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Respectful of my time. Think of dating - if after 3 dates, you still are not sure if you like somebody, maybe it is better to call it quits. I had companies cal

Respectful of my time. Think of dating - if after 3 dates, you still are not sure if you like somebody, maybe it is better to call it quits. I had companies call me in for more than 4 interviews, distributed over several days. Not respectful. Coding: I actually like coding tests in interviews. Then I know my potential future colleagues will also have had a coding test. The company cares at least a little that my colleagues can code. Just don't take the coding test too seriously. Don't expect me to write correct syntax on a whiteboard, for example. It should be more about having the right ideas, or even be able to discuss possible approaches if a solution isn't obvious immediately. Also, make it a little challenging - no computing of Fibonacci numbers or FizzBuzz. I liked one where I was asked to implement Quicksort (not that original, but OK), but they also gave me a definition of Quicksort along with it. That seemed fair.

JustSomeNobody 8y ago
> Just don't take the coding test too seriously. Don't expect me to write correct syntax on a whiteboard, for example. It should be more about having the right ideas, or even be able to discuss possible approaches if a solution isn't obvious immediately. This is important. I'm nervous. I don't know you people. And modern IDEs/Editors fill in most of the boilerplate for functions/classes, etc as well as help me recall library function names. Be respectful of my time and don't expect me to practice whiteboard coding for a month just to interview with you.
- sandoze 8y ago
  I’m fully convinced that 70-80% of my energy and brain function during an interview is spent on listening, formulating responses, breathing and in general trying to interact in a social situation with people I don’t know. That leaves very little to solve problems that I’m not prepared to speak about, usually a riddle or coding puzzle that has no bearing on my day to day. As developers we are a bit introverted so being in a room with 2-3 people knowing that after this there will be another 2-3 people for round 2, is very difficult. As an interviewer I’ve watched candidates open up talking about what they know and why they enjoy being a developer and completely fall apart (sweat, shake, refuse to get out of their chair) when you hand them a dry erase marker and show them the white board.

JustSomeNobody 8y ago

> Just don't take the coding test too seriously. Don't expect me to write correct syntax on a whiteboard, for example. It should be more about having the right ideas, or even be able to discuss possible approaches if a solution isn't obvious immediately. This is important. I'm nervous. I don't know you people. And modern IDEs/Editors fill in most of the boilerplate for functions/classes, etc as well as help me recall library function names. Be respectful of my time and don't expect me to practice whiteboard coding for a month just to interview with you.

sandoze 8y ago
I’m fully convinced that 70-80% of my energy and brain function during an interview is spent on listening, formulating responses, breathing and in general trying to interact in a social situation with people I don’t know. That leaves very little to solve problems that I’m not prepared to speak about, usually a riddle or coding puzzle that has no bearing on my day to day. As developers we are a bit introverted so being in a room with 2-3 people knowing that after this there will be another 2-3 people for round 2, is very difficult. As an interviewer I’ve watched candidates open up talking about what they know and why they enjoy being a developer and completely fall apart (sweat, shake, refuse to get out of their chair) when you hand them a dry erase marker and show them the white board.