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We’d like to introduce Brian Jenney, a senior software engineer and owner of Parsity, an online education platform that helps people break into AI and modern software roles through hands-on training. Brian will be sharing his advice on engineering careers with you in the coming weeks of Career Alert.
Here’s a note from Brian:
“12 years ago, I learned to code at the age of 30. Since then I’ve led engineering teams, worked at organizations ranging from five-person startups to Fortune 500 companies, and taught hundreds of others who want to break into tech. I write for engineers who want practical ways to get better at what they do and advance in their careers. I hope you find what I write helpful.”
Technical Interviews in the Age of AI Tools
Last year, I was conducting interviews for an AI startup position. We allowed unlimited AI usage during the technical challenge round. Candidates could use Cursor, Claude Code, ChatGPT, or any assistant they normally worked with. We wanted to see how they used modern tools.
During one interview, we asked a candidate a simple question: “Can you explain what the first line of your solution is doing?”
Silence.
After a long pause, he admitted he had no idea. His solution was correct. The code worked. But he couldn’t explain how or why. This wasn’t an isolated incident. Around 20 percent of the candidates we interviewed were unable to explain how their solutions worked, only that they did.
When AI Makes Interviews Harder
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