Coding Interview Playbook

Coding interviews are about building confidence in your reasoning under constraints.

The structure to follow (every time)

1. Clarify requirements and constraints
2. Example walkthrough
3. Approach + complexity
4. Implement in small steps
5. Validate with tests
6. State complexity + improvements

Communication rules

• Narrate decisions, not every keystroke.
• If stuck for >3 minutes: step back, propose alternatives.
• If you made an assumption: say it explicitly.

What causes fails

• Incorrect solution or unhandled edge cases
• No explanation of approach
• Inability to debug
• Disorganized code that can’t be reasoned about

How to train

• Prefer 1 timed problem + post-mortem over 5 untimed.
• Redo failed problems 48–72 hours later.
• Keep a “mistake log” grouped by failure type.