2 min lesson
Leave it reviewable
Take this situation: "You run out of time with the core working but one feature unbuilt. What's the strongest way to close?" Lead with your decision, then add the reason.
Step 1 of 2
Leave it reviewablethe merge test
Clear names, small functions, one responsibility each.
No dead scaffolding or commented-out experiments left behind.
tmp, data2, half-finished branches everywhere.
A giant function the interviewer has to decode.
“I didn't get the priority-queue admission control wired up. The happy path and the rate limiter are correct and tested in my head against empty and burst inputs. Next I'd add a QoS class so Tab requests jump chat under load, since Tab has the sub-100ms budget.”
Honesty about what's unfinished is a senior tell, not a confession. It shows you know what “done” means and can prioritize the remaining work - which is exactly the gray-area judgment the role is screened for.
- 1Increment small and correct. Land a working slice, confirm it, then extend - never a big half-working sketch.
- 2Verify each slice. Trace one real edge case aloud before moving on, so correctness is demonstrated, not asserted.
- 3Tidy before time's up. Rename the rushed variable, delete the scratch branch, so the final read is clean.
- 4Close with next steps. State what you'd do with another hour; it leaves the interviewer with your roadmap, not your gaps.
Reserve the last two minutes to clean up and summarize: what works, what you tested it against, what you'd build next. A tight close converts a partly-finished problem into a clear signal of how you'd operate in production - the exact thing this team is buying.