IBM vs Yelp Interview Questions
IBM lists 115 LeetCode interview questions while Yelp lists 27. They share 7 problems — 6% of IBM's bank and 26% of Yelp's. Focus on the overlap first, then drill into 108 IBM-only and 20 Yelp-only questions.
Overview
Preparation Strategy
Step 1 — Shared core: Solve the 7 overlapping problems first. These are the highest-yield questions for candidates interviewing at both IBM and Yelp.
Step 2 — Company-specific depth: Add IBM-specific problems like Find the Smallest Divisor Given a Threshold, Gray Code, 3Sum and Yelp-specific problems from the exclusive lists below.
Step 3 — Difficulty tuning: Yelp skews harder in our data. Budget extra time for Hard problems if you are targeting that company.
Difficulty Comparison
Top Shared Topics
7 Shared Questions
High-priority problems to practice for both IBM and Yelp.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Two Sum | Easy |
| Merge Intervals | Medium |
| Longest Substring Without Repeating Characters | Medium |
| String Compression | Medium |
| Longest Common Prefix | Easy |
| Shortest and Lexicographically Smallest Beautiful String | Medium |
| Group Anagrams | Medium |
Unique to IBM (108)
Problems in IBM's list that do not appear at Yelp.
| Problem | Difficulty |
|---|---|
| Find the Smallest Divisor Given a Threshold | Medium |
| Gray Code | Medium |
| 3Sum | Medium |
| Exclusive Time of Functions | Medium |
| Integer to Roman | Medium |
| Minimum Operations to Make Columns Strictly Increasing | Easy |
| Fizz Buzz | Easy |
| Roman to Integer | Easy |
| Best Time to Buy and Sell Stock | Easy |
| Count Ways to Group Overlapping Ranges | Medium |
| Meeting Rooms II | Medium |
| Rotate Image | Medium |
Unique to Yelp (20)
Problems in Yelp's list that do not appear at IBM.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many LeetCode questions do IBM and Yelp share?
IBM and Yelp share 7 LeetCode interview questions. 108 problems appear only in IBM's list and 20 appear only in Yelp's list.
What topics overlap most between IBM and Yelp?
The most common shared topics between IBM and Yelp are String (5 shared questions), Array (3 shared questions), Hash Table (3 shared questions), Sorting (2 shared questions), Sliding Window (2 shared questions). Mastering these areas prepares you for both companies.
Which company asks harder LeetCode questions: IBM or Yelp?
IBM has 33 Easy, 73 Medium, and 9 Hard questions. Yelp has 7 Easy, 15 Medium, and 5 Hard questions. Yelp has a higher proportion of Hard problems in its interview set.
How should I prepare if interviewing at both IBM and Yelp?
Start with the 7 shared problems since they cover what both companies ask most often. Then add 20 IBM-specific and 20 Yelp-specific questions to round out your prep.