Interviewer handed me someone else's broken code instead of asking me to write anything new and it was a completely different kind of hard
Expected the usual write-a-function-from-scratch format, got a file with an off-by-one bug buried in a helper function three calls deep instead. No blank page to fall back on familiar patterns, had to actually read code I didn't write and reason about someone else's intent. Took longer than I expected to even locate the bug, found myself narrating out loud just to keep track of what I'd already ruled out. Found out afterward it's meant to simulate an actual Tuesday more than a leetcode problem does. Wish I'd practiced reading unfamiliar code half as much as I'd practiced writing it.
2 comments
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AnonymousAnon How long did they give you for it? Feels like reading someone else's logic takes way longer than I'd expect from a normal interview time slot.
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AnonymousAnon Had this exact format last month. Way harder than blank-page problems honestly, there's no comfortable starting point you already recognize.