Leetcode turned my biggest fear into my biggest strength

Two years ago, I was a nervous wreck. I’d always been decent at coding but the thought of coding interviews made me freeze. I couldn’t even get past “easy” problems on Leetcode without looking at hints. The fear of failure was so bad that I’d just avoid applying to roles altogether.

Then something shifted. Instead of trying to brute-force my way through endless problems, I started treating every problem like a conversation. I’d walk myself through the problem, explain my thought process, and focus on improving step by step.

I started seeing interviews differently—not as something to “ace” but as a chance to show how I think. The more I practiced this, the more confident I became. It wasn’t overnight (trust me, there were nights of pure frustration), but the improvement was real.

Fast forward to today: I’ve cleared interviews at two companies I’d once thought were out of my league. I also found that tools and platforms designed to simulate real interviews helped a lot, especially ones that let you practice with hints or feedback along the way.

I just wanted to share this because I know a lot of people feel stuck or intimidated by Leetcode and coding interviews in general. If you’re in that place, know that it’s totally normal. Take it slow, practice explaining your ideas, and don’t be afraid to use resources.

If I could go from freezing up at “easy” problems to landing my dream job, so can you! Much love ❤️

EDIT: Many of u dm'ed me with questions what I've used to prepare, here's all:

  • LeetCode: obvious one
  • NeetCode videos: His YouTube channel is amazing for breaking down tricky problems into easy-to-understand steps
  • Interview.Codes: practicing with an ai interviewer/mock interviews, it gives you subtle hints when you’re stuck and generate feedback raport at the end with things to improve etc. Super useful for building confidence without relying on full solutions and being forced to think out loud (that was the hardest part for me as for not native english person).
  • hellointerview: very good free resources on system design. They have also paid resources and real mock interviews however they were too expensive for me

Next month I'll be a Googler (L4) 🎉