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I generally agree with this article and wanted to just post some thoughts I’ve had on this when it comes to hiring juniors out of boot camps when the expectatio

by kylnew 9y ago

I generally agree with this article and wanted to just post some thoughts I’ve had on this when it comes to hiring juniors out of boot camps when the expectations of CS knowledge would be tough. 1. I think they need more than 1 project, either in your domain or multiple domains better yet. To me this is one way of demonstrating abstraction capability. 2. Ask a problem that involves modeling several objects where a hierarchy might be involved. Ie modeling a service like Instacart, that has both customers and employees, but maybe are all types of Users. Do they catch on to these common traits? A question like these can even extend to more senior roles it may just be a matter of how much hinting. 3. I still believe some sort of whiteboard challenge has value, but make it fair. A lot of O(n) type problems are straight forward looping over array and doing work type things. These aren’t killer gotcha problems intended to haze or assess depth of CS skill, they are for stimulating dialogue. I was anti whiteboard for a while, particularly because I felt like I was hazing, even when I gave lots of time and did everything I could to make the candidate comfortable. But without it I feel something is missing. So my new principle is just don’t make it tricky.

madeofpalk 9y ago
> [not] intended to haze or assess depth of CS skill, they are for stimulating dialogue This 100%. We do an in-person 'pairing exercise' where they work on a simplified tax calculator. We expect people to solve the problem, but really what we're looking for is their thinking and to see _how_ they solve it. By gradually ramping up the requirements/difficulty, and by asking more questions we're able to learn a lot about the applicant.
- kylnew 9y ago
  I really like the idea of pairing exercises too. I’ve done an interview before as the interviewee where I didn’t actually do the typing but did all the dictating to build out a class with a TDD approach. It never felt like I was under heavy scrutiny and there was so much conversation. It’s amazing when you walk away from an interview feeling like the experience was positive/educational regardless of outcome.

by kylnew 9y ago

madeofpalk 9y ago

> [not] intended to haze or assess depth of CS skill, they are for stimulating dialogue This 100%. We do an in-person 'pairing exercise' where they work on a simplified tax calculator. We expect people to solve the problem, but really what we're looking for is their thinking and to see _how_ they solve it. By gradually ramping up the requirements/difficulty, and by asking more questions we're able to learn a lot about the applicant.

kylnew 9y ago
I really like the idea of pairing exercises too. I’ve done an interview before as the interviewee where I didn’t actually do the typing but did all the dictating to build out a class with a TDD approach. It never felt like I was under heavy scrutiny and there was so much conversation. It’s amazing when you walk away from an interview feeling like the experience was positive/educational regardless of outcome.