The interview featured original questions, not the usual off-the-shelf material. One interviewer even acknowledged that it made no sense for me to remember every obscure detail of a data structure. He was happy with me recognizing the correct data structure for the task at hand and explaining why.

There was a lot of problem-solving: "We have this issue, how would you tackle it?" questions were common. The discussion often followed the lines of "I would do this." "Do you know the performance implications? Complexity in time and space?"

I believe this approach was beneficial. The interviewer was focusing on my skills as a programmer and designer of my own code, rather than assessing me as a walking algorithm reference book.

What would you want to do in five years from now?