Simulate the Full Loop, One Round a Day
Onsite day sounds scary because it's not one interview — it's four or five in a row. Good news: you can practise that exact shape ahead of time, and it gets a lot less scary once you have.
The idea, in one line
The real skill being tested isn't any single round — it's staying sharp across all of them. So rehearse the whole loop, not just one topic at a time.
How to spread it across a week
One round per day, so each type gets real focus. Then stack them all on Friday to feel the fatigue:
- Monday — a timed coding round
- Tuesday — API or test-framework design
- Wednesday — system design
- Thursday — behavioural (your STAR stories)
- Friday — a full mock loop, all of them back to back
Treat each one like the real thing
- Set a timer, so you learn the real pace.
- Use a bare editor with autocomplete off — that's what you'll get in the room.
- Narrate out loud. A coding round is really pair programming, and going silent reads as being stuck.
- For system design, always start by clarifying the requirements and limits before you draw a single box.
Advanced — why the marathon matters
Most people who fail loops didn't fail on skill — they faded. They were great in round one and worn out by round four. Practising the rounds back to back trains the stamina that no amount of solo problem-grinding gives you. Here's a schedule you can copy:
| Day | Round | Timebox | Rule |
|-----|-----------------|---------|--------------------------------------|
| Mon | Coding | 45 min | 2 mediums, no IDE hints, talk aloud |
| Tue | API / framework | 45 min | design a test-framework or API suite |
| Wed | System design | 45 min | clarify reqs FIRST, then draw |
| Thu | Behavioural | 45 min | 5 STAR stories, out loud, recorded |
| Fri | FULL LOOP | 3 hr | all four back-to-back, 10 min breaks |
# After each round, log 3 lines:
# WON: what felt smooth
# STALLED: where you froze or rambled
# FIX: the one thing to change tomorrowGrounded in the Tech Interview Handbook (coding-interview-prep) and public FAANG loop guides