This was genuinely weird to be asked in an interview.
First, complete the task as instructed, focusing on speed and accuracy. Then, in your walkthrough, describe the specific cognitive strategies you used to manage task switching, working memory, and error recovery, linking them to software engineering principles like context switching and error handling.
Pro tip: Emphasize that you treat the task like a system: you minimize context-switching overhead by batching similar stimuli when possible, and you use external cues (like the shape's color) to offload working memory. This shows you think about performance optimization even under pressure.
Briefly restate the task to show you understood it, and mention that you'll first perform it, then explain your mental strategies.
Explain how you reduced switching costs, e.g., by grouping similar tasks, using external cues, or maintaining a consistent response mapping.
Detail how you avoided interference, such as by offloading information to the environment, using chunking, or repeating rules silently.
Describe how you bounced back from mistakes, e.g., by quickly resetting attention, not dwelling on errors, and maintaining a steady pace.
Relate your strategies to engineering concepts like context switching, caching, error handling, and performance optimization to demonstrate relevance.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.
Structure your answer like a mini-experiment: start by defining measurable goals (e.g., reduce reaction time by 15% while maintaining >95% accuracy), then outline a two-week plan with specific drills, rest intervals, and progress tracking. Emphasize how you'll use data to adjust the plan, showing a scientific, iterative mindset that aligns with Optiver's data-driven culture.
Pro tip: Mention that you'll track both speed and accuracy to avoid the speed-accuracy tradeoff, and use a simple tool like a spreadsheet or a custom script to log daily results—this demonstrates technical initiative and analytical rigor.
Define specific targets for reaction time and accuracy, such as reducing average reaction time by 15% while keeping accuracy above 95% on the task-switching exercise.
Plan daily 20-30 minute sessions using tools like online reaction time tests or custom scripts, gradually increasing difficulty (e.g., more task switches, shorter intervals) to challenge your cognitive flexibility.
Schedule short breaks (e.g., 5 minutes after every 10 minutes of drilling) and at least one full rest day per week to prevent mental fatigue and consolidate learning.
Log daily reaction times and accuracy rates in a spreadsheet, and compute weekly averages to visualize trends and identify plateaus.
At the end of each week, analyze the data to see what worked, then tweak the plan (e.g., increase intensity, change drill type) for continuous improvement.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.