I've only completed the initial recruiter interview and the phone technical interview. An on-site interview is scheduled, but I don't expect to be called in for it because I performed poorly on the phone interview.

The recruiter interview was pleasant. I was asked about my interests and why I applied for the position. It was a positive experience.

The phone interview was disappointing. I spent two weeks studying complex algorithms, as suggested by the recruiter, and I was prepared with an arsenal of knowledge about data structures, algorithms, LINUX systems, and networking.

However, I ended up spending the entire phone interview on one relatively simple problem, getting bogged down in the fine details of moving an index and offset. It was the type of question most programmers could solve with ease, but I was nervous and just rambled. The interviewer was polite, but overall, I feel the interview style is poor and needs to be more varied.

(How does a blind scientist know he's touching an elephant if he only feels the toenail?)

Based on my experience, I strongly recommend practicing Project Euler problems or similar exercises. Theoretically, they will help, although dozens of them didn't help me directly.

Ultimately, the bottom line is: don't worry too much about understanding complex subjects. Just focus on the basics.

I cannot disclose, but the question was very simple.

I would recommend thinking hard about test cases.

Also, if you change something about the structure of your code halfway through, make sure everything remains consistent!