I was recently in an interview where the interviewer asked me a rather convoluted and not easily explained algorithm implementation question. It took the interv

I was recently in an interview where the interviewer asked me a rather convoluted and not easily explained algorithm implementation question. It took the interviewer some 10 minutes to explain it. This interviewer was the CTO of this particular, rather success, start-up and had formerly worked at other very large and success companies all over the Bay area. My very first instinct and the thing I started to do was write tests on the board to make sure I understood the requirements. The interviewer stopped me and said "Please, just get to the code, the tests are not important." I tried to explain that the tests are paramount to the success of an implementation because I need to make sure I understand the requirements. However, the interviewer disagreed. I actually told them I was no longer interested in interviewing with their company and excused myself without writing anything further on the board. The funny part is that the next day the CTO in question called and offered me a very nice position (I respectfully declined after a discussion of my concerns). So, two points. One, not all interviewers care about tests, which is sad. Two, the original post states, "you don’t get to choose how you get interviewed". This is false, you can certainly choose how you will be interviewed, as long as you are ok with the consequences of that decision.