4 ms·
Computer Science is a three year degree at least - you can't spend an hour talking about it? Even implementing something simple and well known (like a breadth
by bloat 10y ago
Computer Science is a three year degree at least - you can't spend an hour talking about it?
Even implementing something simple and well known (like a breadth first search for example) on the white board can take an hour, if you are discussing it as you go along, and the algorithm has to be tailored and optimized to fit the interviewer's question.
- mindcrime 10y agoComputer Science is a three year degree at least - you can't spend an hour talking about it? Sure, you could spend all day or all week talking about it. But the question is, do you need to, and is it a useful thing to do in a job interview setting. But I'm biased here, because I'm generally not a fan of day long job interviews. I don't think they're necessary or practical, at least for most roles.
- rndmize 10y agoFunny you should mention breadth first search - there was a post about hiring just a few days ago where the author was complaining about its used as an interview question: https://medium.com/@evnowandforever/f-you-i-quit-hiring-is-broken-bb8f3a48d324#.q36tqvpei https://medium.com/@evnowandforever/f-you-i-quit-hiring-is-b...
- mindcrime 10y agoI'd be OK with using BFS or DFS, but with this caveat: If it's a whiteboard thing, then don't expect a detailed, working implementation in code. Ask for a sketch / high level overview / pseudo-code that shows the candidate understand it well enough that you can infer that they could implement it with a compiler / google / book / etc. OR If you want an implementation, give them a machine, let them use their language of choice, use google, etc., and let them actually code it up, making and fixing errors as they go, etc. I actually like this because it lets you see how someone approaches debugging, etc. In either case, you could supplement the exercise with some discussion questions "why /when would you use BFS?" etc.
- bloat 10y agoWhen I last did a bunch of interviews every single one had a BFS question!
- riyadparvez 10y agoI do not agree with hiring processes many companies are pushing. However, if you do not know what BFS is, I do not know where to begin.