But if you could spend a high-energy hour with me iterating over possible solutions, then that signals to me that you're smart, have fortitude, and think outsid

But if you could spend a high-energy hour with me iterating over possible solutions, then that signals to me that you're smart, have fortitude, and think outside the box. All qualities I would never hire a candidate without. Maybe that's the problem? If I'm in that situation, I get more annoyed than excited about playing find-50-ways-to-solve-pedantic-imaginary-crap-from-memory. For me, it's instant deer in headlights because I'm uncomfortable making a lot of dumb false starts that don't go anywhere then being judged negatively based on the false starts you wouldn't see in a real world scenario anyway. (Some interviewers understand draft-then-improve processes, others expect perfection (and fast perfection) out the gate.)