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LinkedIn coding interview / online assessment format and difficulty, 2026 edition

staff_steph · 4 replies

I just did the LinkedIn OA last month and the format is a bit different from what I read in older posts, so figured I'd update the record.

Platform: They use their own internal assessment tool now. It's fine. The code editor syntax highlighting worked. No complaints.

Format: 2 coding problems, 70 minutes combined. No behavioral section in the OA itself. No debugging/fix-the-code sections, pure problem-solving.

Difficulty: I'd call them Leetcode medium and medium-hard. The first problem was a classic sliding window variant, nothing shocking. The second involved trees and had a subtle requirement about ordering that I almost glossed over. I'd say the OA screens for "can you write clean, correct code under time pressure" more than "do you know obscure algorithms."

Test cases: You get public test cases and can run your code. Hidden test cases are revealed after submission. I passed all public but one hidden case failed on the first problem because I had an off-by-one error. Still moved on to the phone screen, so partial credit apparently counts.

Time management: This was my real challenge. I spent way too long trying to optimize the first problem perfectly before moving on. Lesson: get a working solution first, then optimize. They care about correctness more than Big-O theorizing if you're not a senior candidate.

For new grads and early career folks: I think Leetcode mediums done under actual time pressure is the right prep. Not grinding Leetcode hard obsessively. Get comfortable being 80% right and explaining your thinking.

Got the phone screen invite 8 days after the OA. Good luck everyone.

4 replies

sec_sasha

Did they say how they score it? Like is there a cutoff score or does a human review? Trying to figure out how forgiving the hidden cases are.

jp_newgrad

Nobody told me explicitly. But I failed one hidden test case and still moved forward, so it's not 100%-or-bust. I assume a recruiter reviews borderline cases.

bootcamp_bri

Appreciate the update, most posts I find are from 2023 and the platform has changed. The sliding window hint is super helpful.

mobile_mara

70 minutes for 2 problems is tighter than it sounds. That's basically 35 per problem, and you need 5 of those for reading and clarifying. Real pressure cooker.