How to Use LeetCode Effectively
Summary
TLDRThis video provides a six-step strategy for effectively preparing for coding interviews using LeetCode. The speaker emphasizes starting with the top 100 most upvoted questions, focusing on topics to identify patterns, and ordering problems by acceptance rate for a smoother learning experience. They also recommend learning from solutions, revisiting problems to ensure mastery, and tackling company-specific questions once comfortable. These steps help first-time lead coders build confidence and develop essential problem-solving techniques. Additional resources and career advice are shared to further support users on their coding journey.
Takeaways
- 💡 Start with the top 100 most upvoted LeetCode questions, as they are considered clear and practical by the community.
- 📝 Focus on solving easy and medium-level problems first to build confidence and avoid unnecessary complexity.
- 📚 Tackle questions by specific topics to recognize patterns and build a foundation in algorithms and data structures.
- 📊 Prioritize questions based on their acceptance rate, which indicates how others found them, rather than just difficulty labels.
- ⏳ Don't spend more than 45 minutes on a single problem; if stuck, look up the solution and learn from it.
- 📘 Revisit problems you needed help with until you're confident in solving them independently.
- 🔄 Practice solving problems repeatedly until you're proficient with the pattern and the solution.
- 🏢 Once confident, tackle company-specific LeetCode problems, filtering by the most relevant ones for your target companies.
- 🎯 Use premium features on LeetCode to access company-specific problem sets, as they closely mirror interview questions.
- 💪 The overall goal is to build a strong coding interview foundation through structured learning, revisiting problems, and focusing on key topics.
Q & A
What is the main challenge many first-time lead coders face with LeetCode?
-Many first-time lead coders find it daunting to go through more than 2500 problems on LeetCode, which can be overwhelming.
What is the first step in effectively preparing for LeetCode according to the strategy in the video?
-The first step is to start with the top 100 upvoted questions, which are recommended by the LeetCode community for their clarity and practicality.
Why should hard problems be avoided in the early stages of LeetCode preparation?
-Hard problems should be avoided early on because the initial focus should be on learning the basics of data structures and algorithms, rather than struggling with overly complex edge cases.
Why is solving questions by topic more effective than solving random problems?
-Solving questions by topic allows you to recognize patterns and algorithms within each topic, which helps in mastering the underlying techniques faster.
What does the video suggest about using the acceptance rate of questions when choosing problems to solve?
-The video suggests ordering questions from the highest to lowest acceptance rate because the acceptance rate reflects the community's difficulty experience, which is more reliable than the platform's difficulty labels.
What should you do if you're stuck on a problem for more than 45 minutes?
-If you're stuck on a problem for more than 45 minutes, you should look up the solution and move on, ensuring you learn from the solution to identify the pattern or technique used.
How can revisiting problems help in improving coding skills?
-Revisiting problems, especially those where you had to look up the solution, ensures that you can solve them independently later, building long-term competence.
Why is solving company-specific questions recommended later in your preparation?
-Solving company-specific questions is recommended once you are ready for the challenge, as it helps tailor your preparation to the types of problems asked in actual interviews by specific companies.
What additional resource does the video mention for structured help and mentorship?
-The video mentions Pathrise, a career accelerator offering one-on-one mentorship, personalized coaching, and workshops, as an additional resource for professional help.
What is the overall goal of the six-step strategy outlined in the video?
-The overall goal of the six-step strategy is to build a strong foundation in coding interview skills as quickly and efficiently as possible, by focusing on high-quality, strategically selected problems.
Outlines
💻 Preparing for Coding Interviews on LeetCode
The paragraph introduces a strategy for preparing for coding interviews using LeetCode, a platform known for its extensive problem set used to test coding skills. The presenter acknowledges the intimidation factor of the over 2500 problems and proposes a six-step strategy to build a strong foundation in coding interview skills efficiently. The first step is to start with the top 100 liked questions that are clear, helpful, and practical, avoiding those that are unclear or overly complex. The focus is on learning the interview process rather than getting bogged down in difficult problems.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡LeetCode
💡Top 100 questions
💡Acceptance rate
💡Pattern recognition
💡Data structures and algorithms
💡Solutions
💡Company-specific questions
💡Revisit problems
💡Topic-based focus
💡Hard problems
Highlights
LeetCode is the unofficial standard for testing coding skills, but many first-time users find it daunting due to the large number of problems (over 2500).
The video presents a strategy for preparing for LeetCode, broken into six steps to help users build a strong coding interview foundation efficiently.
Step 1: Start with the top 100 upvoted LeetCode questions. These are selected by the community based on clarity, usefulness, and practical application.
Avoid difficult problems early on. Focus on 50 easy and medium questions to learn the fundamentals of data structures and algorithms.
Step 2: Focus on solving questions by topic, not randomly. This helps to recognize patterns and common algorithms in specific problem categories.
Identify the algorithm or pattern after solving questions in a specific topic. Solving at least 20 questions per topic is recommended.
Step 3: Order questions by acceptance rate, not by LeetCode’s difficulty rating. Acceptance rate provides a more objective view of problem difficulty.
Some medium-level questions may have a higher acceptance rate than easy ones, so leverage acceptance stats to find easier-to-solve problems.
Step 4: Learn from solutions if you're stuck for more than 45 minutes. It’s important to understand the pattern and technique used in the solution.
Looking at solutions is an effective way to learn from the community’s expertise and can significantly speed up your learning process.
Step 5: Revisit problems regularly until you can solve them on your own, especially if you had to look up the solution previously.
Step 6: When you're ready, move on to solving company-specific problems. LeetCode Premium allows you to filter and sort by specific companies.
There’s no guarantee that these company-specific problems will appear in interviews, but they are generally accurate based on frequency.
The speaker also recommends using external resources like books and courses for further help with data structures and algorithms.
Pathrise is suggested as a career accelerator that offers one-on-one mentorship and coaching, with free access for the first two weeks.
Transcripts
while leeco has become The Unofficial
standard for testing coding skills many
first-time lead coders find it daunting
to go through more than 2500 problems on
the platform for that reason in this
video I will share an effective strategy
for preparing for lead code I broke the
strategy into six steps to help you
build a strong foundation in coding
interview skills as quickly as possible
if you're one of those guys intimidated
by the sheer number of questions unsure
where to start and on confident of
pulling this off yourself watch this
video Until the End because you walk
away with a clear game plan step one
start with the top hundred like
questions these are the questions
upvoted by the community other lead
coders and not selected by the platform
the question is upvoted if the community
finds it clear helpful and practical on
the other hand a problem is heavily
downloaded if it's unclear has too many
tedious edge cases or doesn't involve
the general concept of data structures
and algorithms you want to avoid those
types of problems in the early stage
because your initial focus should be on
learning how to play the game instead of
battling a boss clear and
straightforward DNC based questions can
help you achieve that start with about a
50 easy and medium questions here avoid
hard for now learn to play the game
first step two focus on the questions by
topic never solve random questions now
that you have a taste of Lee code it's
time to choose a topic and start
drilling down as you crack questions
from the same topic you'll realize there
is a pattern realizing that pattern is
the algorithm the template and the
winning formula for mastering lead code
once the idea clicks you can use it to
solve most of the problems in the same
topic just remember the more you solve
random problems the longer it'll take
for you to get that click solve at least
20 questions or until you get that click
for each topic before moving on here's
my recommended list of topics to get you
started for more help with data
structures and algorithms check out my
recommended courses and books in the
descriptions below
3. order the questions from the highest
to lowest acceptance rate don't just
blindly attempt easies some mediums are
easier than easies and some easies are
harder than mediums this is because the
liquid difficulty level is subjective
the platform determines it on the other
hand the acceptance rate is objective as
it's Community Driven take a look at
yourself the acceptance rate of some
easies is lower than 50 percent while
that of some mediums is higher than even
nine percent leverage the stats if
others found it easier you'll find it
easier too step 4 learn from the
solutions don't spend more than 45
minutes on each problem if you're stuck
look up the answer and move on but
promise me this learn from the solutions
like I said earlier if you grind the
problems on the same topic you'll start
to see the pattern and develop the
technique needed to solve it and guess
what the best place for that is none
other than the solutions peaking at the
solutions is the fastest way to learn
from the experts don't feel guilty about
it it's okay as long as you learn from
them if you prefer more professional and
structured help from industry Pros try
pathurize pathrise is a career
accelerator that helps individuals find
jobs through one-on-one mentorship
personalized coaching and workshops I
used to work there as a mentor myself
and the first two weeks are free step
five revisit the problems if you looked
up the solution you probably can't solve
it a week later make sure to revisit the
problem until you are competent 100 step
6 solve company specific questions when
you're ready for the challenge it's
finally time to take on the companies
you'll need legal premium for this but
you can filter the problems by specific
companies you can even sort them by
their frequency in a select time period
there's no guarantee that these problems
will show up in your interview but I can
tell you from my experience that the
list is pretty accurate
that's it Guys these are my six steps on
how to use Liquid effectively this is
how I grind the liko and it's how I
would do it if I were to do it again
check out the descriptions below for
more recording related resources
remember to like And subscribe thanks
for watching I'll see you guys next one
[Music]
浏览更多相关视频
How to Start Leetcode (as a beginner)
LeetCode was HARD until I Learned these 15 Patterns
I solved 541 Leetcode problems. But you need only 150.
The unfair way I got good at Leetcode
How to improve LeetCode Problem Solving in 5 min | 10X Better at Leetcode
How to Solve ANY LeetCode Problem (Step-by-Step)
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)