⚠️ COMMON INTERVIEW MISTAKE #1 - Jumping Straight Into Code

The single most common thing that turns a "strong hire" into a "no hire": candidates hear the problem and immediately start typing.

Here's what that signals to the interviewer: you don't clarify requirements, you don't think about edge cases, and you might do the same thing on a real production ticket.

✅ What strong candidates do instead:

1. Repeat the problem back in your own words
2. Ask clarifying questions ("Can the array contain duplicates? Negative numbers? Is it sorted?")
3. State your approach out loud BEFORE writing code
4. Mention the time/space complexity of your plan
5. THEN code

This adds maybe 90 seconds. It makes you look like someone who's shipped real software, not someone doing a LeetCode speedrun.

Have you ever jumped into code too fast and regretted it? Tell us the story 😅