> the interview questions are more about how you solved problems and never the memorization of some sorting alg How you solved a problem is probably the only m

> the interview questions are more about how you solved problems and never the memorization of some sorting alg How you solved a problem is probably the only meaningful way to screen candidates. Sadly there are a lot of people who think that a whiteboard coding session is "how you solved a problem" when few -- if any -- meaningful problems get solved in an hour or two. When I get really stumped on something the first thing I do is get my head out of the problem. Go for a walk, work with my hands in the shop, get lunch, anything but try and solve the problem directly anymore. This strategy used to make me really nervous in college with short deadlines but now that's less of a concern. I have yet to step back from a problem and not figure out the solution (at least where one exists).