One of the biggest misconceptions when preparing for software engineering interviews is that you have to get the “right” answer in order to pass the interview. This is not true, mostly because there are many more facets to technical interviewing than solving the problem.

Unpacking our assumptions

When someone asks me if they need to get the “right” answer, it tells me they’re making a significant (and usually incorrect) assumption: they’re assuming a LeetCode-style answer is all about the solution.

Believe it or not, interviewers are humans. When evaluating potential future colleagues, they’re not just thinking, “I only want to work with an absolute stud that gets the answer to this question perfectly.” Instead, they’re making a more holistic assessment about whether you would be a benefit to the company. Consider how you’d make this assessment: would you hire someone who’s a total jerk but answered a technical question perfectly? Probably not. You’d take much more into consideration than technical performance.

How Google assesses candidates during LeetCode-style interviews

Google’s evaluation criteria is no secret. During coding interviews, they use the following criteria to assess candidates:

• Algorithms
• Coding
• Communication
• Problem-solving

The only one of these criteria that assesses the goodness of the algorithm you implement is the first one. This means that, even if you don’t come up with the best algorithm you still have plenty of opportunities to wow the interviewer.

Leaving the best impression

There are a lot of ways other than nailing an algorithm to leave a great impression:

• Be great at talking while you code. Practice this! Don’t let an actual interview be the first time you explain your code as you’re writing it.
• Make sure the interviewer agrees with your approach before you invest a bunch of time. It’s tempting to put your head down and try to crank out an answer. Don’t do this! First, validate your approach with the interviewer. Some interviewers will defer to you, but many will let you know if they think you’re headed down the wrong path or might ask you some clarifying questions. Even if you don’t nail the algo, you can demonstrate you have a sound thought process and you’re good at technical communication.
• Be friendly and composed. LeetCode-style interviews are stressful, so if you can maintain your composure and be friendly with the interviewer, you’ll leave a really good impression.

Whether you’re in a LeetCode interview, System Design interview, Behavioral interview, or some other kind of interview, it’s critical to remember that you’re being evaluated on how good an employee you’d be above all else.

Take it easy on yourself

Realizing that you don’t need to come up with the perfect algorithm is freeing because you can focus more on showing off your communication and soft skills. It will also result in you putting less pressure on yourself and therefore being more composed. So take it a bit easier on yourself and just present the best version of yourself to the human on the other side of the interview table.