Hey everyone! I just had a tough experience in a logic interview and feel like I really messed it up. A little background: I'm a recent graduate who took a gap year for family reasons, and I've already faced one rejection. So, I thought it'd be okay to share my experience, especially since the question stumped me. I was well prepared for algorithm questions and thought they might ask me to build a binary tree or something intricate. Instead, I got a fairly straightforward task: read a string like "13+8-9+21" and evaluate it. I completely froze when it came to parsing the string—it was embarrassing! I even remember trying to use `stoi()` on a character, which wasn't helpful at all. After the interview, I quickly jumped back into VS Code and, with just one Google search, remembered I could use `find_first_of()` and `substr()` to solve it quickly. So now I'm wondering: how can I prevent this from happening again in future interviews? Besides string parsing, what other concepts should I focus on before my next application?
4 Answers
Take it as a learning experience! It's frustrating, I know, but every interview is a chance to grow. Reflecting on what went wrong and what you could improve is a fantastic start. Make a list of those concepts you feel less confident in, and tackle them one by one. And remember, it's about finding the right match for you, so don’t worry about hitting some rejections.
It's understandable to freeze under pressure! Honestly, they might have been testing your problem-solving approach rather than just the end solution. In interviews, try to engage the interviewer as a resource. Treat it like you’re working with a teammate; ask clarifying questions if you're stuck. This can really take some of the pressure off you and help you gather your thoughts! Also, brushing up on fundamental data structures and algorithms consistently can help build your confidence for when unexpected questions come up.
This was definitely a tough question, and it's okay to acknowledge that! A good strategy is to break down the problem step by step during the interview and explain your thought process aloud. This way, the interviewer knows exactly where you're struggling and can offer hints or guidance without giving away the answer.
Don't beat yourself up! The question was tricky in its own way. Processing left to right for `+` and `-` is a good way to simplify it. You know your string functions now, so that’s a win for the next time! It's important to remember that even experienced developers have off days and sometimes need to dig into the functions. Focus on understanding the concepts behind string operations and arithmetic evaluations, and practice them a bit more before your next interview.

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