Curious. What skills from the "return all elements from a matrix in a spiral order" make you a good mentor? Or say something about your skills keeping code clean?
None, but a) if you can't write that trivial code I don't want to be on a team with you anyway because I'm going to be teaching you how to basically think, and b) the part where you talk about the code, not the part where you write it, is the part where I try to detect if you're any good at communication or abstract thought.
(disclaimer: all of this is notwithstanding the fact that some people's brains shut down specifically during interviews/places where they feel under pressure, which I have nothing but sympathy for. Afaik that's an unsolved problem with coding interviews. I would always try to lower their stress but it is not a sure thing.)
Thanks for the link, but I don't see a problem with that question. If you find it difficult, I wouldn't want you anywhere near the code base of my (hypothetical) company. So I guess the question would be doing its job just fine, for both of us.
