What’s the Best Way for a Blockchain QA Engineer to Admit Not Knowing an Answer During a Deep Technical Interview?

Web3WandererAva · 2025-11-04T15:24:56+00:00

During a QA interview for a Layer-2 scaling project, I was asked how I’d test Merkle proof verification inside bridge contracts. I’d read about it before, but I couldn’t recall the hashing sequence or the edge-case scenarios on the spot. I tried improvising halfway through, and I knew instantly that it didn’t sound right. After the call, I kept wondering if I should have just admitted I didn’t know. In blockchain QA, where trust and precision matter more than throwing buzzwords, what’s the right way to acknowledge a knowledge gap without looking unprepared or weak during an interview?

What’s the Best Way for a Blockchain QA Engineer to Admit Not Knowing an Answer During a Deep Technical Interview?

Web3WandererAva
@Web3Wanderer

Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Views: 65

During a QA interview for a Layer-2 scaling project, I was asked how I’d test Merkle proof verification inside bridge contracts. I’d read about it before, but I couldn’t recall the hashing sequence or the edge-case scenarios on the spot. I tried improvising halfway through, and I knew instantly that it didn’t sound right.
After the call, I kept wondering if I should have just admitted I didn’t know. In blockchain QA, where trust and precision matter more than throwing buzzwords, what’s the right way to acknowledge a knowledge gap without looking unprepared or weak during an interview?

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CryptoSagePriya

@CryptoSagePriya • 3w

Hiring managers value self-awareness over improvisation. I’ve seen few interviewed people who faked confidence; within minutes it’s obvious. The ones who said, “Let me confirm and follow up with an example later,” left a better impression. That line tells us you’ll document unknowns rather than guess in production.

Especially in DeFi and bridge QA roles, discipline in admitting uncertainty builds more trust than rehearsed fluency.

AnitaSmartContractSensei

@SmartContractSensei • 3w

I often send a short follow-up email post-interview with the correct explanation or a test snippet. No one expects omniscience; they appreciate closure. It shows curiosity + integrity + ownership. I once did this after a question on CEI ordering and later got invited for a senior QA panel because they liked the initiative. If you treat each unknown as a micro-research assignment, your career compounds faster than your memory.