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A Method I’ve Used to Eliminate Bad Tech Hires

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Re: A Method I’ve Used to Eliminate Bad Tech Hires

#511
post #10

This system is interesting but has a crucial flaw: I legally can't take part. I have a job now, which claims ownership over any tech-related IP I create. There are processes for getting exceptions, but a) you won't get them for actual job-related things b) I'm not asking Google for an exception so I can interview somewhere else. This is true for nearly anyone with a standard SV job. So if you're willing to restrict y…

The IP stuff is a red herring. Anti-moonlighting agreements are more likely to bite you here.

Re: A Method I’ve Used to Eliminate Bad Tech Hires

#512

So you only hire experienced developers? Where's your commitment to paying it forward? Where will we get the next generation of experienced coders if you don't give a few less than perfect candidates a chance? I guess if you get yours then screw everyone else, right? Or am I being too harsh and bitter? When did we stop smart people who may not have fit precisely into the perfect little niche we've carved for them but…

Companies aren't charities. Their goal is to make money, not help anyone out.

Re: A Method I’ve Used to Eliminate Bad Tech Hires

#515
post #427

There's no chance I would consider a job that required me to do this.

Why not? I find your perspective interesting because I much prefer this style of interview.

I'm busy. I both work a lot and have a life outside of work.

If a company were to give me a take home assignment I'd see it as them not valuing my time.

When you do a traditional interview the company has skin in the game. They have to "spend" the same amount of development time as I do in the interview. That person interviewing me could be working, if they're interviewing me instead, that's the company signaling that they think I'm worth the time. You don't have that in a take-home problem. It's asymmetrical. I'm investing time on this and they aren't. That's not how I want to start a business relationship.

Then there's the marketplace. I have a lot of options for employment. I'm confident that if I quit my job tomorrow I could have another one, just as good, by Thanksgiving. The job interview goes both ways. I'm interviewing you as well. I want to talk to your current developers. I want to get a sense of your office culture. And I don't want to complete a take-home assignment before I get to do that.

Finally the people I like to work with are like me. They're busy, driven, and good at what they do. I can't imagine they would work for a place that used take-home work for interviews. So even if I did go through with it and get the job; what type of people am I going to be working with?

Re: A Method I’ve Used to Eliminate Bad Tech Hires

#516

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> if the interviewee can take the problem home, what prevents them setting up a hackathon with their friends at their place, and making the interview problem a team effort? Nothing, and that's fine. In fact we encourage candidates to use all resources on our take home interview test. I would probably be impressed if someone setup a hackathon to solve a rather simple take home problem. A take home problem is simply an…

Really, any resources? What if they just pay someone to do the whole thing? Are you really confident you could suss this out in the onsite discussion?

The problems are usually very simple. Something like implement a queue that can have multiple listeners, and write a test/driver to show the queue works. If someone really needed to pay someone to implement this problem, it will be very easy to figure out in the interview.

Like Fizzbuzz, the point is a quick way filter out candidates.

Re: A Method I’ve Used to Eliminate Bad Tech Hires

#517

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Job seekers who don't have their weekends full.

Most job seekers in our industry have jobs and lives outside of work

I re-read this later and wondering if that's actually true. Our industry is very "you don't have anything to do this weekend, right? right!" Anyways, it's true for me.
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