System Design
The system design interview is personally the most difficult interview for me. It's the most open-ended interview, with no single "right" answer. System design interviews can be between 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Here's what I've learned from the system design interviews I've done:
Don't rush towards a solution - the point of the system design interview isn't to come to an optimal solution immediately, it's to learn about how you would design a system involving multiple components
Ask questions - the interview starts off with a vague, open-ended question on purpose; given only a question like, "How would you design Instagram?", you'll want to ask questions to gather requirements
Think out loud - this interview gauges how would would break down a problem, the trade-offs you would make with certain decisions, etc; it'll be difficult for the interviewer to assess your skills if you're not thinking out loud
Focus on the parts of the system that you're good at and can do a deep dive into - so don't bs things you don't know about
System Design Resources
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