CS9: Problem-Solving for the CS Technical Interview
Autumn 2015 | Tuesday 1:30-2:50pm in Lathrop 282
Recent Announcements
- BRING YOUR RESUME (2 copies) to class in week 2! We will peer review them and talk about getting ready for the Career Fair the next day (Wed 9/30).
- Welcome to Autumn 2015 CS9! Class starts 9/22.
Course Summary
This course will prepare students to interview for software engineering and related internships and full-time positions in industry. Drawing on multiple sources of actual interview questions, students will learn key problem-solving strategies specific to the technical/coding interview. Students will be encouraged to synthesize information they have learned across different courses in the major. Emphasis will be on the oral and combination written-oral modes of communication common in coding interviews, but which are an unfamiliar settings for problem solving for many students.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Location | Lathrop 282 |
| Credits | 1 |
| Grades | Satisfactory/No Credit |
| Prerequisites | CS106B/X |
Course Logistics and Policies
Students are required to attend seven of the nine class meetings between Week 2 and Week 10 (inclusive) to receive credit. No exceptions! (No attendance taken on the first day of class.)
Staff
| Cynthia Lee, Instructor | |
|---|---|
| Office | Gates 191 |
| cbl@cs.stanford.edu | |
| Keith Schwarz, Instructor | |
|---|---|
| Office | Gates 178 |
| htiek@cs.stanford.edu | |
Schedule
| Date | Topic | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Week 1, Sept 22 | Introduction | |
| Week 2, Sept 29 | Resumes | |
| Week 3, October 6 | Coding Practice | Slides | Problems |
| Week 4, October 13 | More Coding Practice | Problems |
| Week 5, October 20 | Knowing the Jargon, Behavior/Teamwork Questions | Behavior Question Table Organizer Worksheet Behavior/Teamwork Slides Cracking the Coding Interview 1-pager guides to interviewing |
| Week 6, October 27 | Interview Questions | Anagrams | Assessing Learning | List Shuffle | SubarraySum | Teamwork | Two-Sum |
| Week 7, November 3 | Numbers to Know, Recursion | Numbers to Know | Recursion Problems |
| Week 8, November 10 | Online Presence, Systems Overview, Recursion |
Extra reading and links for the topic of online presence: Online Harrassment (by Kathy Sierra; point: you shouldn't feel required to have an online presence) | PhotoFeeler (a crowdsourced profile photo checker) | Becoming an "Expert" via Online Presence | 20 Ways to Use LinkedIn Productively Links on misc. topics that my friends recommended for you: Self-Care Strategies (how to take care of yourself to be at your best on an interview day) | Questions to ask to find out if a company or team is female-friendly |
| Week 9, November 17 | Negotiation | Slides |