Smallest Greater Multiple Made of Two Digits
A medium-tier problem at 48% community acceptance, tagged with Math, Enumeration. Reported in interviews at PayPal and 0 others.
You've got a number, and you need to find the smallest number larger than it that uses only two specific digits. PayPal has asked this. It sounds simple until you realize brute force gets slow fast, and the obvious greedy approach fails because you can't always just append or increment. You need to understand how digits combine under constraint. This is the kind of problem where most candidates either time out or get the logic backward. If you hit it live and freeze, StealthCoder runs invisibly during your assessment and gives you a working solution in seconds.
Companies that ask "Smallest Greater Multiple Made of Two Digits"
Smallest Greater Multiple Made of Two Digits is the kind of problem that decides whether you pass. StealthCoder reads the problem on screen and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Invisible to screen share. The proctor sees nothing. Built by an engineer at a top-10 tech company who can solve these problems cold but didn't want to trust himself in a 90-minute screen share.
Get StealthCoderThe trap is thinking you can build the answer by simple rules like 'append the smaller digit' or 'increment and check.' The actual pattern involves constructing candidate numbers by placing the two allowed digits in different positions, then picking the smallest one that still beats your target. You need to generate numbers of length equal to your input, then length plus one if nothing works. The Math and Enumeration combo means you're exploring a constrained search space systematically, not mathematically deriving the answer. Most candidates miss that you have to construct multiple candidates (varying positions of each digit) and compare them all. The acceptance rate sits around 48 percent, suggesting roughly half of people who attempt it don't nail the logic. StealthCoder is your hedge if the construction logic doesn't click under time pressure during the live assessment.
Pattern tags
You know the problem.
Make sure you actually pass it.
Smallest Greater Multiple Made of Two Digits recycles across companies for a reason. It's medium-tier, and most candidates blank under the timer. StealthCoder is the hedge: an AI overlay invisible during screen share. It reads the problem and surfaces a working solution in under 2 seconds. Built by an engineer at a top-10 tech company who can solve these problems cold but didn't want to trust himself in a 90-minute screen share. Works on HackerRank, CodeSignal, CoderPad, and Karat.
Smallest Greater Multiple Made of Two Digits interview FAQ
Is this really a medium, or does it feel harder?+
The acceptance rate of 48 percent suggests it's calibrated correctly. It's not algorithmically complex, but the construction logic is unintuitive. Most people overthink greedy approaches or miss that you need to try multiple candidate placements of the two digits.
What's the actual trick here?+
You generate candidates by placing the two allowed digits in different positions (e.g., all possible arrangements of length n, then length n+1), then return the smallest one larger than your input. It's enumeration, not math. Brute force through the search space, not clever formula.
Why does enumeration matter for a 'math' problem?+
Because the solution isn't a formula. You're systematically exploring all valid numbers you can build from two digits within a bounded range. Math handles the constraints and comparison; enumeration explores the space. Both skills matter equally.
Will this come up again, or is PayPal the only one asking?+
PayPal's the reported asker so far. That doesn't mean it won't appear elsewhere. The pattern (constrained digit construction) is useful across interview prep, even if this exact problem stays niche.
How much time should I spend drilling this before my OA?+
If it's not explicitly on your target list, treat it as a medium-difficulty edge case. Drill the logic once you understand the pattern. If you're interviewing at PayPal, spend more time. Otherwise, know the construction approach and move on.
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