The Realistic Constraint
Most tech interview prep advice assumes you have unlimited time. Quit your job, do LeetCode 8 hours a day, schedule mock interviews every weekend, read three books on system design. This is bad advice for the people who actually need it.
If you're a working engineer with 1–2 hours of evening focus on weekdays and a few hours on weekends, you have roughly 12–18 hours per week. A six-week prep cycle gives you 70–110 hours total. That's enough to interview well at most companies — if you spend it on the right things.
This post lays out a realistic plan.
What the Interview Actually Tests
Tech interviews at most companies have four components:
- Coding rounds (1–3 of them) — patterns and data structures.
- System design (1–2 rounds, more senior the role, more rounds) — architecture and trade-offs.
- Behavioral (often combined with system design) — communication, ownership, conflict.
- Hiring manager / fit conversation — why this team, why now.
Most candidates over-invest in #1 and under-invest in #2, #3, #4. The ROI per hour on behavioral prep is high because the variance in candidate quality is enormous and most don't bother.
The Six-Week Plan
Week 1: Diagnostic and Foundation
- Take one full mock coding interview (45 min, on a single LeetCode medium, timed). This is your baseline.
- Read or review the data-structure cheatsheet you'll be referencing for six weeks. Know the time and space complexity of every operation cold.
- Write your "tell me about yourself" pitch. Two minutes, three sentences each on: current role, what you've shipped, why you're looking.
Weeks 2–3: Coding Patterns
- Two patterns per week. Aim for 5–7 problems per pattern. See the patterns post for the list.
- Time-box every problem at 30 minutes. If you haven't solved it, read the solution, understand why it works, and move on. Don't grind on a single problem.
- Once a week, do one full mock at full pace. Communicate out loud. Record yourself if no partner is available.
Week 4: System Design Foundation
- Read one comprehensive system-design resource end-to-end. Pick one and finish it; don't bounce between three.
- Practice the four-step structure on three canonical problems (URL shortener, news feed, ride sharing). 45 min each, with a whiteboard or virtual equivalent.
- Don't memorize the solutions — practice the structure of attacking the problem.
Week 5: Behavioral and Storytelling
- Identify 6–8 stories from your career. Cover: shipping under pressure, conflict resolution, ambiguity, failure and learning, leadership, mentoring, ownership, customer impact.
- For each story, write the STAR structure: Situation, Task, Action, Result. Two-minute version.
- Practice them out loud. They will not feel natural until you've said each one 4–5 times.
Week 6: Polish and Mocks
- Two coding mocks (different patterns) and one system design mock with a friend. Get specific feedback.
- Re-read your behavioral stories the night before each interview. Don't memorize them, but the structure should be loaded.
- Review the company's engineering blog and recent product launches. The fit conversation reads completely different when you can name something specific.
The Negotiation Round
You're not done when you get the offer. You're done when you've negotiated it.
The numbers worth knowing: base salary band for the role, equity refresh policy, sign-on conventions at the company tier (FAANG vs late-stage startup vs early-stage). Levels.fyi is the public benchmark.
Don't accept the first offer. The standard counter is 10–20% above the offered total comp, plus a request for sign-on if it wasn't included. Recruiters expect this. Most candidates don't do it because they're afraid to. The expected value of a 30-minute phone call asking for more is, on average, $10,000–$50,000.
What's Next on This Site
Future posts: the negotiation script that actually works, how to ramp at a new job in the first 90 days, and what to do when an interview goes badly.