Recently, my mentor gave me the book Cracking the Coding Interview and asked me to read it carefully. After reading the introduction, I understood many important things about technical interviews, coding skills, and the real expectations of software companies. The book gave me a new perspective on how students should prepare for interviews and careers in the software industry.
The introduction begins with a story about a candidate who was highly talented but still failed a technical interview. He had a strong academic background, a very good GPA, and experience working on open-source projects. He was intelligent, creative, and hardworking. Even with all these qualities, he was rejected because he could not perform well during the interview process. This story made me realize that academic marks and theoretical knowledge alone are not enough to succeed in technical interviews.
One of the main lessons I learned from this book is that coding interviews are designed to test problem-solving ability rather than memory. Interviewers are not interested only in whether a candidate knows programming languages or textbook definitions. They want to see how candidates think, how they approach a problem, and how effectively they can develop a solution. The candidate in the story struggled because he could not quickly identify efficient algorithms and made coding mistakes during the interview. This showed me that interviews require strong analytical thinking and practical coding skills.
Another important point explained in the book is the value of practice. Many students spend a lot of time studying theory from textbooks and learning complex concepts. While these topics are useful, they are not sufficient for interview preparation. The author explains that candidates should practice real interview questions regularly. By solving different coding problems, students can learn common patterns, improve logical thinking, and gain confidence. This helped me understand that daily practice is one of the most important parts of preparation.
The book also highlights the importance of communication during interviews. Candidates should not only write code but also explain their thinking process clearly. Interviewers observe how candidates analyze the problem, discuss multiple approaches, and improve their solutions step by step. Even when mistakes happen, the ability to correct them calmly is important. This taught me that confidence and communication skills are equally valuable in technical interviews.
I was also inspired by the author’s passion for teaching. She explains that many talented students fail interviews not because they are weak, but because they prepare in the wrong way. Her goal is to help students understand the interview process and improve their preparation methods. This motivated me to focus more on practical learning instead of only studying theory.
Overall, Cracking the Coding Interview helped me understand that success in software interviews requires more than intelligence or academic performance. It requires problem-solving ability, coding practice, logical thinking, and confidence. The introduction itself gave me valuable guidance about how to prepare for my future career. After reading it, I feel more motivated to improve my coding skills, practice interview questions regularly, and become a better software engineer in the future.
