 330 | PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, 331 | ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OR ABSENCE OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT 332 | KNOWN OR DISCOVERABLE. WHERE DISCLAIMERS OF WARRANTIES ARE NOT 333 | ALLOWED IN FULL OR IN PART, THIS DISCLAIMER MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. 334 | 335 | b. TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE, IN NO EVENT WILL THE LICENSOR BE LIABLE 336 | TO YOU ON ANY LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, 337 | NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE FOR ANY DIRECT, SPECIAL, INDIRECT, 338 | INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, OR OTHER LOSSES, 339 | COSTS, EXPENSES, OR DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS PUBLIC LICENSE OR 340 | USE OF THE LICENSED MATERIAL, EVEN IF THE LICENSOR HAS BEEN 341 | ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSSES, COSTS, EXPENSES, OR 342 | DAMAGES. WHERE A LIMITATION OF LIABILITY IS NOT ALLOWED IN FULL OR 343 | IN PART, THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. 344 | 345 | c. The disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability provided 346 | above shall be interpreted in a manner that, to the extent 347 | possible, most closely approximates an absolute disclaimer and 348 | waiver of all liability. 349 | 350 | Section 6 -- Term and Termination. 351 | 352 | a. This Public License applies for the term of the Copyright and 353 | Similar Rights licensed here. However, if You fail to comply with 354 | this Public License, then Your rights under this Public License 355 | terminate automatically. 356 | 357 | b. Where Your right to use the Licensed Material has terminated under 358 | Section 6(a), it reinstates: 359 | 360 | 1. automatically as of the date the violation is cured, provided 361 | it is cured within 30 days of Your discovery of the 362 | violation; or 363 | 364 | 2. upon express reinstatement by the Licensor. 365 | 366 | For the avoidance of doubt, this Section 6(b) does not affect any 367 | right the Licensor may have to seek remedies for Your violations 368 | of this Public License. 369 | 370 | c. For the avoidance of doubt, the Licensor may also offer the 371 | Licensed Material under separate terms or conditions or stop 372 | distributing the Licensed Material at any time; however, doing so 373 | will not terminate this Public License. 374 | 375 | d. Sections 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8 survive termination of this Public 376 | License. 377 | 378 | Section 7 -- Other Terms and Conditions. 379 | 380 | a. The Licensor shall not be bound by any additional or different 381 | terms or conditions communicated by You unless expressly agreed. 382 | 383 | b. Any arrangements, understandings, or agreements regarding the 384 | Licensed Material not stated herein are separate from and 385 | independent of the terms and conditions of this Public License. 386 | 387 | Section 8 -- Interpretation. 388 | 389 | a. For the avoidance of doubt, this Public License does not, and 390 | shall not be interpreted to, reduce, limit, restrict, or impose 391 | conditions on any use of the Licensed Material that could lawfully 392 | be made without permission under this Public License. 393 | 394 | b. To the extent possible, if any provision of this Public License is 395 | deemed unenforceable, it shall be automatically reformed to the 396 | minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable. If the provision 397 | cannot be reformed, it shall be severed from this Public License 398 | without affecting the enforceability of the remaining terms and 399 | conditions. 400 | 401 | c. No term or condition of this Public License will be waived and no 402 | failure to comply consented to unless expressly agreed to by the 403 | Licensor. 404 | 405 | d. Nothing in this Public License constitutes or may be interpreted 406 | as a limitation upon, or waiver of, any privileges and immunities 407 | that apply to the Licensor or You, including from the legal 408 | processes of any jurisdiction or authority. 409 | 410 | ======================================================================= 411 | 412 | Creative Commons is not a party to its public 413 | licenses. Notwithstanding, Creative Commons may elect to apply one of 414 | its public licenses to material it publishes and in those instances 415 | will be considered the “Licensor.” The text of the Creative Commons 416 | public licenses is dedicated to the public domain under the CC0 Public 417 | Domain Dedication. Except for the limited purpose of indicating that 418 | material is shared under a Creative Commons public license or as 419 | otherwise permitted by the Creative Commons policies published at 420 | creativecommons.org/policies, Creative Commons does not authorize the 421 | use of the trademark "Creative Commons" or any other trademark or logo 422 | of Creative Commons without its prior written consent including, 423 | without limitation, in connection with any unauthorized modifications 424 | to any of its public licenses or any other arrangements, 425 | understandings, or agreements concerning use of licensed material. For 426 | the avoidance of doubt, this paragraph does not form part of the 427 | public licenses. 428 | 429 | Creative Commons may be contacted at creativecommons.org. 430 | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------