3 ms·

We've had success with take-home coding challenges. After 1-2 technical phone screens, we send applicants a coding challenge for which they have 48 hours to co

We've had success with take-home coding challenges. After 1-2 technical phone screens, we send applicants a coding challenge for which they have 48 hours to complete. The coding challenge is representative of some of the work we do (e.g. Given our API, create a D3 visualization of X) and should take applicants several hours to complete. In submissions we look at everything from overall program structure and approach to applicants' attention to detail and usage of good industry practices. This coding challenge quickly weeds out applicants that interview well but code poorly and is an efficient way for us to see the quality of work we can expect from them (and conversely, the type of work they can expect to do with us). After a successful challenge, we bring applicants in to meet the team. At this point, it's largely just about culture fit.

aldarn 9y ago
Do you specifically hire D3 developers? This sounds like a pretty difficult "coding challenge" for a non-D3 guy, let alone someone who may not even primarily use javascript. Having used D3 sparingly before i've found it something that requires a fair amount of upfront domain knowledge to get much done beyond something extremely simple (unless of course you copy an existing example, which is what I always did). This seems unreasonably difficult for someone with no prior knowledge to accomplish in a 48 hour window whilst working etc -- you may find you are inadvertently optimizing your interview process for the unemployed with this kind of time limit / coding investment.
- mpetrovich 9y ago
  No, we're not specifically looking for experienced D3 devs. That particular challenge can be completed with the simplest D3 viz if desired (of which there are hundreds of examples online) and doesn't even require prior D3 experience (I didn't have any when I applied). We do look for a solid working knowledge of JS, however, and an ability to learn new tools quickly. The 48 hour time limit is a relatively arbitrary timebox and isn't a hard limit; we value quality over speed.

aldarn 9y ago

Do you specifically hire D3 developers? This sounds like a pretty difficult "coding challenge" for a non-D3 guy, let alone someone who may not even primarily use javascript. Having used D3 sparingly before i've found it something that requires a fair amount of upfront domain knowledge to get much done beyond something extremely simple (unless of course you copy an existing example, which is what I always did). This seems unreasonably difficult for someone with no prior knowledge to accomplish in a 48 hour window whilst working etc -- you may find you are inadvertently optimizing your interview process for the unemployed with this kind of time limit / coding investment.

mpetrovich 9y ago
No, we're not specifically looking for experienced D3 devs. That particular challenge can be completed with the simplest D3 viz if desired (of which there are hundreds of examples online) and doesn't even require prior D3 experience (I didn't have any when I applied). We do look for a solid working knowledge of JS, however, and an ability to learn new tools quickly. The 48 hour time limit is a relatively arbitrary timebox and isn't a hard limit; we value quality over speed.