I do a lot of interviews, and they are high-pressure situations.
It’s very common for people to get nervous during them. When I’m doing a technical interview and I see a candidate getting nervous:
- I ask them if they need a hint
- I write a “helper function” to make the problem easier to solve
- I reduce the complexity of the problem to a simpler case
- I try to reassure them by telling them that understanding how they’re thinking about the problem is as important as solving the problem: this helps me see where they are stuck.
Frankly, I’m not that sure if what I do helps. Does it?
What would you like interviewers to do if they realize you’re stuck and getting nervous?