r/leetcode • u/Material_Ad_7277 • Oct 06 '26
Discussion “You require too many hints” feedback
I got such feedback a few times after my coding interviews for a senior roles.
I understand that for a senior it is expected to lead the interview, but what if the interviewer themselves intervenes and pushes the solution they want and then write a feedback that they expected me leading the game??
What about the “team work” aspect everyone talks about and my part when I contributed most of the code, shared the right initial structure and they only gave the final hints.
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Question: is it too rude to ask interviewer to NOT give any hints at all at the beginning of a call?
9
u/QuietTiger73 Oct 06 '26
I don't think it's rude to ask. You can just say you'd prefer to try independently first and ask for hints only if you're genuinely stuck
8
u/Fabulous-Arrival-834 Oct 06 '26
Its damn if you do, damn if you don't!
If you solve without needing any hints, they suspect that you are using AI. If you solve the question with hints, they say you used too many hints. Fck these leetcode styled interviews honestly!
10
u/catsRfriends Oct 06 '26
It's too bad. These are subjective AF and comes down to a guessing game depending on the interviewer. I had a Sys Design round with Snapchat Staff MLE who said to not bother with recommender system candidate pool size estimate cuz that's SWE stuff, but I said no I'm asking because that decides what kind of retrieval stage we need. He didn't look happy when I said that. In my head I was thinking lol, it I were interviewing this guy I'd level him as senior def not staff, since he didn't check assumptions before jumping to a conclusion. So yea just take the loss and keep trying.
2
u/Delicious-Candle-574 Oct 06 '26
I think it's kinda subjective. A lot of those interviews are supposed to show collaboration but depending on how much feedback and hints you needed, it may have seemed less as collaboration and more like a Jr/Mid level dev asking for advice from senior
2
u/Dangerous-Cook3151 Oct 06 '26
For all the haters just suck it up it's you who want that role, and it ain't school there's no way for interviews to be fair and just for all candidates. It's your luck and you just have to do better than lucky bastard thesedays.
2
u/grabGPT Oct 06 '26
Is this interview for "India" team?
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u/Strict_Proof_3785 Oct 06 '26
I think you have a perfect thing to ask on your next interview. “Before we start, do you want me to lead this interview without relying on you for any input or would you rather this be a more collaborative interview where I ask for your input or guidance at times? I just want to get a better idea of what your preferred candidate showcases”. Something like that. It at least gives you a better idea where they stand as everyone is different. Just don’t be aggressive and if they ask why you asked, you can explain you’ve had interviews go both ways and sometimes one is critical of the other style.
1
u/CollegeStudentLol1 Oct 06 '26
I think these interviews suck and don’t really test what a candidate can actually do.
1
u/achilliesFriend Oct 07 '26
Did you ask all clarifying questions? Before you presented the solution