Recent posts tagged interview

Coding tests can effectively filter out candidates who can't write working code. That's a legitimate purpose. The problem emerges when organizations test for timed algorithm-puzzle skills in roles that require entirely different capabilities: system ...

This is a refresher built while preparing for C# coding interviews, and shared as a resource, because a genuinely comprehensive, practice-oriented guide is hard to find in one place. This series doesn't skip the basics to get to the "interesting" par...

title: "The OpenAI loop tests a view on AI, not just your coding bar" published: true canonicalurl: https://four-leaf.ai/blog/openai-interview-process tags: career, ai, interview, programming > Canonical: this is a cross-post. The original lives a...

Most engineers meet Apache Iceberg as a one-line answer: "it's the thing that gives you ACID transactions and time travel on object storage." That's true, and it's also where most people stop. But Iceberg has a version dial baked into every table - a...

title: How we built a job search assistant MCP for Claude, Cursor, and ChatGPT published: true description: An engineering write-up on the Four-Leaf MCP server. OAuth 2.1 + PKCE + DCR, server-side web search for grounded comp data, the 60s client t...

I failed my 12 week FAANG prep plan because I skipped recursion — and it broke everything after it. What I figured out, in retrospect The order topics appear in a 90 day plan isn't cosmetic. It's load-bearing in a way you only notice when you viola...

Open-Source Cloud Alternatives That Actually Get You Hired That job posting says "AWS Cognito experience required." You've never touched Cognito. You almost don't apply. This article exists for exactly that moment. There is an uncomfortable trut...

I once interviewed a senior software engineer. Almost 10 years of experience. Proven track record of delivery. Solid industry knowledge. The kind of person you’d want on your team without a second thought. They completed the technical challenge. Not ...

During a PHP technical interview, I once asked a candidate about their experience with code reviews. The answer surprised me: > “I’ve been in the industry for four years. I’m not a junior, so I > don’t need code review.” This kind of answer is a wa...

After interviewing many React developers, I’ve realized that interviews aren’t about catching people off-guard or seeing what they don’t know. What I really want is to understand how someone thinks, how they approach problems, and how they’ve grown t...

JavaScript Tricky Questions You Must Master for Your Next Interview! JavaScript may look friendly, but under the hood, it's full of quirks that even experienced developers get stumped by! Whether you're prepping for your next big tech interview ...

One of the most common technical interview questions is, “What happens when you type a URL into a browser and press Enter?” While it might seem simple on the surface, this question tests your understanding of networking, web technologies, and syste...