Mocks: the ladder from week 6
Four mock formats, when each one starts, and what to log after every session.
Mocks are the only rehearsal that adds a second person and a clock. Start in week 6, not week 10, because you have the hours and the sheet is already producing problems you can solve.
The revision page covers the deck and the contest gauge. This page covers the rehearsals that involve another human or a recording.
The ladder
| Mock type | Cadence | What it trains |
|---|---|---|
| Solo timed | Weekly rotation | 60 minutes, 2 problems, silence, phone off, recorded. This is the volume driver. |
| Peer mock | Once a week from W6 | Book on Pramp (free, 5 credits a month) or find a peer in a club or dev Discord. Trains talking while solving. |
| Pro mock | Every 4 to 6 weeks from W10 | One paid session on interviewing.io. The best reality check you can buy. Book the first after graphs closes, around April. |
| You-talk drill | Once a week from W1 | Take yesterday's problem and record 5 minutes explaining your approach out loud, as if an interviewer asked. Then rewatch it. |
The you-talk drill is uncomfortable and it is the exact skill the redesigned interviews at Meta, Google and Canva score. Watch your own recording once, then move on.
If Pramp scheduling will not fit
The larger platform comparison lists alternatives. Use it when a Pramp slot will not fit your IST morning.
What to log after every mock
- The problem and the pattern it belongs to.
- Time to first working solution, and time to finish.
- Every prompt the interviewer had to give you.
- The one thing you would change on the next attempt.
- The verdict: pass, or hold until the retry.
Five lines per mock. After ten mocks, the prompts repeat, and that list is your real weak-spot syllabus.
Mock dos and don'ts
- Record every mock, including the solo ones. The recording is the only version you can audit.
- Talk through the plan before you type. Silence reads as being stuck, even when you are not.
- Ask the clarifying questions out loud, on camera. It is the cheapest point you will ever score.
- Keep the solo mock on the weekly rotation even during a heavy project week.
Revision: the deck and the contest gauge
The two-layer revision system, the day 2/7/30 deck, and how the weekly contest tells you when solving has gone passive.
Study core CS fundamentals
The interview-grade bar in OS, DBMS, SQL, networks, OOP and concurrency, the hours it gets, and the drill that makes it stick.