EM Loop: Tech Screen (Coding) Interview

Let’s learn how to approach the tech screen for the EM interview loop.

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Not all major tech companies require a coding tech screen for EM interviews. Please check the interview format for the EM position for the specific companies that you’re interviewing for. We’ve included some basic prep guidelines for the companies that require coding tech screens.

Many companies require a candidate to clear a tech screen (coding) interview before considering them for a management position. If you come from a hands-on engineering background, this will be easy for you since coding interviews for EM positions mostly have easy questions.

Solving coding problems

Remember, when solving a coding question with an interviewer, your goals are to:

  1. Share your thought process on various solution approaches.
  2. Discuss the trade-offs and finalize a solution with the interviewer before beginning to code.
  3. Code the solution, and involve your interviewer so that they understand your thought process.
  4. Test your solution. If the editor doesn’t have “Run” functionality, then dry run your code with some test cases.
  1. Explain the time and space complexity of your solution. You can discuss the best, average, and worst-case scenarios if they’re applicable to your problem.
  2. Answer any other questions that the interviewer has.

If you have not been doing hands-on coding for a while, it’s a good idea to practice solving four to five easy coding challenges to clean away the rust and boost your confidence.