# 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.