Where I'm at now, I kind of skipped doing their customary coding test, because someone else vetted my competence. Now that I think about it, having observed so

Where I'm at now, I kind of skipped doing their customary coding test, because someone else vetted my competence. Now that I think about it, having observed some discussions about other candidates' solutions, I don't know if I would have passed. I can bring plenty of value to companies because I have broad knowledge, good taste, and devotion to product quality... but sometimes my first draft of a solution to an algorithmic problem is a little strange, or simply doesn't match the tastes of other reviewers for whatever reasons. So I'm pretty skeptical about these things. They seem to me like a bad way to effectivize the process of judging someone's competence. I would rather have a real conversation about what they've done, and try to collaborate with them for a while. If I can't find a candidate with whom I can have a good conversation and whom I trust without having them solve a puzzle, then I'd rather not hire anybody.