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Stop Interviewing with Leet Code

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Re: Stop Interviewing with Leet Code

#671

Post by [deleted] »

lazyant wrote: post #573
dekhn wrote: post #481

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My question is fairly open and allows me to continue asking significantly more complicated questions. So far, nobody has (for example) asked enough clarifying questions to determine that a bloom counting filter could potentially solve the problem- most people just store ASCII string keys in a hash table, which wastes tons of memory and requires a lookup for every string. So usually I end up after 45 minutes finding t…

The problem with this question is that outside the junior people who won't understand the hints, many good programmers would pass or fail just based on whether they have seen a similar problem or know what a Bloom filter is. CS is so broad that you may have been working for many years and never come across one topic that the interviewer deems standard.

[deleted]

Re: Stop Interviewing with Leet Code

#672

Post by gregors »

dekhn wrote: post #481
cadr wrote: post #408

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree liking to ask simpler stuff first. But what about this more complicated stuff? My problem is that when we talk about stuff having more "signal" - how are we determining if those questions are giving us more signal?

My question is fairly open and allows me to continue asking significantly more complicated questions. So far, nobody has (for example) asked enough clarifying questions to determine that a bloom counting filter could potentially solve the problem- most people just store ASCII string keys in a hash table, which wastes tons of memory and requires a lookup for every string. So usually I end up after 45 minutes finding t…

This sounds like a perfect question for a company that's hiring engineers who want to focus on optimizing DNA storage. If that's your goal you should just put that in the hiring criteria. You'll get more candidates that know those type of algs. If your goal is know if the candidate knows about bloom filters a better question might be "What do you know about bloom filters?" Definitely seems like you'd get answer in less than 45 minutes.

I think "key/value counts" is absolutely the correct starting answer. Anything after that is optimization. In the real world optimization comes at length through research, learning, grokking, reading, benchmarking, sleeping, mulling things over. The only way to short change that is knowing about those optimizations in advance, so might as well just ask about those algs specifically.

All that being said, I think it's an enlightening question. Thank you for sharing it! You've educated me. I've been coding a loooooooong time and didn't know about bloom counting filters specifically.

Re: Stop Interviewing with Leet Code

#673

Post by why-el »

iostream25 wrote: post #652
why-el wrote: post #526

I don't know, risky answer but I will give it nonetheless. This advice is given to many candidates, and I agree that Leet Code interviewing is bad and the industry needs to work on something better, but in the meantime, if you are starting out, think of it this way (and I have friends younger by 10 years or so and straight out of college and I say the same thing), a few months of studying gives you a huge salary. It'…

There are a whole slew of Stockholm Syndrome answers here that effectively repeat the precise point you make. If it gets you the 6 figure salary, who cares about the corrosive bad practice remaining prevalent?

I am not sure if you are agreeing or disagreeing. If you agree, I'll take it. If your point is that we should try and fix it and not succumb to "Stockholm Syndrome", I say precisely that also, in the second part of my comment. We can both work to fix AND have folks get their money by studying. Often times what happens is someone young enough will read this and conclude there is no point to studying, and that is not good career wise on average.

Re: Stop Interviewing with Leet Code

#674

Post by MrCalico »

weatherlite wrote: post #616
zo1 wrote: post #493

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because people are under the impression that it's illegal. That and I think a lot of people will make its use be about race, so people avoid it.

I was just entertaining OP, I don't think IQ correlates that well to SW engineering job performance. It's only one of many many factors (albeit probably the easiest thing to test for - testing curiousity, emotional intelligence, motivation, work ethic and resilience is much much harder). But if we're saying Leetcode is simply testing for IQ and not really for software engineering ability, why not just test for IQ? IQ…

I think the fact that leetcode needs to be studied incorporates work ethic/motivation/resilience alongside IQ. Also, at some stage in the interview process you have to interact with people which will expose your social skills/emotional intelligence to some degree.

Re: Stop Interviewing with Leet Code

#675

Post by MrCalico »

drugstorecowboy wrote: post #648
krisoft wrote: post #577

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It sounds like your goal is just to filter out the absolute worst of the worst, Yes. > I'm disputing is your assertion that there is a correlation between doing the contrived problems under unrealistic conditions and future job performance. You are projecting something here. You are saying, without any supporting evidence, that the problems are contrived. They are not. They are really the core of what me and my cow…

If you and your coworkers are solving the problem you posted "day in and day out" just hire me and you can get rid of them :) You are right though I have no evidence they are contrived other than your example problem. The unrealistic working conditions though is indisputable, do you typically relay your google search's for syntax through your boss? Do you often work under extreme time pressure on problems you have ne…

Not the guy you responded too, but is there a good way to avoid a time pressure? A limit has to be set as to the time spent per candidate from the company's pov.
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