Technical interviews — Leetcode, system design, take-homes
Lesson 2 of 3 in Portfolio, Interview & The Tech Hiring Funnel · 24 minutes
Canadian tech technical interviews follow predictable patterns. Coding challenges (Leetcode-style), system design discussions, take-home assignments. This lesson maps each format and gives a study plan for each.
What you'll learn
- Recognize the technical interview formats common in Canadian tech
- Plan a Leetcode study schedule
- Prepare for system design interviews
- Handle take-home assignments efficiently
From the lesson
Technical interviews in Canadian tech follow specific formats borrowed largely from US practices. The good news: they're predictable. Once you know the format, deliberate practice produces dramatic improvement. The bad news: they require sustained effort. Most successful candidates spend 100-300 hours preparing for technical interviews.
1. The technical interview formats
Coding challenges (Leetcode-style): 30-60 minutes, given a problem, solve in code. Common at FAANG-Canada and senior scale-ups. Tests: data structures, algorithms, code quality.
System design: 45-60 minutes, design a system (e.g., 'Design Twitter,' 'Design Uber'). Common at mid-senior+ levels. Tests: architecture thinking,…