1 min lesson
Self-score the trial
Answer this: "During the work-trial you realize your full design won't finish in the time-box. Do you (a) keep building toward the complete design and demo partial code or (b) cut scope to a thin slice that runs end-to-end? Justify your choice for this role."
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 the real trial.
Watch out
Don't go silent and build. The practical round evaluates 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.