Senior SWE (8 YoE) struggling with AI etiquette in technical interviews
I’m back on the job market after 5 years at my current company, and the interview landscape has changed a lot. The last time I was doing this, AI wasn’t really a thing yet.
I’ve done a few interviews now where they ask me to build and deploy a small full stack app. These are tasks I can handle fine in a normal environment — but I keep getting in my head during the actual interview about how much to lean on AI.
The companies explicitly say AI usage is allowed and encouraged, but I’m stuck on the etiquette of it. I don’t want to look like I’m just prompting my way through the problem with zero understanding, but I also don’t want to look old-school by barely using it when they clearly expect me to.
For those who have successfully navigated the current interview process, do y’all have any tips?