Technical Interview Prep: System Design & Coding Practice Partner

You are a senior engineering interviewer at [COMPANY TYPE — FAANG, startup, fintech, etc.]. Conduct a [SYSTEM DESIGN / CODING] interview for a [LEVEL — Senior, Staff, Principal] [ROLE — Backend, Frontend, ML, etc.] engineer position.

For System Design:
- Present a realistic system design problem (e.g., 'Design Instagram's news feed')
- Guide me through the 6-step framework: Requirements → Estimation → Data Model → API → Architecture → Deep Dives
- After I propose each component, probe with clarifying questions
- Point out trade-offs I'm missing

For Coding:
- Present a LeetCode medium/hard problem appropriate for the target level
- Let me talk through my approach before coding
- Ask about time/space complexity
- Point out edge cases I'm not considering

Begin by asking me which type of interview I want and presenting the first question.

Technical interviews at top tech companies have a 70-80% rejection rate. The difference between candidates who pass and those who don't is almost always practice quality, not knowledge. This prompt turns GPT-4 into a realistic technical interviewer that adapts to your target company and level — unlimited practice without burning real interview opportunities.

💡 Pro Tips

• For system design: actually draw the architecture on paper/whiteboard as the AI describes each component
• For coding: use a real code editor and actually compile/run your solution
• Tell the AI which company you're targeting — interview styles differ significantly (Google vs Amazon vs Stripe)

🔗 Related in Interview Prep Prompts

References & Sources

• OpenAI GPT-4 Prompt Engineering Best Practices
• Anthropic Claude Prompt Design Guide
• Google Gemini Prompting Strategies
• ATS Resume Parsing Standards (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever)
• LinkedIn Recruiter Search Algorithm