Online Coding Competition Helped Mumbai Boy Land INR 1.2 Crore Google Job; Find Out How You Can Too

When Abdullah Khan landed a job at Google, he caused quite a stir among engineering students. Because it was not this non-IIT/IIM guy that approached the company for a job, but the tech behemoth itself rolled out an offer that one can die for! So, how did he get the lucrative offer? After noticing his presence on a coding site and his performance in online coding competitions, Google approached him. The salary he receives is the most impressive aspect of his story, totaling INR 1.2 Crore per year (back in 2019).

This is just one example of the buzz surrounding hiring through coding competitions. Nowadays, several IT companies are using online coding competitions for recruiting top talent. If you wish to land your dream job with an amazing package just like Abdullah, then you must also take part in these competitions. Here we are sharing a guide for you to understand everything about coding competitions.

What's involved in an online coding challenge?

In order to evaluate a candidate's level of proficiency in technical areas, potential employers and recruiters may frequently issue them an online coding challenge. The majority of tasks are designed to be 'open book,' which means that you will have access to Google and any additional resources that may be helpful to you while you are working through the challenge.

They are available in a variety of formats, which may include the following: 

• Multiple choice questions
• Database application construction on a small scale, from beginning to end
• Debugging difficulties
• Algorithmic quizzes
• Problems are drawn directly from the real world as examples

The objective of the competition remains the same even though other types of challenges may be used. This goal has been set to establish a correct, standardized approach for evaluating technical skills that allow several candidates to be compared to one another without any bias.

Types of coding competitions

Open coding challenges: They are hosted by a wide variety of technology companies. These are competitions in the field of information technology in which programmers from all over the world are invited to take part. They must solve coding issues in order to compete for prizes. For example, Google hosts different coding competitions every year.

Take-home coding challenges: The recruiter sends out coding tasks through email. You are free to complete it whenever it is convenient for you before the deadline ends. Take-home challenges provide candidates with the same amount of time and space that they would have as an employee, making it an effective central method for evaluating candidates' ability to solve problems and their level of expertise.

Pair programming: When faced with this kind of coding difficulty, the only way to tackle the challenges is to work together with the interviewer. The use of pair programming is typically appropriate for senior candidates in the logical programming field.

Whiteboarding: Recruiters use whiteboard tests as just a tool to evaluate an applicant's capacity to cope with high-pressure conditions. In this section, you will be asked to tackle the code challenge problem that is written on a whiteboard in front of the recruiter.

Screening: It is organized in the form of coding challenges that are similar to quizzes. Since they are rather brief, we cannot consider them to be true coding difficulties. On the other hand, screening questions are useful in situations in which large firms have an excessive number of enterprise applications.

Reasons to take part in coding challenges

Participants in coding challenges are given a problem and a certain amount of time to find a solution to it. The criteria for judging have already been established and are typically determined by the nature of the issue at hand and the response that is anticipated. It could include things like the number of issues that were solved, the amount of time that was spent on the answer, the quality of the output, and other similar things. People's ability to function effectively and creatively within the heart of programming improves as a direct result of this.

Here are a few reasons to participate in coding competitions:

• Enhances problem-solving skills
• Faster coding speed
• Acknowledgment on a very significant scale
• Ability to write better codes
• Be prepared for coding interviews

Tips to prepare well for coding competitions

A significant number of novices, as well as students, hunt for pointers on how to practice coding. Nevertheless, there is no need for you to be concerned about anything. We have discussed here all of the different techniques that you may use to improve your performance in procedural programming challenges and interview preparation. Read on...

Programming language: The most effective strategy is to concentrate on mastering a particular programming language, such as Python, at first. At this point, it would be inappropriate to switch to other languages. Python is a programming language; thus, you should familiarize yourself with as much of it as possible. Create a variety of unique, challenging codes and write them in there. You ought to have reached a level of proficiency at which you can debug any code without encountering any difficulties.

The environment should be peaceful: Make sure there are no interruptions or distractions in the area where you are working. It's important to make the most of every minute, especially when competing in timed events. So, the main aim is to give your complete focus to the display on your device and the keypad.

Take your time: Use every second of the time that has been allowed to you, even though it could be appealing or look remarkable, to complete the challenge as quickly as you possibly can. You should check your previous responses to make sure you haven't made any common mistakes or typos and you should also go back and read them again.

Please read the instructions carefully: Instructions in written form will accompany the vast majority of coding problems. Take your time and read through some of these instructions slowly and carefully multiple times to ensure that you fully comprehend what is being asked of you. It would be a shame if you wrote wonderful error-free codes but solved the wrong problem or missed a vital criterion because you raced through the instructions. In spite of the fact that you may have the impression that you have already solved the problem or that you are familiar with the specific procedure that is required to do so, it is possible that this particular obstacle entails some tiny but significant variations.

Make it easy to run and include a readme file: You should operate under the assumption that the individual who will be analyzing your perfect code will be working with a different operating system. So, he/she may not have any of the dependencies installed, and therefore, will access your program using the text editor or integrated development environment (IDE) of his/her choice, whether that be Emacs or Eclipse. To avoid the same, you should make it a priority to structure your program in a manner that is consistent with the norms for projects in the language of your choice. Secondly, you should incorporate a straightforward readme file that describes all of the dependencies that must be met in order for your application to execute, along with the respective versions of those dependencies.

Plan ahead: It is not difficult to dive headfirst into a coding issue and figure things out as you go along. If you take a few minutes to sketch out the primary components of your program and how they will interact with one another, you will be able to identify problems more quickly and prevent yourself from coding into a corner.

Participate in different competitions online: If you are just starting out in the programming job market, participating in certain online coding competitions is a fantastic way to get your foot in the door. There is a plethora of coding challenges that may be tailored not only to your level of expertise but also to the type of position that you are interested in. In addition, there are competition websites that have been developed specially for people who have recently finished their studies at colleges or coding academies. People who have learned the necessary abilities but do not yet have a way to demonstrate their proficiency will find these websites to be invaluable resources.

Select correct variable names: In spite of the fact that it could appear to be a trivial matter, businesses spend a significant amount of attention on it. Your input will be used to determine which names should be used for the variables. Because of this, the majority of beginning programmers choose names that are straightforward, such as A, B, and C. Instead, you should go with names that are more explicit and easier to understand, such as FirstValue and SecondValue. The readability of the code would improve as a result and users will have a better grasp of the function of the variable from their very first encounter with it.

Practice as much as possible: You've probably heard the old adage, "Practice makes perfect," and it's absolutely true that honing your skills in a particular language can assist you in improving at a rate that is proportional to the amount of time you spend doing so.

Practice is an absolute necessity if you want to do well in a coding competition or land a job in the sector. You will be able to write programs that are free of errors in a shorter amount of time as a result of this. In addition, you won't have to waste time searching the internet for answers anymore. You have the potential to become the world's most effective problem solver once you get your programming abilities up to speed and start practicing them regularly.

Conclusion

You are setting yourself up for a voyage of personal development whenever you prepare for coding difficulties at Google or any other digital company. Your capabilities improve, and so does your problem-solving capacity, as well as self-assurance as a result of these improvements.

Due to this, we strongly recommend that you take part in writing code competitions. The reason for this is that the end consequence of any competition is always growth, regardless of how the competition turns out. The most important thing to remember is that you should not feel disappointed if you can't win any coding competition. These are just stepping stones, you need to practice and keep working hard and you will succeed.

FAQs

• Is there a possibility that winning a coding competition could lead to a job offer?

If you triumph in the competition, then recruiters may contact you to schedule an interview. In this case, the probability of receiving an offer is higher for you.

• How do I beat Google Coding Challenges?

The most effective strategy to get ready for coding competitions is to solve real-world problems on a daily basis in order to hone your ability to think critically and creatively about solutions. You can improve your ability to recognize and categorize potential solutions to issues based on intrinsic patterns by exposing yourself to a wide variety of challenges, each of which presents a unique level of difficulty. In this approach, you will have a better chance of discovering the most effective answers to challenges that you have never come across before.

• Do coding challenges make you a better programmer?

The most common practices for self-learning that are being implemented by ideal software developers nowadays include a significant emphasis on coding challenges and exams. You can improve your development skills by participating in programming competitions. It is essential that you give your full attention if you are just beginning to learn how to program.

• Is it worth taking part in competitive coding events?

Participating in competitive programming enables you to identify the best potential solution in the shortest amount of time possible. It means creating these trade-offs. And in this circumstance, this skill is very important because you have to improve the complexity and time required in your lines of code and discover the optimal solution to the problem.

• Why do companies do coding challenges?

Coding competitions are frequently used to assist hiring managers in selecting the most qualified candidate based just on an individual's real-world coding skills. Coding competitions are increasingly being utilized by large corporations such as FAANG. Such coding challenges will test your knowledge of algorithms and data structures with questions and problems.

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