Before you type: restate, ask, plan
Spend the first few minutes making sure you understand the problem, then say your plan out loud.
What they’re listening for
- • Do you understand the problem before you start coding?
- • Do you ask about inputs and edge cases?
- • Do you have a plan, and can you explain it?
The whole track uses one problem: you get a list of meetings, each with a start and end hour, and you merge the ones that overlap. In the first few minutes, most of the value is in talking, not typing. Restate the problem, ask a couple of questions, try a tiny example, and say your plan.
Stiff vs. natural
Interviewer: “So, given a list of meetings with start and end hours, merge any that overlap.”
Sounds stiff
“(starts typing right away) Okay. I will now implement the function.”
Sounds natural
“Okay, let me make sure I've got it. I get a list of meetings, each one a start and end hour, and I return the list with any overlapping meetings combined into one. Two quick questions before I start: is the list already sorted? And if one meeting ends at 10 and the next starts at 10, should those merge?”
- Restating in your own words catches misunderstandings early.
- Asking about sorting and back-to-back meetings shows you think about edge cases.
- “Before I start” tells them you have a process.
A tiny example, then the plan
Interviewer
“Not sorted. And yes, back-to-back meetings should merge.”
You
“Got it. Let me try a small example by hand. Say 10 to 12, 9 to 11, and 14 to 15. Sorted by start time, that's 9 to 11, 10 to 12, then 14 to 15. The first two overlap, so they become 9 to 12, and 14 to 15 stays on its own.”
A small example, said out loud, checks that you both mean the same thing.
You
“So my plan: sort by start time, then go through once, and either stretch the last meeting or add a new one. The sort makes it n log n. Does that sound okay before I start typing?”
Plan and complexity first, then a quick check-in.
Interviewer
“Sounds good, go for it.”
Starting a coding problem
- “Let me make sure I've got this right…”Restating the problem.
- “Quick question before I start:”Asking about the input.
- “What should happen if…?”Asking about an edge case (empty list, ties).
- “Let me try a tiny example by hand.”Walking through an example.
- “The simple way would be…, but I think we can do better.”Mentioning the brute-force idea first.
- “Does that sound reasonable before I start coding?”Checking in on your plan.
Now say it out loud
Rehearse with the AI interviewer and get feedback on your answers.