Master Tech Interviews: Proven Prep Steps, Resources, and Insider Tips

Personal Journey

During the National Day holiday the author had spare time, attended 30 interviews from September to November, recorded each experience, and eventually received offers and joined Toutiao.

Preparation Resources

LeetCode – http://leetcode.com/

CareerUp – http://www.careercup.com/

Hawstein – http://hawstein.com/posts/ctci-solutions-contents.html

Glassdoor – http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm

Topcoder – http://www.topcoder.com/

ZOJ – http://acm.zju.edu.cn/onlinejudge/

July's Blog – http://blog.csdn.net/v_july_v/article/details/6543438

MITBBS – http://www.mitbbs.com/bbsdoc/JobHunting.html

POJ – http://poj.org/

HDU ACM – http://acm.hdu.edu.cn/

Codeforces – http://codeforces.com/

GeeksForGeeks – http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/

HackerRank – https://www.hackerrank.com/

Key Technical Topics to Review

Java Fundamentals : OOP concepts (inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism), int vs Integer, reflection, HTTP GET/POST, MVC, serialization/deserialization, Serializable interface.

Concurrency : processes vs threads, parallel vs concurrent, thread lifecycle, thread pool implementation, CountDownLatch, CyclicBarrier, Semaphore, Exchanger, ThreadLocal (OOM risk), lock mechanisms (reentrant, fair, unfair), AQS, CAS, volatile, synchronized vs lock, lock types (biased, lightweight, heavyweight, spin), atomic classes, ABA problem and solutions, optimistic lock scenarios.

Database : DDL/DML/DCL, EXPLAIN, isolation levels, dirty/phantom/non‑repeatable reads, normal forms, sharding and partitioning design, distributed challenges, SQL optimization, InnoDB vs MyISAM, index types (B‑tree, full‑text, hash, adaptive hash), clustered vs non‑clustered indexes, why MySQL uses B‑tree, handling large LIMIT queries, distributed ID generation.

Interview Process

Small companies usually have 1‑2 technical rounds; larger companies have 3‑5 rounds covering basic knowledge, advanced topics, optimization, scenario questions, planning, and HR. Typical stages: self‑introduction, coding (e.g., singleton, sorting, multithreading), Java fundamentals, advanced concepts, project discussion, scenario analysis, career planning, and candidate questions.

Self‑Introduction Tips

Highlight achievements such as math contest awards and ACM prizes, emphasize communication and learning abilities, acknowledge weaknesses (non‑top university, limited experience), and present a concise self‑evaluation.

Learning Methods

Review interview questions on recommended sites.

Deeply understand unfamiliar concepts (e.g., HashMap internals) by reading JDK source code.

Familiarize with project code and requirements.

Practice coding on platforms like LeetCode and HackerRank.

Record daily learnings to maintain motivation.

Resume and Interview Scheduling

Use platforms such as BOSS直聘, 猎聘网, 拉勾; avoid blind mass‑mailing unless lacking experience. Schedule about two interviews per day (morning around 10 am, afternoon around 2 pm). Consider resigning when interview frequency is high and confidence is strong.

Common Interview Questions

Typical topics include coding (singleton, sorting, producer‑consumer), SQL (GROUP BY, inner/outer joins), data structures (collections, stacks, queues, trees), concurrency (threads, locks, thread‑local), JVM (memory regions, GC algorithms, performance tools, class loading, reference types, JMM), design patterns, Spring framework (IOC, AOP, bean scopes, transaction isolation), MyBatis/Hibernate differences, cache mechanisms, mapper bindings, Linux commands, distributed locks and sessions.

Offer and Onboarding

After passing, candidates submit salary slips, degree and diploma photos, negotiate salary, undergo health check, complete background verification, receive the official offer, and finalize the start date.