Meta Phone Screen

Phone Screen Interview Experience:

Questions:

1. Basic Calculator II
   • Implemented a non-stack solution (I think the stack solution is fine, I was just trying to be as optimal as possible, because of the current job market we are in)
   • Note: The interviewer wasn't initially familiar with my approach, but understood better when I broke down the problem further
2. Valid Word Abbreviation
   • Implemented a two-pointer solution

Follow-up Question (no coding required):
Check if an Original String Exists Given Two Encoded Strings

My explanation for the follow-up:
"I would approach this using a combination of backtracking and dynamic programming. The solution would:

• Recursively explore all possible interpretations of the strings
• Handle digits and letters separately
• Track the length difference between processed parts of the strings
• Use backtracking to try different possibilities
• Employ dynamic programming (memoization) to avoid redundant calculations
  This method efficiently handles various interpretations of numbers as letter sequences, determining if the two strings can be made equal."

Outcome: Successfully advanced to the onsite interview round.

Best of luck to other candidates!