Usually, they start with knowledge-based questions. If you've been coding for as long as I have, you can explain most of the concepts because you've worked with them in practice. Then comes the coding challenge.
The challenge I received initially felt like a random function. I was all over the place trying to solve it. Afterwards, I realized something important: there was a standard approach the industry expects. When you're employed and focused on delivering work every day, it's easy to lose touch with those evolving standards.
I finished the interview hopeful that I'd get the role, but regardless of the outcome, it reignited something in me. I wanted to sharpen my Python skills.
I started looking at HackerRank exercises and LeetCode problems, but quickly realized that wasn't the path I wanted to take. I wanted to learn from the people shaping the future of software engineering. Right now, that's companies like Anthropic.
I found a course that aligned perfectly with where I want to be in my career. And, unbelievably, there was the exact type of solution I had struggled with during the interview. The very interview that exposed a gap in my knowledge ended up leading me to the resource that helped close it.
I wish I had found it sooner.
But maybe that's the point.
Sometimes an interview isn't there to get you the job. Sometimes it's there to show you where the market is, what the current standards are, and what you need to learn next.
So my advice is simple: interview.
I know it's hard. We have jobs, kids, Hyrox training, side projects, and we need rest. Preparing for interviews takes time and energy.
But interviewing is like going for a health check as a developer. It tells you what's strong, what needs work, and whether you're still aligned with where the industry is heading.
And sometimes, the most valuable thing you get from an interview isn't an offer.
It's direction.
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