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I have yet to find an interview process that works better than RPI (Rob's Pairing Interview)[1] plus a day-in-the-life[2]. It gives both the employer and the c
by donw 8y ago
I have yet to find an interview process that works better than RPI (Rob's Pairing Interview)[1] plus a day-in-the-life[2].
It gives both the employer and the candidate a chance to evaluate each other in context.
As an employer, you get to see how the candidate performs on two different real-world tasks, as well as how they interact with existing employees.
As an employee, you get to see what the company is really like to work with. No amount of whiteboarding can deliver that.
And at the end of the day, if that relationship feels good, both parties can choose to continue onwards towards full employment.
On the other hand, computer science trivia, by which I mean "implement Dijkstra or quicksort on a whiteboard", is a very poor means indeed by which to test for the ability to do real-world work in a real-world context.
Sure, it's valuable to have a broad understanding of algorithms and data structures. But whiteboard interviews on those types of problems only tests how well you would do competing in an ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) challenge, not how well you can deal with "here is a totally new-to-you problem that lacks a precise solution, now work productively with a team to solve it under the constraints of an operating business"
[1] https://builttoadapt.io/the-developer-hiring-process-is-broken-672bf273c183 https://builttoadapt.io/the-developer-hiring-process-is-brok...
[2] https://blog.jonrshar.pe/2016/Dec/05/pivotal-interviews.html https://blog.jonrshar.pe/2016/Dec/05/pivotal-interviews.html
- kyberias 8y agoThis is absolutely horrible. "We believe coding is a social activity. In fact, we’re testing you to see how social you can be around coding."
- Huggernaut 8y agoIt's worth understanding that Pivotal are hiring for a work environment that is almost entirely pair-programming, with teams of 2 to 8 engineers that rotate pairs almost every day. With that in mind, it's absolutely critical that Pivotal consider the social side of candidates while pairing. That makes the process less suitable for other types of working environments.
- amd121 8y agoIt seems to me that "programming" there means glorified devops and the primary goal is a headcount of young compliant workers to show off to investors. Probably activity is valued higher than progress. They are certainly not looking for Knuth, who would likely fail the interview.
- Huggernaut 8y agoYes, I think Pivotal are not looking for Knuth. Most companies don't need Knuth to be successful. That said, individual brilliance is not at odds with the other skills Pivotal are looking for. The other statements don't ring true for me, but I understand it's just your viewpoint.
- ses1984 8y agoUnless your business goal is to advance computer science research, why would you want to hire Knuth and why would he want to work for you?
- microtherion 8y agoWhy should he fail the interview? He's exceptional at talking through complex algorithms, and I've never heard of him being particularly anti-social.
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- wozer 8y agoYeah, it would be okay if they were talking about coding at that specific organisation. But the generalisation is just stupid.
- badfrog 8y agoHow is it horrible?
- isbvhodnvemrwvn 8y agoI'd be absolutely drained and miserable after pair programming for an entire day. It's not an environment I would consider when looking for a job.
- rlabrecque 8y agoThe best interview I ever had was similar, the largest chunk of it was me and my boss whiteboarding out a problem together, he had the marker. We were solving a problem that I'd be solving on the product, and that he had implemented on a previous project at a different employer. It just felt great.
- Huggernaut 8y agoThese were my personal favourite as well. After both interviews I left feeling very enthusiastic about working at Pivotal. Both interviews felt extremely collaborative, and in both cases I actually _enjoyed_ my time, rather than feeling stressed as had happened in more "typical" interview processes. For the day-in-the-life, I got to work on real problems that I would be solving, in the manner of working that Pivotal espouses, with the colleagues I would be working with, in the environment that I would be working in. I think that these interviews are particularly suited to Pivotal's model of working (in particular the pair-programming) and are probably less suitable elsewhere.
- donw 8y agoUnrelated: I absolutely heart your username.
- therealdrag0 8y agoStripe is similar, I found it so refreshing when I learned this: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-engineering-interview-process-like-at-Stripe https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-engineering-interview-proc...