Most backend interview prep advice is either "grind 500 LeetCode problems" or "just build projects." Neither alone gets you hired. After mentoring freshers into backend roles, here's the actual breakdown of what interviewers test — and how to prepare for each part efficiently. 1. Language + runtime fundamentals (the fastest points to lose) For Node.js roles, interviewers almost always probe: The event loop — phases, the microtask queue, and why process.nextTick runs b...