There are many steps to get started.

1. Expectation alignment with HR

   • Very straightforward, a chat to know your experiences, salary expectations, and your English level, which is mandatory.

2. Live algorithmic problem-solving technical interview This phase is a true unknown. I say this because I've gone through it twice. The first time, I didn't pass and didn't receive any feedback, but reflecting on my own, I realized some mistakes I made that truly justified my failure.

   The second time, besides practicing algorithm solving and studying data structures, strategies for solving problems with good time and space performance, I mainly adjusted how I organized my thoughts and the steps for the solution.

   The first time, I tried to solve the problem right away, diving straight into coding. The second time, no. I actually asked many relevant questions to discover constraints and edge cases of the problem. Then, I started planning without touching the code, just describing the steps I would take, more abstract strategies I would use, solving the problem first in the planning phase, using information I gathered in the question phase.

   Finally, I started coding and managed to solve the problem by following exactly the written plan I made before. The whole time, from the beginning, I voiced my thoughts and worked together with the interviewers to solve the problem. I reached the phase of optimizing the algorithm, but there wasn't much time left, however, I managed to implement 50% of what I thought for optimization, and the interviewers seemed satisfied and understood where I was heading with the optimization.

   They said I would receive the next steps in the coming days, and I was happy to know I would proceed to the System Design phase. However, two days later, I received the rejection stating they decided not to continue with my process. I was in doubt this time, as I know I might have made mistakes, but I know the mistakes weren't enough for a rejection to the next phase. So, honestly, I don't know what Uber's technical interviews want from candidates. It seems they've created such a restricted standard, within a box, that if you deviate 1 cm from this standard, you're no longer welcome.

   Honestly, I no longer think about going through Uber's processes. They are tiring, cause too much anxiety, and often result in nothing, and you don't receive any feedback on what you can improve.

Find the next closest palindrome.