On coding interviews

I am one of those senior engineers who regularly code and dare I say produce optimal solutions quickly. I still fail at coding interviews, and I attribute it to the gamification fatigue and age.

Please understand me. I have a leetcode account but I can not force myself into solving puzzles in my free time after solving them all day long at work. And puzzles at work are more interesting, because they are real people's problems.

I avoid board games for similar reasons. Whenever I sit in and play, I enjoy being in the flow, the conversation, and the intellectual challenge. But dragging me in is damn hard.

On the other side, I am much more into sports nowadays: running, swimming, skiing and hiking, as if I was making up for my younger years spent in front of a screen.

I feel like I have to carefully choose where to apply my intelligence because I am not as resourceful as I was. But I am wiser.

Would you hire me? No. Would I be a net positive for you business even if I cost double your younger self? Probably yes.