If the task is paid, I don't see anything bad about it.
Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
21–30 of 179 posts
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#22I'd rather have a weekend homework assignment than a loop of coding interviews. Much more reasonable assessment of skills & potential, in my opinion. Happy to do whatever algorithm madness thrown my way in that case. It's a real tough gig to solve some ambiguous algorithm problem in 40 minutes on a whiteboard, analyse it, and then discuss optimality. Gets worse if the loop is serial algorithms interviews.
This is one of the exact points made in the article: if it’s a screening question, it should be really basic, like FizzBuzz level. If it’s an evaluation that goes into whether to make an offer, then the scope needs to be clear, and it should replace a portion of the actual onsite interview.
The problem is that it typically doesn’t replace part of the interview. Incidentally, this is my criticism of TripleByte... pass their interview, and you skip to the onsite with a bunch of companies. But you still have to do the full dog and pony show with the client company, except the phone screens, and there’s a substantial time investment involved up front. You need to do a lot of onsites before you recoup that.
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#23By assigning homework, companies are also missing out on an opportunity to get to know how the candidate thinks and works on a problem. It's as if you're scheduling a full-day interview but only being present for half of it. And the thing is, especially if the opening is for a less senior position, observing the person while they are completing the assignment can help you get a much better measure of the person's ski…
The opposite is more likely true. You are very unlikely to get a sense of how someone approaches a problem in an interview setting.
If given an assignment, it is very easy to have them explain after the fact.
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#24Candidates who don't have a portfolio with code I can look at: hope you like homework. I don't like asking for unpaid labor, but I also won't risk my team blowing hours interviewing someone who has no chance of being successful here.
Strange, the companies I've talked with send the homework out before even looking at my portfolio.
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#25This is terrible advice for companies and interviewees. We've successfully used "homework" project when a candidate had potential, but didn't do well in-person for various reasons (nervousness, time pressure). In many cases we've hired them when they can produce something and talk over it afterwards. Without this, they wouldn't have received an offer. While I get they said "which are not sufficiently interested in th…
This is something I support, provided the time involved for the candidate is roughly the same as the onsite interview. I can talk about code I’ve written in advance much more easily than anything can pull DP algorithms out of my ass on the spot.
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#26I am a founder of a company that helps companies with screening candidates[0]. I understand the negative response towards this. But I feel there is a balance here: We advice our customers to send smaller problems (~30mins) meant to pre-screen the candidates (without wasting too much of their time). This followed by a phone interview is currently the best funnel we know so far (and we have been working on this problem…
What would be an example of something at the same level you advise your customers to use?
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#27At Sourcegraph we faced the same decision and decided to go with an option for paid “homework” projects. It’s working very well so far. The payment is an important element of respect. More info at https://about.sourcegraph.com/blog/our-project-based-intervi....
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#28I had a friend that did an interview homework assignment, was declined for the job, then found out that they used his assignment's code in production through a friend that already worked at the company.
While I'll admit that this is atypical, it seems like something a more nefarious company could abuse.
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#29As a candidate, I kind of like the homework thing. It's a lot closer to what you'd actually be doing on the job compared to white board tests, and interviewing is a pretty big time commitment on both sides so I don't feel taken advantage of if it's not crazy (the interviewer has to spend a lot of time on it too) Also, I think it's really a stretch to call it abusive . If you feel like the test is too much of a time c…
Something that takes an evening (whether code, writing, etc.) seems generally reasonable assuming that it serves as a reasonably effective screener. After all, some homework for an interview such as researching the company and their market space is typical. Something that takes 40 hours? Not so much.
If a homework assignment takes 40 hours then it’s likely that either you’re under-qualified or the company has some unrealistic expectations regrading the position.
Either way, you should reconsider your application.
Re: Companies shouldn't give candidates homework assignments
#30The title is a little click-baitey, because it suggests full on assault on homework. The actual post is more measured in its criticisms, but basically the idea is: don't use homework as a cop-out for not having a good interview process, and thereby likely wasting everyones time. Personally I like homework, because it allows me to show my strengths (actually writing code that is solid) without being "under the gun" in…
Ya I agree, I was all ready to blast it but then realized it had a couple good pointers in the case that you are gonna offer homework.
I do disagree with the premise though. As someone who's worked in the tech field for 15+ years and has been on plenty of interviews, I for one would much rather do a short homework assignment than have to stand in front of a few people and white board shit in real-time.
Here are reasons why it's a solid idea:
1. Way more closely simulates a real work environment. I've never had a job where I get the assignment moments before I have to code it, use a whiteboard to write code, am severely time-boxed and have a group of people watch me work.
2. More inclusive. Your work stands out more when someone isn't making judgements based on looks, age, gender, etc.
3. If you complain about having to spend a couple hours outside the interview on work, maybe you don't really want the job that bad enough. People will spend weeks on an unpaid open-source project but then complain about 2 hours for something that might get them a great job.
Having said that, I agree with you also that the interview can be a great time to go over the homework and ask questions, talk about why a particular strategy was chosen, etc.
I would personally love to see more interviews go away from whiteboards and more towards homework.