How to pace interview prep?

Question

I have an interview coming up in 10 days that has multiple DSA rounds. I'm finding it hard to find the balance between burnout and grinding DSA for like 5 hours a day

I feel incredibly restless and tbh a bit guilty if i have some free time and im not grinding DSA.

Has anyone been in this situation? I'm worried im not prepping enough if im not grinding DSA every waking second of my free time

Is it worth it to bound your self to just 3 quality hours and stop after that?

I already feel a bit burnt out from prep. I find my sleep quality is worse from restlessness and my overall brain is just not functioning optimally. but not sure if i should keep up the pace

Alex Chiou · Accepted Answer

Know your limits! There's no point having all the DSA knowledge and expertise in the world if you go into the interview as a walking zombie. I talk about this all in-depth in my overall job searching course here: https://www.jointaro.com/course/ace-your-tech-interview-and-get-a-job-as-a-software-engineer/dynamic-state-vs-prepared-state/

5 hours per day is pretty crazy, especially if you're already working a full-time job. 3 seems okay, and even that is a bit high (I did more 1.5 to 2.5 hours). Whatever the limit is before you start breaking down and hating yourself, just stop there.

Job searching as a software engineer is a marathon, not a sprint. It's critical to take care of yourself and set up your body + mind for the long haul as statistically speaking, the harsh reality is that you'll need many interviews (and failures) before securing an offer.

Here's our DSA course as well if you haven't already gone through that: Master The Data Structures And Algorithms Interview

How to pace interview prep?

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