❌ I Failed My First Coding Interview — Here’s What I Learned

Heri Gen — Sun, 15 Feb 2026 00:14:37 +0000

Failing my first coding interview hurt more than I expected.

I walked out thinking:

“Maybe I’m not cut out for this.”

But looking back now, that failure taught me more than any tutorial ever did. If you’re preparing for interviews—or just failed one—this post is for you.
😰 What Went Wrong in the Interview

The interview wasn’t extremely hard.
The problem was me.

Here’s what I did wrong:

1️⃣ I Focused Only on Coding, Not on Thinking

I rushed straight into writing code.
I didn’t:
Clarify the problem
Ask about edge cases
Explain my approach
The interviewer wasn’t just testing my solution — they were testing how I think.

2️⃣ I Panicked When I Got Stuck

At one point, I knew the logic… but my brain froze.
Instead of calmly breaking the problem down, I:
Panicked
Went silent
Started guessing
That silence probably hurt more than the wrong answer.

3️⃣ I Ignored Fundamentals
I spent weeks learning frameworks…
But the interview focused on:
Arrays
Strings
Basic logic
Time complexity
That was a wake-up call.

🔍 The Turning Point

A day later, I reviewed the interview questions again.
And guess what?
I could solve them calmly at home.
That’s when I realized:
Interviews are as much about communication and mindset as they are about code.

✅ What I Changed After That Failure
✔️ I Started Thinking Out Loud
Even if my solution wasn’t perfect, I explained:
What I understood
What I was trying
Why I chose a specific approach
Interviewers appreciate clarity over silence.

✔️ I Practiced Mock Interviews

This was a game changer.
Talking while coding felt awkward at first, but it:
Reduced nervousness
Improved confidence
Made interviews feel familiar

familiar

👉 Read more about my full interview preparation journey here:
I Failed My First Coding Interview — Here’s What I Learned
🔗 READ MORE

💡 Final Advice for Anyone Who Failed an Interview

Failing an interview does not mean:
You’re bad at coding
You should quit
You’re not smart enough
It means:
You’re learning
You’re growing
You’re closer than you think.

How I Optimized Jira Workflow Automation (And Reduced Manual Work by 60%)

Heri Gen — Sat, 14 Feb 2026 23:51:01 +0000

If you're looking for updated Cookie Run Kingdom codes that actually work, I recommend checking this site first: https://cookierunkingdomcodes.com/ — it’s where I usually find the latest redeemable rewards before they expire.When I first started managing projects in Jira, our workflows looked organized — but behind the scenes, we were drowning in repetitive manual updates.

Issues weren’t transitioning automatically. Notifications were inconsistent. Developers were updating fields manually. Project managers were chasing status changes.

After a few weeks of frustration, I decided to properly optimize our Jira workflow automation.

Here’s exactly what I changed and what worked.

🚨 The Problems We Had

Before optimization:

Issues were manually moved between statuses

Priority wasn’t updating based on SLA rules

Assignees weren’t auto-set

Review steps required manual tagging

Too many notification emails

The workflow looked structured but wasn’t automated enough.

Step 1: Cleaned Up the Workflow (Before Automating)

Big mistake I see often:
People automate messy workflows.

Instead, I:

Removed unused statuses

Reduced transitions

Simplified approval paths

Standardized issue types

Automation works best when the process is clean first.

Step 2: Used Jira Automation Rules Strategically

Jira’s built-in automation engine is powerful if used correctly.

I created rules like:

✅ Auto-Assign Based on Component

If:

Issue Type = Bug

Component = Backend

Then:

Assign to Backend Lead

This removed manual assignment completely.

✅ Transition Automatically After PR Merge

We integrated with GitHub so when a pull request was merged:

Issue moved from “In Review” → “Done”

Comment was added automatically

Reporter was notified

Zero manual status updates.

✅ SLA-Based Priority Escalation

If:

Issue is unresolved for 48 hours

Priority = Medium

Then:

Update priority to High

Notify Slack channel

This prevented silent delays.

Step 3: Reduced Notification Noise

Automation can create spam if not controlled.

Disabled redundant email notifications

Used conditional logic

Batched updates where possible

Developers stopped ignoring Jira emails.

Step 4: Used Smart Conditions (Game Changer)

Instead of creating multiple rules, I used:

IF / ELSE blocks

Advanced branching

JQL conditions

Example:

If issue type = Story
AND label = urgent
AND sprint = active

→ Notify PM + escalate

This kept the number of automation rules low but powerful.

Step 5: Measured the Results

After optimization:

Manual transitions reduced by ~60%

Assignment errors dropped to near zero

SLA breaches decreased

Team spent less time managing Jira

Standups became faster

The biggest win?
Developers focused more on coding and less on updating tickets.

Lessons I Learned

Automate only stable processes Read more...
Keep workflows simple

Avoid creating too many rules

Always test rules in a staging project

Monitor automation logs weekly

Final Thoughts

Workflow automation in Jira isn’t about adding more rules.
It’s about removing friction.

Once we optimized our automation, Jira stopped being a task-tracking burden and became a productivity tool.

If you’re managing a growing team, I highly recommend reviewing your workflows every quarter Read more....

DEV Community: Heri Gen

❌ I Failed My First Coding Interview — Here’s What I Learned

How I Optimized Jira Workflow Automation (And Reduced Manual Work by 60%)