07/09/2025
Did you know? 80% of candidates fail DSA interviews not because of wrong answers, but because they blank out under pressure.
The average SDE practices 500+ LeetCode problems, and yet fails because they can’t explain their thought process. I was one of them, too💔
In 2024, I interviewed at Microsoft for an SDE-1 role (CTC: 50 LPA).
During Round 2 (DSA), I was asked a Graph traversal question. The instant I saw it, I froze.
Here is what I did next:
➡️ Paused intentionally and asked the interviewer for a moment
➡️ Reframed the problem out loud, breaking it down in simple terms.
➡️ Started with brute force, then guided the discussion toward optimizations.
➡️ Built incrementally, moved from basic DFS to a clean BFS-based solution.
➡️ Explained trade-offs, proving I wasn’t just coding, but problem-solving.
🎯 That’s when I realized → Explaining your approach under pressure is the REAL skill.
And this FREE AI, Leeco, is created to help you build this skill → https://lnkd.in/gsfQGSEa
It is a coding guide + mock interviewer that can help you crack top PBC’s DSA rounds:
- It helps you understand why a solution works, not just how to write it.
- Provides instant feedback on explanations, optimizations, and edge cases.
- Lets you practice under time constraints, creating a real interview situation.
With it, you can stop grinding hundreds of problems blindly and instead:
✅ Recognize patterns instantly, handle twists, explain your solutions and walk away with a PBC offer!🚀
Comment “DSAGuide” & I'll DM you directly