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I think the candidate gave you perfectly fine answers. Virtually every problem is on S.O. - and if it isn't, there is usually something superficially related to

by Helmet 10y ago

I think the candidate gave you perfectly fine answers. Virtually every problem is on S.O. - and if it isn't, there is usually something superficially related to get you started. I don't remember the last time I opened my copy of Introduction of Algorithms and implemented something from there. I do, however, look to S.O. multiple times a day. Seriously, when was the last time you had to identify the "shortest route between two points on a directed graph"? I find questions like this to be absurd and a baseless way to gauge a candidates ability. It's more mental masturbation on part of the interviewer rather than a useful way to assess a candidate.

whorleater 10y ago
The goal is not to reduce it to simple trivia, but rather to tease out the process to arrive at the answer from the interviewee. If your answers to a question are basically forms of "get help from someone else" without even considering the problem, that doesn't bode well.
cr0sh 10y ago
> Virtually every problem is on S.O. - and if it isn't, there is usually something superficially related to get you started. One time, I had to solve a problem that was kinda in left field; I don't remember the specifics of it, but it wasn't something common. I soon found that out when I did my googling to see if anyone else had a similar situation. There wasn't anything on SO, and virtually nothing else on google. So I broke the problem down, and tried to see if there were anything on any of the parts of the problem. That started to lead somewhere. Eventually, after a few hours of digging, googling, SO hints, testing, and cajoling around the issues - I got something working. It was crazy - but it worked, and worked properly as what was needed. ...and for every part of it that wasn't original, I linked to the source where I got help/inspiration/code, because ultimately, the whole thing was a group effort (even if those other coders weren't physically there, they were mentally in some capacity, though they didn't know it!).

by Helmet 10y ago

whorleater 10y ago

The goal is not to reduce it to simple trivia, but rather to tease out the process to arrive at the answer from the interviewee. If your answers to a question are basically forms of "get help from someone else" without even considering the problem, that doesn't bode well.

cr0sh 10y ago

> Virtually every problem is on S.O. - and if it isn't, there is usually something superficially related to get you started. One time, I had to solve a problem that was kinda in left field; I don't remember the specifics of it, but it wasn't something common. I soon found that out when I did my googling to see if anyone else had a similar situation. There wasn't anything on SO, and virtually nothing else on google. So I broke the problem down, and tried to see if there were anything on any of the parts of the problem. That started to lead somewhere. Eventually, after a few hours of digging, googling, SO hints, testing, and cajoling around the issues - I got something working. It was crazy - but it worked, and worked properly as what was needed. ...and for every part of it that wasn't original, I linked to the source where I got help/inspiration/code, because ultimately, the whole thing was a group effort (even if those other coders weren't physically there, they were mentally in some capacity, though they didn't know it!).