Hey everyone! I'm diving into Flutter development and I have a question for those who've been through coding interviews. When it comes to interviews, are you really expected to recall everything from memory? For example, do you need to know how to write a StatelessWidget perfectly, including all the boilerplate, the @override, and the build method by heart? Or is it acceptable to use your IDE, like VS Code or Android Studio, for code completion, snippets, or even quick lookups? I sometimes feel like I'm not a 'real programmer' if I can't write everything down from scratch. But in actual jobs, I assume most people rely heavily on tools, right? I'd love to hear your thoughts, especially how interviews vary from real-world programming. Thanks!
5 Answers
From what I've seen, most interviews don’t care about memorizing every little detail. Most interviews are about the thought process and approach to solving problems. If you forget something, don’t panic! It’s perfectly normal to not recall every function or syntax; you can usually talk your way through it.
Yep! If an interviewer gets hung up on syntax, it says more about their interview style than your skills.
Honestly, I've never been in a coding interview that required strict memorization. Most interviewers understand that you'll probably need to reference your IDE tools or even Google occasionally. Some might limit your searches during the interview, but they generally want to see how you think and approach problems rather than how perfectly you can recall syntax.
Totally agree! I've passed interviews using concepts instead of exact syntax, and that's what matters.
Exactly! The focus should really be on problem-solving and your thought process, not just memorizing the details.
Yeah, it depends on the company and the type of interview. I’ve had interviews with no internet access, and that was tough! But honestly, I think those setups don’t reflect real-world programming where we often use the tools available to us. Just show that you can think on your feet and reason through the problem, and that’ll get you far!
Definitely! Real jobs often rely on tools, so don’t stress too much about memorizing everything.
So true! If they want perfection, they might not be the best fit for you.
It really depends on the interview! In my experience, some places are fine with you looking up documentation. Others might have you write pseudo-code where syntax isn't super important, and there are even those where expectations are so high it feels almost impossible to keep pace. Just remember, everyone struggles with some aspects – you're not alone!
In my experience, most coding interviews focus on problem-solving skills rather than memorization. If the company really expects you to have all the syntax down, they might be using ineffective interviewing methods. Just do your best to explain your logic, and don’t stress too much about minor syntax errors during the interview!
Exactly! It's all about communication and demonstrating your approach more than nuts-and-bolts memorization.
Well said! If they judge you just on syntax, they might not understand the test's real purpose.
Exactly! Focus on your logic and reasoning; that's what really counts.