1 min lesson
Ask through the confirmed channel
Think through this situation. "Before the onsite project, the invitation does not say which tools are allowed or how questions should be asked. What do you do?" Give the practical answer in plain words.
Step 1 of 2
Ask through the confirmed channel
The posting does not say that a Slack channel or live help is available. Ask recruiting how project questions should be handled. If questions are invited, make them specific and act on the answer; if independent work is expected, state a reasonable assumption and continue.
- Behavior
- What you build
- Stronger rehearsal
- A pointed bet that shows taste
- Weaker rehearsal
- The safest, most generic feature
- Behavior
- Tool use
- Stronger rehearsal
- Follows the confirmed rules and owns the result
- Weaker rehearsal
- Assumes a tool is allowed or cannot explain its output
- Behavior
- Scoping
- Stronger rehearsal
- Walking skeleton first, then hardens
- Weaker rehearsal
- Builds wide; nothing works end-to-end
- Behavior
- Presentation
- Stronger rehearsal
- Tight demo; owns tradeoffs and cuts
- Weaker rehearsal
- “It mostly works,” with no clear story
| Behavior | Stronger rehearsal | Weaker rehearsal |
|---|---|---|
| What you build | A pointed bet that shows taste | The safest, most generic feature |
| Tool use | Follows the confirmed rules and owns the result | Assumes a tool is allowed or cannot explain its output |
| Scoping | Walking skeleton first, then hardens | Builds wide; nothing works end-to-end |
| Presentation | Tight demo; owns tradeoffs and cuts | “It mostly works,” with no clear story |
Interview move
At the start, repeat the expected output in your own words: “I'll deliver this narrow working path, verify it with this check and be ready to explain these tradeoffs.” It makes your scope visible while leaving room to adapt to the actual onsite format.