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Stage 03 · Technical
The technical rounds
Live coding, system design, case studies and take-homes — how to be assessed on your thinking rather than your recall.
5 resources · 28 min read
In this stage
- 01Guide6 minThinking out loud in a live-coding roundYou are not being marked on whether the code runs. You are being marked on what the interviewer learns about you while you write it.
- 02Guide7 minA system-design answer that fits in 45 minutesScope, then sketch, then stress it. The candidates who run out of time are the ones who started drawing first.
- 03Guide6 minBusiness cases and product questionsFor non-engineering roles, the technical round is a case. The method is the answer.
- 04Guide5 minHow much to build on a take-homeThe brief says four hours. Some candidates spend twenty. Neither extreme gets hired for the right reason.
- 05Script4 minWhat to say when you are stuckBeing stuck is not the failure. Going silent for four minutes is.