Why your interview prep strategy might be failing you (and what to do about it)

If you search the internet for technical interview prep, it can feel like tech companies are asking the hardest questions to try to stump you. Many candidates focus on the hardest problems and confuse activity with progress, mistaking endless problem-solving practice or memorizing lists of company-specific questions for real preparation. 

But our team has been a part of building these interviews from the inside, and that couldn't be farther from the truth.

In reality, preparing for a technical interview requires a more thoughtful, organized plan focused on developing your problem-solving abilities and learning to showcase your skills. Not all preparation methods are created equal, and most traditional strategies leave critical gaps in readiness. 

This is where a more systematic approach like the one we’ve developed at Formation can make all the difference, and why it's the best way to prep for technical interviews.

The problem with traditional interview prep 

The common narrative around technical interview prep is that if you solve enough problems, you’ll eventually get it. Many platforms are designed for volume: solve hundreds of problems, and you’ll somehow be ready for the big day. This method ignores an important reality: solving more problems doesn’t necessarily make you a better problem solver.

The core issue with the volume-based approach is that it focuses on breadth over depth. Sure, it’s easy to find lists of problems that a company like Meta or Google might ask, but what happens when you’ve seen 200 problems and only truly understood a fraction of them? What happens when the interviewer presents a problem you’ve never seen before?

You don’t need to solve every problem out there to pass an interview.

You need a set of tools and strategies that allow you to solve any problem you face. And that requires more than just practicing hard problems—it requires focused, strategic practice that hones your problem-solving skills, your communication abilities, and your capacity to perform under pressure.

Why feedback loops are the key to success

At Formation, we believe that feedback loops are the backbone of effective preparation. Without regular feedback, how do you know whether you're improving? Without specific, actionable insights, how can you refine your approach?

Most candidates don’t get enough feedback. They grind away at problem sets or sit through mock interviews without understanding what went wrong or why they struggled with a particular question. Worse, they don’t know what to focus on next to actually improve.

That’s where feedback loops come in. Instead of just solving problems, we focus on continuous assessment and refinement:

• Benchmarking: Before anything else, we evaluate where you stand. What are your strengths? Where are your gaps? What needs immediate attention? This allows us to create a tailored plan that ensures every minute of your preparation is well-spent.
• Iterative practice: Every practice session should inform the next. After each problem or mock interview, we provide targeted feedback, helping candidates understand not just what they got wrong but why they got it wrong. From there, the practice becomes more precise, focused on eliminating those weaknesses.
• Real-time course correction: As you progress, feedback loops let you shift focus. If you're still struggling with tree problems after a week, we don’t keep moving—we double down, making sure you have the depth of understanding required to tackle variations of those problems in real interviews.

Feedback loops allow for strategic adjustment, helping candidates avoid wasted time and zero in on the most critical areas for improvement.

Focused, efficient prep

Imagine you have two weeks to prepare for a technical interview. How should you spend that time? Most candidates default to a scattershot approach—solving whatever problems they come across, hoping for the best. But effective preparation isn’t about doing more—it’s about doing the right things in the right way.

Our process at Formation centers around focused practice. We don’t ask candidates to solve endless problems. Instead, we prioritize depth:

• We emphasize mastery of fundamentals. Most hard problems are just combinations of basic techniques. By mastering fundamental problem types, you become more adaptable and capable of solving new problems you’ve never seen before.
• We focus on communication. Interviewers don’t just want to see the right solution—they want to understand how you think. At Formation, we stress the importance of articulating your problem-solving approach clearly and confidently and encourage SWEs to use the Engineering Method.
• We evaluate you under real interview conditions with a mix of group sessions and mock interviews. This builds your ability to perform under pressure while providing a realistic sense of what the interview will feel like.

By focusing on these core elements, we help candidates become better problem solvers, not just more practiced ones.

Endless mock interviews aren’t the silver bullet

Many candidates turn to mock interviews as their primary preparation tool. While mock interviews are an important part of the process, they are sometimes utilized in an inefficient or ineffective way. Mock interviews are meant to simulate real interviews and evaluate where your skills currently are, not build your skills from the ground up. If you haven’t laid the proper foundation before doing a mock interview, all you’ll get is a reflection of your current performance level, not an opportunity to improve.

At Formation, we treat mock interviews as final tests rather than teaching tools. Once candidates have built a strong foundation through focused practice and feedback, mock interviews become an effective way to gauge readiness. They are a tool for measuring progress, not a shortcut to mastery.

How to avoid common interview prep pitfalls

When you're short on time, efficiency is everything. The last thing you want is to spend precious hours on inefficient or misguided preparation. 

Here are some common pitfalls we’ve seen candidates fall into—and how we help them avoid them at Formation:

Problem: Memorizing problems instead of understanding them. Candidates often try to game the system by memorizing answers to common problems, hoping that the same ones will appear in their interviews. This rarely works. Companies frequently change problems, and interviewers often add unexpected twists. Instead of memorizing solutions, we emphasize learning problem-solving techniques that can be applied to any scenario.

Problem: Too much focus on hard problems. Diving into the hardest problems without a strong grasp of the fundamentals is a waste of time. Hard problems often just combine basic techniques. We make sure candidates master the basics first, building a foundation that allows them to tackle harder problems later.

Problem: Skipping communication practice. Many candidates assume they just need to solve the problem. In reality, communication is critical. If you can’t clearly explain your thought process, even the right answer can hurt you in an interview. We provide constant opportunities for candidates to practice communicating their ideas in group sessions and peer programming.

The Formation approach: Strategic and focused

At the end of the day, interview prep is about more than just putting in the hours. It’s about being strategic with your time, knowing where you need to improve, and building the skills that will help you stand out in an interview. That’s what Formation’s approach is all about—focused, efficient, and feedback-driven preparation that builds confidence and competence.

Whether you have months or just weeks to prepare, the right strategy will set you apart from the competition. 

Get holistic interview prep with Formation

The Formation Fellowship gives mid-level and senior engineering job seekers everything they need to land their dream roles—including personalized skill brush-ups, resume help, unlimited mock interviews with experienced software engineers and hiring managers from top-tier tech companies, career and negotiation support, and more. 

If you’re having trouble navigating your job search on your own, apply here and get unconditional support from a team of engineering mentors, technical recruiters, career coaches, and more.