Doesn't accept my (NZ) mobile number as valid :(
You can also email test-help AT a16z DOT com and we can send you a direct link (where you won't need to receive credentials by phone)
a16z Programming Test
21–30 of 121 posts
Re: a16z Programming Test
#22Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well, empirically we're getting quite a lot of people attempting it! :) Three hours is pretty lenient (you could blaze through it in less time), though the last question is challenging. We think the questions are kind of fun as well. Without something like this we'd just have 100s-1000s of unstructured resumes in different formats to rank against each other. This process is more fair and (IMO) allows someone without…
Do you mind if people do the test with no interest in the job?
Sure, go ahead! We just ask that you not share the questions with others after completing it.
Re: a16z Programming Test
#23> machine learning (scatterplots & histograms, logistic/linear regression, R/Matlab) So, someone taking Statistics 101 is considered to know machine learning in the startup circus? (Not that this would really surprise me, given the tendency to appropriate terms that had a certain meaning for purposes that have only a passing similarity to the original meaning.)
We could certainly rattle off more terms :) Kernel density estimation? Deep learning? Semi-supervised learning?
But it's amazing how far you can get with some simple scatterplots, histograms and linear/logistic regressions.
a) Most of the time, more data beats better algorithms: http://anand.typepad.com/datawocky/2008/03/more-data-usual.h...
b) Even those seemingly simple things get complicated when you have a lot of data: http://komarix.org/ac/lr
Re: a16z Programming Test
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
My guess is to have an in-house team that can help out the companies they fund. I know that Netflix's cloud architect, Adrian Cockcroft, left to join a venture capital firm to advise on scaling issues for companies that firm funded[0]. 0 - http://gigaom.com/2014/01/07/netflixs-cloud-architect-adrian...
"My guess is to have an in-house team that can help out the companies they fund." Nope.
I'm really curious... a hint?
Re: a16z Programming Test
#25I seriously hope this doesn't become a norm. I hate timed tests.
Seems like the obvious (if dishonest) thing would be to use a throwaway phone # to get the test, then spend a day or so solving it, then type it in (with plausible delays) using your real number a day later. Assuming the test is roughly the same each time (even if details are different, it's probably of the same general class). In grading, the results of 6-8h of work entered in 2h would look more impressive than 3h o…
Credentials through phone # is more of a deterrent. We're also going to have an in-person coding exercise as a next step, which would be much harder to game :)
Re: a16z Programming Test
#26I wonder if this could act as a negative filter for good programmers. Who worth their salt is going to invest 3 hours of their time just to submit a resume? Wouldn't you want to talk to the employer first to see if they're a good fit? In a tight labor market, people willing to do this are more desperate than others. So it's going to filter for desperate developers who passed a 3 hour basic skills test. Old fashioned…
3 hours is upper bound and extremely friendly one to allow for all but hopelessly incompetent candidates. I did the test in less than 90 min. First 27 questions should take a competent hacker less than 20 min; rest of the time is for last 3 coding assignments.
Re: a16z Programming Test
#27Cool, but... Why is A16z building an engineering team?
They have $4.2bn under management, and a very smart team. I am sure there is a lot that can be done...
Re: a16z Programming Test
#28I wonder if this could act as a negative filter for good programmers. Who worth their salt is going to invest 3 hours of their time just to submit a resume? Wouldn't you want to talk to the employer first to see if they're a good fit? In a tight labor market, people willing to do this are more desperate than others. So it's going to filter for desperate developers who passed a 3 hour basic skills test. Old fashioned…
Well, empirically we're getting quite a lot of people attempting it! :) Three hours is pretty lenient (you could blaze through it in less time), though the last question is challenging. We think the questions are kind of fun as well. Without something like this we'd just have 100s-1000s of unstructured resumes in different formats to rank against each other. This process is more fair and (IMO) allows someone without…
> Well, empirically we're getting quite a lot of people attempting it!
> Without something like this we'd just have 100s-1000s of unstructured resumes in different formats to rank against each other.
So instead of hundreds or thousands of unstructured resumes in different formats, you have hundreds or thousands of completed programming tests. Even assuming that you automatically filter out submissions that fail testing, given that there are a lot of ways to solve a problem, you'd still be stuck evaluating potentially hundreds of correct submissions.
More importantly, a test doesn't seem to be aligned with your top priority:
> ...but the most important requirement is significant independent programming experience as demonstrated by your GitHub account, personal projects, academic publications, or startup success.
Are you assuming that all of the folks most accomplished in the real world are going to complete your programming test successfully?
Since you ultimately seem to be interested in folks who can build dashboards, I would think you'd be far better off asking candidates to build a dashboard prototype using sample data you provide. There are lot of really smart developers out there with advanced degrees who could solve programming quizzes all day long but couldn't design and implement a useful dashboard application.
Re: a16z Programming Test
#29HN policy for years has been to allow two kinds of job ad: (1) job posts by YC startups, and (2) the Who's Hiring threads. We kill job ads that are neither of these.
(Incidentally, PG designed the /jobs posts to be the one privilege that YC startups get on HN. Other than that, the site policy is to treat them the same way as everybody else.)
It's not uncommon for posts to be in a grey area between job ad and story. A programming test for an interview process doesn't seem all that grey, though, so I've been killing these. Sorry to be a hard-ass about this, but I don't want to be accused of enforcing the policy erratically.
Edit: I'll unkill the post (but otherwise leave it demoted) so the discussion can remain open.
Edit 2: The argument has been put to me that this is newsworthy because A16Z are doing it. Since that's corroborated by external sources (e.g. Twitter), and the post has gotten a lot of upvotes even while it was buried, that's reasonable—so we'll restore it as news rather than as an ad. Besides which, HN is one of the few places where a programming test counts as interesting.
Re: a16z Programming Test
#30Is this just for full-timers, or will there ever be an option for internships?