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> But in general, I think the idea of the whiteboard interview is a chance to see someone "think out loud", to see them reason through a problem.

So thinking out loud while coding is a job requirement now? I have been an engineer for over 14 years, and a software engineer for 10, and I can count on one hand the number of times I have done that outside of an interview. I collaborate all the time, but almost never synchronously while actually writing code.



Reasoning about problems is a very essential job requirement. And doing that out loud is the one of the few ways people can see how/if you do that.


>>Reasoning about problems is a very essential job requirement.

Sure.

>>And doing that out loud is the one of the few ways people can see how/if you do that.

Strongly disagree. I would posit that written explanations are a much better indicator of someone's ability to reason about problems, because:

a) They can provide hyperlinks, images and other supporting materials to aid their explanation

b) You also get to see if they are a competent writer, which is also a very important skill for an engineer




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