cosmicstack-labs Interview Prep
Systematic preparation for technical and behavioral interviews.
Behavioral Frameworks
STAR for Behavioral Questions
Tell me about a time when...
| Element | What to Cover |
|---|---|
| Situation | Context — project, team, timeline |
| Task | Your specific responsibility |
| Action | What YOU did (not the team) |
| Result | Quantified outcome, what you learned |
Common Questions to Prepare
- "Tell me about yourself" → 60-second career narrative
- "Biggest challenge/project" → STAR with technical depth
- "Conflict with a teammate" → Show emotional intelligence
- "Failure/mistake" → Honest story + what you learned
- "Why this company?" → Research-driven, specific
Technical Interview Prep
Coding
- Practice 2-3 problems daily (LeetCode medium)
- Focus on: Arrays, Hashmaps, Trees, Graphs, DP
- Always: Clarify → Brute force → Optimize → Code → Test
- Think out loud — interviewer wants to hear your process
System Design
Practice these scenarios:
- Design URL shortener (read-heavy, hashing, scaling)
- Design chat system (WebSockets, persistence, presence)
- Design news feed (fan-out, caching, ranking)
- Design rate limiter (token bucket, sliding window, distributed)
Pre-Interview Checklist
- Research company and interviewers on LinkedIn
- Prepare 3 questions to ask at end
- Test your camera, mic, internet
- Have water, notebook, pen ready
- Review your resume and projects