31–40 of 71 posts
The fact that one can just ahead and cram for these problems should pretty much... severely downgrade, at least, their usefulness as hiring filters.
The new trend in SF/bay area seems to be companies you’re applying to preparing you _specifically_ for the questions they’ll ask. People realized no one memorizes one specific search algorithm or puzzle, so they now tell you, before the interview, that you’ll be asked problems A, B and C. Not “algorithm problems” or “search” - “we’ll ask you to revert a doubly linked list”. It’s bizarre.
The new trend in SF/bay area seems to be companies you’re applying to preparing you _specifically_ for the questions they’ll ask. People realized no one memorizes one specific search algorithm or puzzle, so they now tell you, before the interview, that you’ll be asked problems A, B and C. Not “algorithm problems” or “search” - “we’ll ask you to revert a doubly linked list”. It’s bizarre.
Where have you seen that? The most I've been given is a general interview prep guide about how to prepare for an on-site.
The fact that one can just ahead and cram for these problems should pretty much... severely downgrade, at least, their usefulness as hiring filters.
Wouldn't you want people who care enough about their career to cram? That itself is a good signal. Cramming algorithms problems is difficult and succeeding shows grit. It also selects against sociopaths who BS their way through subjective personality interviews.
1. People who care about building good products, leading to good careers.
2. People who care about their career for the sake of their careers. This group tends to focus on office politics.
Therefore, caring enough about their career to cram has not a signal for how much they will care about building great products.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Currently a junior in a reasonably well-regarded (and difficult) CS program, this is 100% how I feel. As a result of my genuine interest in the material being taught and desire to do well on course projects, I do not have the time or energy to be grinding Leetcode and HackerRank to the extent that I've read others do. Yet every company I apply to will not even speak to you unless you pass their brain-teaser-esque Hac…
I'm sorry you feel this way. The best advice I can come up with is, either find a product space you care deeply about and see how far you can take it or swim with the wave and start preparing for coding interviews.
The fact that one can just ahead and cram for these problems should pretty much... severely downgrade, at least, their usefulness as hiring filters.
It pains me to see another Coding Interview preparation tool. It's such a sad situation in the current industry. Students learn to game the system to get a high paying job. Students who care about what they are working on will painstakingly try to perfect their projects. They don't have time to game the system and therefore have a hard time getting a coveted job. Companies want to hire "the best" so they usually hire…
Currently a junior in a reasonably well-regarded (and difficult) CS program, this is 100% how I feel. As a result of my genuine interest in the material being taught and desire to do well on course projects, I do not have the time or energy to be grinding Leetcode and HackerRank to the extent that I've read others do. Yet every company I apply to will not even speak to you unless you pass their brain-teaser-esque Hac…
Coding challenges are one thing, but you better have precise specs and actually give the candidates enough info to work on a tractable solution.
It pains me to see another Coding Interview preparation tool. It's such a sad situation in the current industry. Students learn to game the system to get a high paying job. Students who care about what they are working on will painstakingly try to perfect their projects. They don't have time to game the system and therefore have a hard time getting a coveted job. Companies want to hire "the best" so they usually hire…
I keep a "practice" repo on Github, where I put my solutions. Often, for an extra challenge, I'll prove the solutions correct or try to write clear explanations of how to solve the problems from scratch. (Proving something helps me to see the hidden structure upon which my intuition rests. Explaining something helps me to lock it in my head.)
Over the years, I have learned a lot from this practice and have built up a repo that serves to keep my memory fresh. Here are some fun examples:
https://github.com/tmoertel/practice/blob/master/dailycoding...
https://github.com/tmoertel/practice/blob/master/dailycoding...
https://github.com/tmoertel/practice/blob/master/water-holdi...
So, in at least one respect, I like the obsession with interview problems :)
It pains me to see another Coding Interview preparation tool. It's such a sad situation in the current industry. Students learn to game the system to get a high paying job. Students who care about what they are working on will painstakingly try to perfect their projects. They don't have time to game the system and therefore have a hard time getting a coveted job. Companies want to hire "the best" so they usually hire…
I'm terrible at code trivia type stuff. My Jr dev job I got from a company that asked me to build something for them. It wasn't big or useful, but it gave me a chance to show my thought process and there we go I got hired.
Since then it has been a great ride as I fix things as I make enhancements (I try to leave wherever I work a better place) and even built an application that complements their main application (customers love it).
Meanwhile some friends I talked to say they can't find good people .... but their interviews are all trees, and trivia and 'typical' interview type stuff that doesn't really demonstrate being a responsible coder, the ability to work independently, or just common sense....
Pretty sure I'm going to have to dive into that stuff if I ever decide to move on.