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It makes you someone that can't listen. The most important part of communication is listening. When the interviewer asks you to whiteboard a problem, they aren'

It makes you someone that can't listen. The most important part of communication is listening. When the interviewer asks you to whiteboard a problem, they aren't asking you to "solve it". Obviously, you only have a whiteboard and you only have 15 minutes max. You might throw out some comment about size vs. time (eg) but make the decision and move on, quickly. The interviewer might decide to latch on but if not, you have to cover this in 15 minutes so you limit the depth so as to do that. Stub out all the deep functionality and then dig into each part of it as time permits and as the interviewer leads you in those directions. As an experienced and good programmer candidate, the most important part of an interview is for you to evaluate the company. So the whiteboard is a great way to see if they understand what can be accomplished in 15 minutes on the whiteboard. If they don't get it, you can end the interview short. Time saved today as well as the next several years working for a shite company. I love the whiteboard interview.

scott_s 8y ago
The scenario nybblesio describes ("asked to write the code" with expectation it would be able to run) is not the one you described ("they aren't asking you to "solve it").
nybblesio 8y ago
At what point did I ever imply I don't listen? I explicitly described the conditions of the original interview. The interviewer asked the candidate to "solve it" and it had to run. What part of that wasn't clear? I also find it interesting that you countered with a completely different kind of whiteboard scenario. I agree that the scenario you describe is fine. I would enjoy those kinds of interviews all day and twice on Sunday. I'm not railing against an honest discussion with a potential employer. But that's not what happens most of the time, in my experience. Also, the tone of your reply is that you reject the employer if they don't meet your definition of reasonable. That's great, but not everyone has that luxury.

scott_s 8y ago

The scenario nybblesio describes ("asked to write the code" with expectation it would be able to run) is not the one you described ("they aren't asking you to "solve it").

nybblesio 8y ago

At what point did I ever imply I don't listen? I explicitly described the conditions of the original interview. The interviewer asked the candidate to "solve it" and it had to run. What part of that wasn't clear? I also find it interesting that you countered with a completely different kind of whiteboard scenario. I agree that the scenario you describe is fine. I would enjoy those kinds of interviews all day and twice on Sunday. I'm not railing against an honest discussion with a potential employer. But that's not what happens most of the time, in my experience. Also, the tone of your reply is that you reject the employer if they don't meet your definition of reasonable. That's great, but not everyone has that luxury.