When it comes to programming puzzle interviews I went through a similar sort of realization, there is a baseline level of knowledge about algos/design/experienc

When it comes to programming puzzle interviews I went through a similar sort of realization, there is a baseline level of knowledge about algos/design/experience, but beyond some point it seemed to be about how well I could explain my way through a problem. For a problem which I didn’t know off the bat I had to talk with the interviewer to eventually get to a working solution. A *huge* part of that is about not losing my cool, about not getting into a mental headspace of being stuck. Interestingly, the less I need a particular job opportunity the more comfortable I have been with these probing conversations.