i have written an entire google doc with responses...
# wayfolk
j
i have written an entire google doc with responses to SAR questions ahead of time. it’s about 80 or so in size at this point. they are uniquely positioned to my career experiences, however. lifeprotip, do something similar ahead of time and practice them. i can give you the list if you want
z
Okay, what is SAR?
situation, action result?
j
right
z
While I have you in this thread, Jordan, did you pick up any books from the link you shared? https://blog.pragmaticengineer.com/preparing-for-the-systems-design-and-coding-interviews/
Planning to get the system design interview book. Read the fist free chapter and looks good.
j
hmm, i thought that link was paul’s
i have a copy of mike xu’s books
the books don’t cover the method as extensively
just use and practice this template ahead of time
z
oh yeah it was Paul. Will check this template, thanks Jordan
j
@Andrew M., keep me honest here - i think Excalidraw and Coderpad.io may be the most popular tools for this
a
Coderpad is for sure
j
DD uses ED
another resource Datadog recommends for their system design round - https://github.com/donnemartin/system-design-primer
z
Yeah, I started with that one. Its good.
z
DD also uses coderpad for the code testing
j
they use both. coderpad for the coding round, excalidraw for the system design
p
These were also high level reasoning around system design from ByteByteGo (Alex Xu's content gig). They're a good, short refreshers but not deep dives. •

Timing Framework

Meta Approach

There are also more detailed system design YT channels out there
j
The reality is: if you have built Wayfair over the years, you likely know all of this stuff, sans some clever nuances that we hadn't have to do
For instance, I just learnt about base 62 encoding 2 weeks ago. 😂
p
The approach change I made was the high level -> get feedback -> deep dive instead of jumping right into a solution
j
The chapter on URL shortener was basically me recalling how rowe, PDR and I built the 301/302 micro website redirects
z
Yeah what i am hoping to learn is how to structure my response. I have a tendency to be all over the place and get nervous.
j
Zubin, use the template I shared earlier in the thread
Its fairly straight forward and just make sure you talk it out with your partner
You have to keep an eye on the clock, though. Thats your responsibility unless you somehow get the interviewer to be on your side and play the timekeeper role for both of you
p
If I remember correctly, the "crack system design" video above frames why the interview type exists and it's mostly about the journey.
a
After going through the prep phase, I can reiterate my earlier offer, for those who want to practice live System Design sessions, happy to help to an extent I can. I’ve been giving these sessions for years, largely in L5+ pipeline. I don’t pretend to be a guru here but can certainly share some tips and tricks.