So you finally landed that tech interview. You’ve spent weeks studying obscure algorithms, rehearsing your “biggest weakness” (it’s perfectionism, obviously), and wondering if you should pretend to love pizza parties. But according to a spicy Reddit thread blowing up with over 300 upvotes, developers are revealing the three questions that actually matter. Spoiler: none involve your preferred pizza topping.

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The discussion, packed with 156 comments of pure, uncut developer truth, cuts through the corporate fluff. Forget the textbook puzzles about sorting marbles or traversing binary trees. The real interrogation, it seems, is far more existential.

First up: “Can you explain it to me like I’m five?” This isn’t about your coding skills; it’s about whether you can translate your genius into words a toddler—or more importantly, a non-technical manager—could understand. If your explanation involves the words “polymorphic inheritance,” you’ve already failed. The goal is to prove you’re not a wizard who will mutter incantations and then vanish in a puff of smoke when the server crashes.

Next, the classic: “How do you handle a legacy codebase that’s held together by digital duct tape and the hopes of the previous developer?” This is the moment they discover if you’re a reckless revolutionary, ready to burn it all down on day one, or a pragmatic archaeologist, carefully dusting off ancient relics. The correct answer is a nervous laugh followed by, “Carefully. Very, very carefully.”

And finally, the ultimate test: “What does ‘done’ mean to you?” This is a philosophical trap disguised as a project management question. Say “when the code compiles” and you’re a monster. Say “when the stakeholders are happy” and you’re a dreamer. The thread suggests they’re really asking if you understand that software is never truly done—it just enters new states of “barely holding up.”

In the end, the interview isn’t about proving you’re the smartest person in the room. It’s about proving you’re the person they wouldn’t mind being stuck with during a marathon debugging session at 2 AM. Now, about those pizza parties… do you prefer pineapple or regret?