Here's some advice. Avoid companies with stupid hiring policies. It seems that these guys want you to code like they do, and they'll eventually find someone "close enough" - eventually. After wasting many man hours of interview time. You don't want to work with these guys. You want to find a company that appreciates you for the developer you are, which appears to be someone who knows his own limitations and has ways…
> Avoid companies with stupid hiring policies. Agree with this. Sounds ridiculous. What other profession has to prove their skills in such a way in a job interview?
At least where I work we use a similar process for all roles. Customer support do mock phone calls and emails to customers, logistics people plan delivery routes, and marketers at least talk about how they'd develop and measure a campaign.
Anything else is hiring people on their ability to talk about how they might do the job, rather than how they actually would.