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I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

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Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#81

Post by Spooky23 »

dnaismith wrote: post #63
sethammons wrote: post #56

The rule of thumb I subscribed to: have the interviewer(s) do the interview. Give the candidate 3x time to do it that the in-house people took. Or, framed in reverse, if you want the assignment to take and n minutes or hours, give yourself n/3 to complete it, and however far you get is the bar for the assignment. Interviewees are stressed, maybe outside their domain, and other things. Make something that they can sho…

We did this at my company. A developer at the level that that developer was applying for would do a task that took them 2-4 hours. We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. We also always made sure to include the weekend in the time they had to complete the task as we know during the week time is precious.

> We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days.

How magnanimous. Who the hell is subjecting themselves to this?

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#83

Post by evanspa »

maaaats wrote: post #32

I like the concept. I use Strava a lot for cycling, but it's not very good for non-cardio activities. Lots of people I follow also track their strength workouts on Strava, but I haven't done it myself as I find it hard to track progress when the system is not made for it. Before I have used Fitocracy, I'd say this may be the biggest competitor to this, as it is (at least 5 years ago when I used it) more tailored for…

You should check out my strength tracking app, Riker:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/riker/id1196920730?mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rikerapp.r...

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#85

Post by macspoofing »

threwawasy1228 wrote: post #21

When people are turning their interview questions into successful companies, maybe it is time to start asking some easier interview questions. This is a visceral demonstration of how absolutely ridiculous interviews have gotten.

>maybe it is time to start asking some easier interview questions

Why? The big tech companies offer high salaries and get lots of applicants. They can afford to be picky.

And by the way, OP went above and beyond what they asked of him. In fact, there's a chance that this hurt his chances.

>This is a visceral demonstration of how absolutely ridiculous interviews have gotten.

This kind of format isn't standard across the industry.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#86

Post by andy_ppp »

ubercow13 wrote: post #73
dnaismith wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We did this at my company. A developer at the level that that developer was applying for would do a task that took them 2-4 hours. We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. We also always made sure to include the weekend in the time they had to complete the task as we know during the week time is precious.

A two day take-home coding test is absurd regardless of whether it's the weekend

I read the grandparent as: The task should take 2-4h and be done within 2-4 days is how I read it.

I’m still not sure why people expect it’s easy to fit this in and it’s the last thing you want to do after a hard day of work.

I’ve just started taking a full day off for programming exercises I do when interviewing. It allows me to give well thought through and tested solutions even if I make some small mistakes or misunderstandings. Crazy I know but necessary usually these days.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#87

Post by vonmoltke »

bufferoverflow wrote: post #28
threwawasy1228 wrote: post #21

When people are turning their interview questions into successful companies, maybe it is time to start asking some easier interview questions. This is a visceral demonstration of how absolutely ridiculous interviews have gotten.

Google can afford to do that. They have so many applicants willing to jump through the hoops, they can pick the top 1-2%.

The top 1%-2% who are willibg to actually complete the challenge. Probably not even then, as some of the top candidates who do complete the challenge may hold themselves to the explicit time limit.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#88

Post by ScottFree »

josh2600 wrote: post #78

Someone on my team once asked an iOS engineer to add a button to a codebase during an onsite interview. That is actually a horrible test to complete in 45 minutes if the codebase is large (and particularly hard if it’s not super well maintained because even just familiarizing yourself with the codebase can take a great deal of time). It’s one of those things that sounds easy but really, really isn’t possible to do in…

I can't tell if this is brilliant or sadistic. On the one hand, it really tells you who's smart enough to realize the task can't be done in the allotted time. On the other hand, not being able to do something as simple as adding a button in 45 minutes has to screw with the candidate's mind. That sort of thing would shatter what little confidence I have. I'd probably tank the rest of the interview.

> I learned a lot about interviewing people that day.

Could you share what you learned?

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#89

Post by bumby »

>No one acknowledges the fact that in reality, you’re about to dedicate up to 5 working days on this task, with the potential for them to ghost you straight afterwards.

Is this as common as the author makes it sound? This seems like shady practice. I've heard of marketing firms doing this as a way to get 'free' ideas/work

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#90

Post by ScottFree »

Spooky23 wrote: post #81
dnaismith wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We did this at my company. A developer at the level that that developer was applying for would do a task that took them 2-4 hours. We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. We also always made sure to include the weekend in the time they had to complete the task as we know during the week time is precious.

> We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. How magnanimous. Who the hell is subjecting themselves to this?

People who are between jobs and whose bank accounts are running perilously low.
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