I don’t have time for coding challenges

This sentiment is too real. And too many folks in "charge" of hiring play this game.

When I'm hiring, I give applicants a real-code task, something they'd really do if they were hired - and I pay for their time too.

This method has allowed me to skip a lot of time-suck-bullshit while finding candidates, and their process with me is easier/faster too.

Agreed. We use a coding challenge that mimics the type of work we do, and we pay people for their time. We talk through their solutions and get a good sense for their ability to focus, follow written user stories / specs, and their familiarity with common tools. We also get a feel for how well they can talk about their work and the product.

We see a strong correlation between performance on this task and performance and happiness when working with us.

The other important point is that this is very similar to the work we do and the way we generally do it. If someone doesn't like or want to get paid to do this task, they're likely not going to be happy doing it every day if they get the job.

The proposed solution to me, is much worse.

> Ask them to build something – anything!

> Instead of a coding challenge, ask them to spend a short time building something they enjoy, and talk about what they did and why.

To me this would be a MUCH more difficult task. A blank canvas is much harder to work with, and downright frightening. Constraints foster creativity.

Having everyone code the same thing helps the interviewer (who is also very busy and has many other things happening in their work life) gauge the different levels of the people applying easily by comparing them on the same task.

> Have a probationary period

That seems very taxing on the company. I'd rather screen the candidate before committing to anything via interview/coding challenge, etc... The take-home coding challenge seems like a good idea -- less pressure than coding during the interview and allows the interviewer to assess the "real life" performance.

> Ask them to build something – anything!

That's great, but a big part of working at a company is building something that you don't like or don't understand well -- talking to stakeholders, customers, figuring out specs, etc -- something that a good take-home exercise can assess

I freelance, and if asked to do a coding test I'll tell them to pay for my time, usually they drop the test and contract me right away.