1 min lesson
Self-score the trial
Make the call in this situation. "During a work-trial rehearsal you realize your full design won't finish in the time-box. What's the best move for this role, and why?" Explain what supports it.
Step 1 of 2
Self-score the trialThree questions, honestly
- Did it run?
- A live demo of the happy path, not a walkthrough of code that was never executed.
- Is it owned end-to-end?
- Runbook present; secrets handled; you can explain every dependency and what breaks it.
- Would a teammate get it tomorrow?
- Clear names, a README that stands alone, no tribal knowledge required to run it.
A "no" on any row is the gap to close before a real build round.
Watch out
Don't go silent and build. A build round is also a window into how you think, so narrate scoping decisions, trade-offs and dead ends as you hit them. A candidate who builds a smaller thing while explaining their reasoning out-scores one who builds a bigger thing in silence.