Software Software Engineer interview experience

I was asked to write code there without much clarity about how they would evaluate the work, and I later focused on the idea that passing test cases mattered more than showing a clever approach. That mismatch cost me time because I couldn’t comfortably debug like I normally would—writing and running in that environment didn’t feel natural.

When I finally reached the face-to-face rounds, the tension increased. The interviewer’s expectations felt oddly specific: it wasn’t just “solve the problem,” it was more like they wanted the particular direction or solution they already had in mind. I