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An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

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Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#11

Post by chrisrhoden »

hashkb wrote: post #3

No, no, no. They have the job, you want it. That email comes across so arrogant that I would expect even the newest hiring manager to laugh and delete. Without even addressing the sour grapes attitude about coding interviews, the sheer arrogance with which you try to dictate someone else's process is a red flag in the first place. That, plus the fact that you're refusing to do what they want, is really bad for your c…

> They have the job, you want it.

By definition, if they have a job, they want to fill it with a qualified person. Jobs aren't (usually) charities to the person working.

Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#12

Post by nukeop »

In addition to my other projects, I've also added the code of all HackerRank problems I've solved to a repository on Github. I link that profile whenever I look for a job. This way the recruiters have an abundant source of code samples they can look at when making their decisions.

Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#13

Post by chasingthewind »

hashkb wrote: post #3

No, no, no. They have the job, you want it. That email comes across so arrogant that I would expect even the newest hiring manager to laugh and delete. Without even addressing the sour grapes attitude about coding interviews, the sheer arrogance with which you try to dictate someone else's process is a red flag in the first place. That, plus the fact that you're refusing to do what they want, is really bad for your c…

His reply was gracious and well thought out. I didn't get a vibe of arrogance or sour grapes myself. The job hunt is a mutual process...employers are looking at candidates and candidates are looking at employers. If an employer doesn't have a process that fits a candidate's personality and values then it's better for both sides to simply move on. I think this response does an admirable job of beginning that conversation.

Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#14

Post by maxaf »

hashkb wrote: post #3

No, no, no. They have the job, you want it. That email comes across so arrogant that I would expect even the newest hiring manager to laugh and delete. Without even addressing the sour grapes attitude about coding interviews, the sheer arrogance with which you try to dictate someone else's process is a red flag in the first place. That, plus the fact that you're refusing to do what they want, is really bad for your c…

I agree that the arrogance is misplaced, and will be lost on the HR peon whose job it is to send out HackerRank tests to warm leads.

On the other hand, it's rare for coders to be so desperate that they'll jump at absolutely any and every job opportunity. The balancne of power has long tipped in our favor.

Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#15

Post by [deleted] »

hashkb wrote: post #3

No, no, no. They have the job, you want it. That email comes across so arrogant that I would expect even the newest hiring manager to laugh and delete. Without even addressing the sour grapes attitude about coding interviews, the sheer arrogance with which you try to dictate someone else's process is a red flag in the first place. That, plus the fact that you're refusing to do what they want, is really bad for your c…

[deleted]

Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#16

Post by zrail »

hashkb wrote: post #3

No, no, no. They have the job, you want it. That email comes across so arrogant that I would expect even the newest hiring manager to laugh and delete. Without even addressing the sour grapes attitude about coding interviews, the sheer arrogance with which you try to dictate someone else's process is a red flag in the first place. That, plus the fact that you're refusing to do what they want, is really bad for your c…

It doesn’t seem arrogant to me. It reads as someone who is confident in their abilities and is unwilling to spend two hours in an artificial environment when they have a wealth of experience on offer already. OP even says they’d like to do their thing in addition to HackerRank if that is an absolute requirement.

Helpful hint: there are no absolute requirements in hiring, just various levels of filters than can be overridden at will.

Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#17

Post by nilkn »

codingdave wrote: post #6

I think that is a great response. But you also should be prepared for them to say no, not because your proposal is bad, but because many hiring managers want to put all applicants through the same hoops, to understand better how they all compare when having to decide between 5 people who all could do the job well.

Not just that, but doing a completely custom interview just for this one candidate is a lot of upfront investment to make in someone you may not even bring onsite for the full interview.

All the caveats this candidate mentioned about standard coding screens are true, but they can all also be taken into consideration by qualified interviewers.

There are flaws in this candidate's proposal too. In particular, their proposal does not satisfy their implicit criteria that the interview should mirror real-world conditions, because they chose their own projects with which they are already intimately familiar but the job most likely consists of working on a pre-existing codebase that they know nothing about.

Re: An employer asked me to do a HackerRank test. Here's my alternative proposal.

#18

Post by hashkb »

chrisrhoden wrote: post #11
hashkb wrote: post #3

No, no, no. They have the job, you want it. That email comes across so arrogant that I would expect even the newest hiring manager to laugh and delete. Without even addressing the sour grapes attitude about coding interviews, the sheer arrogance with which you try to dictate someone else's process is a red flag in the first place. That, plus the fact that you're refusing to do what they want, is really bad for your c…

> They have the job, you want it. By definition, if they have a job, they want to fill it with a qualified person. Jobs aren't (usually) charities to the person working.

Qualified is something they've defined as "passes this interview process" so I don't think trying to get out of it will be a "yes" too often.
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