Many people believe that getting into a top tech company is all about grinding LeetCode problems. The more problems you solve, the better your chances. However, reality hits differently. Even if you know how to solve a problem, can you articulate your thought process under pressure? Can you quickly structure your approach? Can you avoid getting stuck? These factors often determine success in a high-stakes interview.

Today, we’re sharing a real DoorDash technical interview experience, where a candidate almost failed but managed to turn things around using CSOAHELP’s real-time remote interview assistance. This allowed him to seamlessly “cheat” through the interview without being noticed, securing a high evaluation and advancing to the next round.

The candidate was a backend engineer with three years of experience, rarely dealing with complex data structures or algorithms in his day-to-day work. He had done some LeetCode practice, but not extensively. This interview was a crucial algorithm + system design session that would determine his chances at DoorDash. After a brief introduction, the interviewer jumped straight into the problem:

What if the tree we are given can have "alive nodes" at non-leaf nodes as well?
Find the maximum path between any two alive nodes within the tree.
A maximum path may only have the two alive nodes without any other alive nodes in between.

        5
       /   \
     2*     0
    /  \    /  \
  100* 50*  4*  15*

Here, nodes marked with * are alive nodes, and the task is to find the maximum path sum between any two alive nodes, ensuring that no other alive nodes appear in the path.

At first glance, it seemed like a simple maximum path sum in a tree problem, but there were hidden challenges. The candidate initially thought of solving it using Depth-First Search (DFS) but soon encountered difficulties. His initial approach calculated paths but did not properly prune paths containing multiple alive nodes. His logic did not ensure paths between two alive nodes remained valid, leading to incorrect results. He also struggled to efficiently track and compute the maximum sum, causing confusion.

Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as he sensed the interviewer’s growing impatience. If he didn’t regain control of the situation soon, this interview was over.

Just as he was about to panic, CSOAHELP’s real-time remote assistance stepped in. Unlike traditional interview coaching, CSOAHELP doesn’t rely on pre-interview practice—it actively provides assistance during the interview, offering real-time solutions that candidates can recite or copy to pass with ease.

On his secondary screen, the CSOAHELP team instantly provided a complete answer template, including code implementation, structured explanation, and a clear response script. The candidate simply read and copied the answer fluently, eliminating all previous confusion and convincing the interviewer that he had a structured, logical approach.

The interviewer then asked the candidate to explain his approach. Without hesitation, he read from the structured explanation CSOAHELP had provided:

“First, we perform a Depth-First Search (DFS) traversal of the tree while computing the maximum path sum between alive nodes. If an alive node is encountered, we prune the path to ensure no other alive nodes are included. We maintain a global variable max_sum to track the highest sum encountered. Additionally, we return a flag to indicate whether an alive node was found, allowing for efficient pruning and optimization.”

The interviewer followed up: "How does your solution ensure that no extra alive nodes are included in the path?"

Again, the candidate read from CSOAHELP’s response template:

“During the DFS traversal, we use an is_alive flag to determine whether the current node is alive. If it is, we prevent its left and right subtrees from contributing to the path sum, ensuring that only the two selected alive nodes are connected. This guarantees that our solution meets the problem’s constraints.”

The interviewer nodded approvingly, clearly satisfied with the answer. The candidate maintained a confident, structured response throughout the remainder of the interview, effortlessly reciting explanations that made him appear highly competent.

By the end of the interview, the interviewer provided positive feedback, commending the candidate’s approach and clear explanation. Thanks to CSOAHELP, the candidate advanced to the next round with a high evaluation score.

Had he not used CSOAHELP, his lack of structured problem-solving skills and initial hesitation might have led to rejection. Instead, by leveraging CSOAHELP’s real-time guidance, he not only produced a fully functional solution but also articulated his reasoning fluently, leaving a strong impression on the interviewer.

CSOAHELP’s remote interview assistance is designed for candidates facing high-pressure technical interviews, offering live response suggestions and full solutions that ensure a seamless performance. It provides complete answers—not just “hints” like traditional coaching—so you can directly recite or copy them to pass with confidence. It operates discreetly via a secondary screen, ensuring no detection by the interviewer. It covers all aspects of technical interviews, including algorithms, system design, and behavioral rounds, helping candidates maintain composure and articulate their solutions effectively.

If you want to avoid rejection due to nervousness, poor articulation, or confusion, CSOAHELP is your ultimate solution.

👉 Contact CSOAHELP now and secure your FAANG-level offer with ease!

经过csoahelp的面试辅助，候选人获取了良好的面试表现。如果您需要面试辅助或面试代面服务，帮助您进入梦想中的大厂，请随时联系我。

If you need more interview support or interview proxy practice, feel free to contact us. We offer comprehensive interview support services to help you successfully land a job at your dream company.