4 ms·

> What's with all the whiteboard backlash? As always, some companies spoil it for the rest; whiteboards are fine but the crazy Hackerrank kind of interviewing,

> What's with all the whiteboard backlash? As always, some companies spoil it for the rest; whiteboards are fine but the crazy Hackerrank kind of interviewing, coding, on a whiteboard, correct algo's you studied in uni 10+ years ago and so on got a lot of people annoyed. Nothing wrong with having someone sketch an architecture or a brief plan-of-attack on a whiteboard. But demanding someone to write a correct Bailey–Borwein–Plouffe implementation (I read a few months ago someone got that question in an interview; find the nth digit of PI efficiently as you can. How useless.) or something from their brain without a computer is just rather insane imho. Seeing if they can write code would be actually writing code. Behind a laptop with access to internet and time to do it. Also; previous work.

partycoder 10y ago
There is a legal framework for interviews (e.g: EEO). Probably they didn't like the candidate and they dismissed that person through a question they weren't expected to answer.
- tluyben2 10y ago
  What does that entail? I thought the US was not as strict on law for workers / interviews.
  - partycoder 10y ago
    Dismissing someone using an objective/concrete criteria such as a failed programming test is not problematic. On the other hand, if you dismiss someone because "is not a cultural fit" or some other subjective reason, the person can sue you, accuse you of discrimination and challenge you to prove your point over a legal mine field.
    - lostcolony 10y ago
      Most companies avoid that by not giving candidates a reason why they were not hired.
      - partycoder 10y ago
        Well, if you did relatively fine they might still contact you in the future for other positions.
        logfromblammo 10y ago
        I can't tell if you're being facetious or if you're really that naive. No company that I have worked for has ever said, "You know what? Let's look at the resumes of previous applicants, call them up, and see if they are still looking for new jobs." Every vacant position is always filled by direct, active applicants. Even backchannel applicants have to send a fresh copy of their resume to someone, so that it can be added to the applicant tracking system. Tech resumes have a short shelf life. If the person is any good, and actively seeking to change employers, they will already have a new job by the time you have an opening for them. And if they are constantly doing a low-key, back-burner search, just to stay tuned-in, they will probably apply again to whatever you advertise, if they are still interested in your company. The only companies that will keep your resume forever and call you back later are recruiters. It may be that I have never been considered good enough to get hired, but not quite as good as the people they chose to hire on the first round, but for most companies, I either get an offer or I never hear from them again. Those still willing to communicate after a no-offer have never contacted me again regarding another open position. I admit there may be a theoretical nonzero probability of this occurring, but it has a lot of zeros between the decimal point and any other digit.
        toast0 10y ago
        I'll offer a counter amnecdote: I submitted a friend's resume, he was interviewed and my boss liked him, but his boss didn't (I don't know about other feedback). Some time later, we had a new opening with some urgency and my boss asked me to see if he'd like to interview again; he was hired after that round (boss's boss did not interview him)
        logfromblammo 10y ago
        Many of the usual hiring practices can be bypassed if you already know someone at the company.
    - vonmoltke 10y ago
      This point is over-parroted. Anybody can sue (almost) anybody else over (almost) anything in this country. A butthurt applicant is not going to be dissuaded from suing you, if so inclined, just because you gave them an "objective" reason.
    - tluyben2 10y ago
      Ah right, in NL where I did most interviewing you are not allowed to ask a woman if she is or plans to get pregnant for instance. Not exactly a subjective reason, but I think akin to what you are saying.
- emodendroket 10y ago
  If someone was making a habit of asking impossible questions to members of a protected class and not to others I very much doubt that would be legal.

partycoder 10y ago

There is a legal framework for interviews (e.g: EEO). Probably they didn't like the candidate and they dismissed that person through a question they weren't expected to answer.

tluyben2 10y ago
What does that entail? I thought the US was not as strict on law for workers / interviews.
- partycoder 10y ago
  Dismissing someone using an objective/concrete criteria such as a failed programming test is not problematic. On the other hand, if you dismiss someone because "is not a cultural fit" or some other subjective reason, the person can sue you, accuse you of discrimination and challenge you to prove your point over a legal mine field.
  - lostcolony 10y ago
    Most companies avoid that by not giving candidates a reason why they were not hired.
    - partycoder 10y ago
      Well, if you did relatively fine they might still contact you in the future for other positions.
      - logfromblammo 10y ago
        I can't tell if you're being facetious or if you're really that naive. No company that I have worked for has ever said, "You know what? Let's look at the resumes of previous applicants, call them up, and see if they are still looking for new jobs." Every vacant position is always filled by direct, active applicants. Even backchannel applicants have to send a fresh copy of their resume to someone, so that it can be added to the applicant tracking system. Tech resumes have a short shelf life. If the person is any good, and actively seeking to change employers, they will already have a new job by the time you have an opening for them. And if they are constantly doing a low-key, back-burner search, just to stay tuned-in, they will probably apply again to whatever you advertise, if they are still interested in your company. The only companies that will keep your resume forever and call you back later are recruiters. It may be that I have never been considered good enough to get hired, but not quite as good as the people they chose to hire on the first round, but for most companies, I either get an offer or I never hear from them again. Those still willing to communicate after a no-offer have never contacted me again regarding another open position. I admit there may be a theoretical nonzero probability of this occurring, but it has a lot of zeros between the decimal point and any other digit.
        toast0 10y ago
        I'll offer a counter amnecdote: I submitted a friend's resume, he was interviewed and my boss liked him, but his boss didn't (I don't know about other feedback). Some time later, we had a new opening with some urgency and my boss asked me to see if he'd like to interview again; he was hired after that round (boss's boss did not interview him)
        logfromblammo 10y ago
        Many of the usual hiring practices can be bypassed if you already know someone at the company.
  - vonmoltke 10y ago
    This point is over-parroted. Anybody can sue (almost) anybody else over (almost) anything in this country. A butthurt applicant is not going to be dissuaded from suing you, if so inclined, just because you gave them an "objective" reason.
  - tluyben2 10y ago
    Ah right, in NL where I did most interviewing you are not allowed to ask a woman if she is or plans to get pregnant for instance. Not exactly a subjective reason, but I think akin to what you are saying.
emodendroket 10y ago
If someone was making a habit of asking impossible questions to members of a protected class and not to others I very much doubt that would be legal.