> most coding rounds in interviews are rigorously timed
In the real world you will have to work against a deadline. As much as code gardening is fun and does produce better software, in the real world shipped software always wins over well designed software.
Can you get it done, is a more important question to answer than can you make it beautiful.
In the real world, you'll be spending more time on code design than typing it out. The race against a deadline mostly affects design choices. eg. Whether implementing a certain feature yourself with rigorous testing, or introducing a new technology which has been tested before. There are pros and cons of each. You go ahead based on the constraints involved (time, cost, expertise, etc.). I'm not talking about making the code beautiful. I'm talking about the /right/ way to do it.
In the real world you will have to work against a deadline. As much as code gardening is fun and does produce better software, in the real world shipped software always wins over well designed software.
Can you get it done, is a more important question to answer than can you make it beautiful.