Facebook Singapore ABCS Session 1: Proactive Communication
Attending Facebook ABCS Session 1 was a blast! I’d thought of posting my notes here just to share.
Definition
Proactive communication — Controlling a situation by causing something to happen rather than responding to it after it has happened
Proactive communication is any communication that takes place before you start coding
Intended to help you get what you need, get organized, and set the tone so that you can show what you know
Don’t let the first 5 minutes impede the next 30 minutes.
Rules of thumb:
Don’t start coding right away!
Let the interviewer know what you are coding, so he / she can help you and will know if this is what they are looking for.
TIPS
- Don’t assume the question is easy
- Repeat the question and rephrase it in your own words; the interviewer will clarify if necessary
- Assume all information that is given is necessary to solve the problem
- Confirm; ask; clarify
- Ask a lot of questions
- Make sure you fully understand what is asked to return
- Resolve any areas of ambiguity; clarify the scope and intention of the problem
- Validate or state assumptions
- If there are edge cases, how should they be handled?
Other forms of proactive communication
- Be visual
- Use diagrams
- Illustrate the problem and high-level solution approach
Split the problem into sub-problems
Solve multiple parts separately, so you can do a partial answer
Keep engaging the interviewer
Kadane’s algorithm
Interviews are for accessing:
- Coding skill
- Problem solving skill
- Testing / Verification skill
- Communication
Explain how you reduce the problem statement, to get the code solution you have written.
