4 ms·

Many programmers make nowhere near $100k and so many programmers do a ton of extra unpaid work; and week-long interview preparations are just one of them. Just

Many programmers make nowhere near $100k and so many programmers do a ton of extra unpaid work; and week-long interview preparations are just one of them. Just last night, a fellow programmer I know is being forced into "mandatory unpaid overtime" for the purposes of learning new things for his company. He has to learn more crap, together with coworkers, in his own 'freetime', regularly, unpaid. And I can tell you he makes nowhere near 100k living near a large city. That may be his problem for, but if the popularity of companies having "mandatory unpaid work" AKA slavery increases we will all feel these things even more so. That being said, I can't think of anything more viable than actually testing the programmer in question with code. I would personally give them a computer and have them do it right there on the spot in the interview but that is just me.

newobj 8y ago
The problem with your friend's situation is not a bad interview process, it's that they're being taken advantage of, and for some reason not improving their own situation, in a market where a good candidate is calling the shots on the terms of their employment.
- ryandrake 8y ago
  99.9% of candidates are not calling any shots in this employer’s market. Unless you are a celebrity, widely known as a top candidate, the employer is pretty much going to be dictating the interview process, the job description, the compensation, and the terms of employment. If this were an actual employee‘s market, the friend might not be so underemployed.
  - Torn 8y ago
    Software is 100% an employees market. Everyone wants coders, and can be hard to pin down good ones. I think software engineers either don't know what they are worth, or are uncomfortable negotiating comp.
    - jonhendry18 8y ago
      "Software is 100% an employees market" Not if you're geographically stuck and your skills are not in demand locally.
      - holstvoogd 8y ago
        And looking for remote jobs that are not US only is fun too. 'We are totally a global company that only works remote. such awesomeness, but yeah, you have to be based in this very specific time zone though' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

newobj 8y ago

The problem with your friend's situation is not a bad interview process, it's that they're being taken advantage of, and for some reason not improving their own situation, in a market where a good candidate is calling the shots on the terms of their employment.

ryandrake 8y ago
99.9% of candidates are not calling any shots in this employer’s market. Unless you are a celebrity, widely known as a top candidate, the employer is pretty much going to be dictating the interview process, the job description, the compensation, and the terms of employment. If this were an actual employee‘s market, the friend might not be so underemployed.
- Torn 8y ago
  Software is 100% an employees market. Everyone wants coders, and can be hard to pin down good ones. I think software engineers either don't know what they are worth, or are uncomfortable negotiating comp.
  - jonhendry18 8y ago
    "Software is 100% an employees market" Not if you're geographically stuck and your skills are not in demand locally.
    - holstvoogd 8y ago
      And looking for remote jobs that are not US only is fun too. 'We are totally a global company that only works remote. such awesomeness, but yeah, you have to be based in this very specific time zone though' ¯\_(ツ)_/¯