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We do whiteboard problems. We want to hear what you think about when you write code. The actual amount of writing is pretty minimal, setting up the problems on

We do whiteboard problems. We want to hear what you think about when you write code. The actual amount of writing is pretty minimal, setting up the problems on the board is actually more writing than the solutions. There are certainly other ways to do it, but one of the most important thing we evaluate is whether you are willing to give it a go. If you are standoffish and unwilling to participate that is quite telling of how you will be when you are given tasks that aren't fun. Not all tasks are fun.

kasey_junk 9y ago
How do you know that is telling? The issue with whiteboard interviews isn't that it proves people will do something not fun, all parts of the interview are that. The issue with whiteboard interviews is that they bias heavily towards talkers not doers. There are some talkers who are good doers, but as both a positive or negative signal it's fairly worthless. You could test this pretty easily by comparing a whiteboard interview opinion with post hire opinion on your employees or by having someone else reinterview your staff and comparing their score to your own internal performance evaluations.
nailer 9y ago
> If you are standoffish and unwilling to participate that is quite telling of how you will be when you are given tasks that aren't fun By getting me to multitask between: - solving a problem - allocating space on a whiteboard to inject code later - legibility of my handwriting - speechwriting - public speaking you've gauged exactly how I would react when asked to do my job and be heckled with other tasks that add no business value while doing so.
razakel 9y ago
>If you are standoffish and unwilling to participate that is quite telling of how you will be when you are given tasks that aren't fun. No, what you're doing is filtering out people who are bad at public speaking or have performance anxiety. If you want someone who can deliver a lecture, put that in the job description.
- dumbfounder 9y ago
  We white board issues all the time, it's not a lecture, it's a discussion. You need to be able to discuss things with people. We understand people get nervous, and we try to ease them. We are very easygoing and get most people to relax.
rhizome 9y ago
If you are standoffish and unwilling to participate that is quite telling of how you will be when you are given tasks that aren't fun. Is it really, though? And do I read this correctly that one of your interviewing intents is to make the candidate uncomfortable?

kasey_junk 9y ago

How do you know that is telling? The issue with whiteboard interviews isn't that it proves people will do something not fun, all parts of the interview are that. The issue with whiteboard interviews is that they bias heavily towards talkers not doers. There are some talkers who are good doers, but as both a positive or negative signal it's fairly worthless. You could test this pretty easily by comparing a whiteboard interview opinion with post hire opinion on your employees or by having someone else reinterview your staff and comparing their score to your own internal performance evaluations.

nailer 9y ago

> If you are standoffish and unwilling to participate that is quite telling of how you will be when you are given tasks that aren't fun By getting me to multitask between: - solving a problem - allocating space on a whiteboard to inject code later - legibility of my handwriting - speechwriting - public speaking you've gauged exactly how I would react when asked to do my job and be heckled with other tasks that add no business value while doing so.

razakel 9y ago

>If you are standoffish and unwilling to participate that is quite telling of how you will be when you are given tasks that aren't fun. No, what you're doing is filtering out people who are bad at public speaking or have performance anxiety. If you want someone who can deliver a lecture, put that in the job description.

dumbfounder 9y ago
We white board issues all the time, it's not a lecture, it's a discussion. You need to be able to discuss things with people. We understand people get nervous, and we try to ease them. We are very easygoing and get most people to relax.

rhizome 9y ago

If you are standoffish and unwilling to participate that is quite telling of how you will be when you are given tasks that aren't fun. Is it really, though? And do I read this correctly that one of your interviewing intents is to make the candidate uncomfortable?