Mentoring Resources: Engineering Interview Prep

These are the materials I use to mentor engineers through fullstack interview preparation. Everything here is teaching material — exercises I run in mentoring sessions, mentor guides with solutions and evaluation criteria, and session plans for coaching mentees. It's built for the person running the sessions, not for self-study.

Interview Structure

Interview	Duration	Focus
Core Behaviors	60 min	Behavioral (STAR method)
Fullstack Coding	60 min	React + TypeScript debugging, AI-assisted
Fullstack System Design	60 min	Commenting system with progressive complexity

Quick Start

Running a Session (me, as the mentor)

1. Read SESSION-PLAN.md for the 4-session structure
2. Keep INTERVIEW-CHEAT-SHEET.md handy during sessions
3. Each exercise has a MENTOR-GUIDE.md with solutions and evaluation criteria

What I hand the mentee

1. guides/product-context.md - Product domain context for the design exercises
2. guides/ai-assisted-coding.md - interviews increasingly evaluate AI usage
3. guides/behavioral-prep.md - STAR stories to prepare
4. The coding exercises to practice on

Running Coding Exercises

cd exercises/coding/01-task-manager/problem
npm install
npm run dev
# Open http://localhost:5173

All three coding exercises are self-contained with mock API servers.

Repository Structure

exercises/
  coding/
    01-task-manager/      # State mutations, useEffect bugs
    02-search-debounce/   # Debouncing, race conditions
    03-form-wizard/       # Multi-step forms, validation
    04-code-review/       # Verbal review exercise
  system-design/
    01-commenting-system/ # Primary design exercise - threading, real-time
    02-notification-system/ # Fanout, multi-channel, queues
    03-collaborative-editor/ # OT/CRDT, conflict resolution
    04-twitter/           # Feed generation, celebrity problem
    05-youtube/           # Video processing, CDN, streaming
    06-chatgpt/           # LLM streaming, context, GPU scale

guides/
  product-context.md      # Product domain context (read first if unfamiliar)
  ai-assisted-coding.md   # How to use AI in interviews
  behavioral-prep.md      # STAR method, core behaviors

SESSION-PLAN.md           # 4-session mentoring plan
INTERVIEW-CHEAT-SHEET.md  # Quick reference during mocks

Key Interview Points

1. AI Usage is Evaluated - Verbalize prompting strategy, validate outputs
2. Communication > Completion - Talk through reasoning constantly
3. Tradeoffs Matter - Always explain why, not just what
4. Fullstack Thinking - Consider both frontend and backend
5. Ask Questions - Clarify requirements before diving in

Session Plan Overview

Session	Focus	Exercise
1	Coding Fundamentals	01-task-manager
2	Advanced Coding + AI	02-search-debounce + 04-code-review
3	System Design Basics	01-commenting-system
4	Mock Interview	Full simulation + behavioral

See SESSION-PLAN.md for detailed scripts and timing.