Not Knowing an Answer = Offer
Has anyone done a technical interview where you explained your thought process but couldnt give an answer but had enough confidence and still got an offer? background: I explained my level of proficiency in a language to the recruiter and was still moved forward in the interview process but my proficiency only goes so far and I’m afraid they might ask a question that I might not know what the exact solution may be. But im confident in my ability to find the answer and wont give up until I do so when I am tasked with an assighment. also anyone care to share their thoughts. i feel like its not very common since the consensus on here is that we have to do so much leetcode and ctci and epi that these recruiters see better talent that knows the answer and also have good confidence.
All my interviews = you don’t have to talk, just solve questions first then talk
If it's a hard enough question that's only meant to test your thought process and not the answer, then yeah.
not an offer, im still in the interview process. i got a hard question and wasnt able to solve, but he said i had the right idea and i got to second round
The chances are that somebody else could answer the question, so it doesn’t matter how confident you can be that you do the job when needed, they will chose the candidate who was better/could answer the question.
Yeah my interview had 3 easy questions and the only hard one I kinda bombed. I spent a while on a solution and then realized it wouldn't work, so then I explained the reason it wouldn't work and what I'd have to change, but it was a pattern I wasn't used to so I didn't quite get it and I ran out of time. The dude said "don't worry I can tell you're smart" and I got the offer. People are looking for someone who can tell what is going on and is able to communicate, otherwise they won't be able to teach you and absolutely they are expecting to have to teach you on the job.
I would hire someone who has that ability and determination. So, go for it! I have hired people like that and know others who have been hired that way too. I don't believe in asking trick questions to make an interview an unrealistic pressure-cooker situation. Unless you're a 5 person startup, there's no need to put people under time pressure. Any live productions issue isn't going to be similar to the design questions thrown at you in a leetcode type of interview. If anyone ever designed massive systems using leetcode method, they are going to design vulnerable and brittle systems.
Oh yeah.
Most of the time what the interviewers care most about is your thought process -- how do you approach a problem? Do you ask the right questions? Are you able to lay out a clear plan? Are you able to communicate your thoughts effectively? Don't get hung up on "what if" scenarios. Study and do your best.
'We want to see your problem solving abilities' Yeah, only the correct way of thinking -_-
Don't worry man, just be confident and tell them you can do it