𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗟𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝘁𝘀 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝗹
Live coding does not prove what it used to.
In 2026, a perfect coding solution tells an interviewer very little. They can no longer assume you are doing the thinking.
Cheating is rising. CodeSignal reports that flagged cheating attempts rose from 16 percent in 2024 to 35 percent in 2025. For entry-level roles, it hit 40 percent.
Interviewers see this. A survey from interviewing.io shows 81 percent of FAANG interviewers suspect AI use during rounds. Many believe AI helps weak candidates pass interviews they should fail.
Because of this, interview prep now splits based on company size.
Large Companies (FAANG and Big Tech) These companies are defending the coding round. They are not removing it. Instead, they are making it harder to fake. • They use more proctoring. • They are moving interviews back to physical offices. • They change questions to stop AI from giving instant answers. • Some, like Shopify, want you to use AI during the interview to test how you direct tools.
Smaller Companies and Teams These teams are moving away from pure coding tests. They are focusing on behavioral and work-sample rounds. They want to see how you work in the real world. • They look for judgment. They want to know why you made a specific trade-off. • They look for ownership. They want to hear about outcomes you controlled. • They look for how you handle mistakes. They want to see if you can learn when a plan fails.
How to prepare for 2026:
- Practice out loud. Do not code in silence. Narrate your reasoning so the interviewer knows your brain is working.
- Prepare real stories. Avoid polished, fake answers. Have 4 to 6 examples of real decisions, trade-offs, and outcomes.
- Include a failure. Tell a story about a time you were wrong and how you fixed it.
- Focus on system design and debugging. These tasks reward deep understanding over simple memorization.
- Expect the "Why" loop. Interviewers will keep asking why until your script runs out. This is where the real interview begins.
Optional learning community: https://t.me/GyaanSetuAi