Why Company-Specific OA Prep Beats Generic LeetCode Grinding in 2026

A software engineering career advice post on DEV Community argues that job seekers preparing for 2026 online assessments are better served by targeting company-specific, recent problem patterns than by repeatedly drilling static lists like Blind 75 or NeetCode 150. The author notes that many OAs now feature stateful simulations, multi-part system problems, SQL window functions, and light design prompts that generic grind sets rarely cover. The core recommendation is to identify three to five active target companies, research the OA format each currently uses based on recent public candidate reports, and practice problems matching that specific shape under timed conditions. A simple weekly ritual is proposed: note the problem shape, solve under a timer, and write a short postmortem covering the pattern and key gotchas. The post positions fundamentals as still essential but warns against mistaking comfort with classic medium problems for readiness for a specific company's current screening format.