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We did this at my company. A developer at the level that that developer was applying for would do a task that took them 2-4 hours. We then gave the interviewee

We did this at my company. A developer at the level that that developer was applying for would do a task that took them 2-4 hours. We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. We also always made sure to include the weekend in the time they had to complete the task as we know during the week time is precious.

ubercow13 7y ago
A two day take-home coding test is absurd regardless of whether it's the weekend
- andy_ppp 7y ago
  I read the grandparent as: The task should take 2-4h and be done within 2-4 days is how I read it. I’m still not sure why people expect it’s easy to fit this in and it’s the last thing you want to do after a hard day of work. I’ve just started taking a full day off for programming exercises I do when interviewing. It allows me to give well thought through and tested solutions even if I make some small mistakes or misunderstandings. Crazy I know but necessary usually these days.
  - wpietri 7y ago
    Except that they said it should take 2 days.
    - andy_ppp 7y ago
      I think it’s badly worded and you can read how I parsed it in my comment, it’s a guess, but otherwise the rest of the comment makes zero sense.
    - ambicapter 7y ago
      They tell the interviewee that, the the given task actually takes 2-4 hours in-house.
  - grogenaut 7y ago
    This is why I only do these for exceptional offers. Like a studio I wanted to work at and a problem that seemed challenging. Otherwise it's a strict decline.
- kamaal 7y ago
  These days they don't give you pass even if you ace the take home test. Apparently its got something to do with the whole team getting together and publicly code reviewing your assignment. And if they feel like the code doesn't fit even to the exact size per their liking, its a reject. I have had a similar experience, where a perfectly done assignment with unit and functional tests, documentation and all the bells and whistles, It took me two full sleepless nights to get it done. But apparently they rejected, for me not using a specific design pattern which one reviewer likes. It's absurd to the point of disbelief. Trust me the take home assignment is a sham. People inside get their friends and alumni hired with no hassles. They only give you these tests because they need reasons to reject you.
Spooky23 7y ago
> We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. How magnanimous. Who the hell is subjecting themselves to this?
- ScottFree 7y ago
  People who are between jobs and whose bank accounts are running perilously low.
  - splicer 7y ago
    Actually, I did one of these jumping from one megacorp to another. It took up my entire weekend, but I landed the interview. I then had to take 2 days off to fly out for the interview. Luckily, I got the job.
    - ScottFree 7y ago
      You either got very lucky or you're far more effective at pre-screening companies than I am. The last time I spent that kind of time on a test was for a megacorp in the top 50 of the fortune 500. The process was much the same as you described: multiple day test followed by taking two days off to fly out for the interview. Except I didn't get the job and nobody who interviewed me ever looked at the take home test.
  - Spooky23 7y ago
    In a government role, I was required to obtain permission for any outside activity, with meaningful penalties. Significant engagements like that for an interview would be in scope. The interview process being long or whatever or requiring on-site visits is reasonable, but pre-work is probably eliminating good candidates, or attracting people who don't pay attention to their contracts.
Zenbit_UX 7y ago
I'm interviewing with 6 companies simultaneously and like you they all think they're deserving of free labor. I'd wager your company must have the worst devs, those who have little self respect and zero other prospects. Do you not understand that you're requesting free labor from an applicant? Did you forget the purpose isn't to have the sickest challenge ever but to evaluate someone's code/ingenuity?
- ambicapter 7y ago
  Methinks you didn't read GP correctly. They took a 2-4 hr task and let the interviewee take 4 days, not including weekends.
  - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
    2-4 hours is anywhere from $100 to $800 worth of free labor depending on how the dev values their time. The GP was bragging about how generous they were in providing multiple days and weekends to finish it. How did this become acceptable practice for hiring people? Do any other industries besides tech do this?
    - thomascgalvin 7y ago
      So teams should just not vet candidates? An in person interview is also going to be 2-4 hours, plus travel time. Should we stop doing those, too? How exactly do you suggest teams screen candidates?
      - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
        Designers are hired based on their portfolio, why are devs treated differently? I have a plethora of options on my github as I'm sure most here do. Why is it not acceptable to judge a candidate by their already written code?
        distances 7y ago
        Lots of people would see this as unfair, as they don't have anything GitHub. Either for preferring to do something else with their precious free time, or perhaps slaving full days in their closed-source jobs. I think the only fair option is an in-person interview without homework assignments. Treats everyone the same and doesn't require inordinate time commitment.
wccrawford 7y ago
We give a test that should take 1-2 hours, and give them an entire 7 days to do it. I feel like you might be being unnecessarily restrictive in your time limits. What I've seen is that people spend the time they'll spend on it, and that's it. Only 1 or 2 people over the last few years have said they ran out of time, and the quality of their code showed that they weren't a fit for the company anyhow.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

ubercow13 7y ago

A two day take-home coding test is absurd regardless of whether it's the weekend

andy_ppp 7y ago
I read the grandparent as: The task should take 2-4h and be done within 2-4 days is how I read it. I’m still not sure why people expect it’s easy to fit this in and it’s the last thing you want to do after a hard day of work. I’ve just started taking a full day off for programming exercises I do when interviewing. It allows me to give well thought through and tested solutions even if I make some small mistakes or misunderstandings. Crazy I know but necessary usually these days.
- wpietri 7y ago
  Except that they said it should take 2 days.
  - andy_ppp 7y ago
    I think it’s badly worded and you can read how I parsed it in my comment, it’s a guess, but otherwise the rest of the comment makes zero sense.
  - ambicapter 7y ago
    They tell the interviewee that, the the given task actually takes 2-4 hours in-house.
- grogenaut 7y ago
  This is why I only do these for exceptional offers. Like a studio I wanted to work at and a problem that seemed challenging. Otherwise it's a strict decline.
kamaal 7y ago
These days they don't give you pass even if you ace the take home test. Apparently its got something to do with the whole team getting together and publicly code reviewing your assignment. And if they feel like the code doesn't fit even to the exact size per their liking, its a reject. I have had a similar experience, where a perfectly done assignment with unit and functional tests, documentation and all the bells and whistles, It took me two full sleepless nights to get it done. But apparently they rejected, for me not using a specific design pattern which one reviewer likes. It's absurd to the point of disbelief. Trust me the take home assignment is a sham. People inside get their friends and alumni hired with no hassles. They only give you these tests because they need reasons to reject you.

Spooky23 7y ago

> We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. How magnanimous. Who the hell is subjecting themselves to this?

ScottFree 7y ago
People who are between jobs and whose bank accounts are running perilously low.
- splicer 7y ago
  Actually, I did one of these jumping from one megacorp to another. It took up my entire weekend, but I landed the interview. I then had to take 2 days off to fly out for the interview. Luckily, I got the job.
  - ScottFree 7y ago
    You either got very lucky or you're far more effective at pre-screening companies than I am. The last time I spent that kind of time on a test was for a megacorp in the top 50 of the fortune 500. The process was much the same as you described: multiple day test followed by taking two days off to fly out for the interview. Except I didn't get the job and nobody who interviewed me ever looked at the take home test.
- Spooky23 7y ago
  In a government role, I was required to obtain permission for any outside activity, with meaningful penalties. Significant engagements like that for an interview would be in scope. The interview process being long or whatever or requiring on-site visits is reasonable, but pre-work is probably eliminating good candidates, or attracting people who don't pay attention to their contracts.

Zenbit_UX 7y ago

I'm interviewing with 6 companies simultaneously and like you they all think they're deserving of free labor. I'd wager your company must have the worst devs, those who have little self respect and zero other prospects. Do you not understand that you're requesting free labor from an applicant? Did you forget the purpose isn't to have the sickest challenge ever but to evaluate someone's code/ingenuity?

ambicapter 7y ago
Methinks you didn't read GP correctly. They took a 2-4 hr task and let the interviewee take 4 days, not including weekends.
- Zenbit_UX 7y ago
  2-4 hours is anywhere from $100 to $800 worth of free labor depending on how the dev values their time. The GP was bragging about how generous they were in providing multiple days and weekends to finish it. How did this become acceptable practice for hiring people? Do any other industries besides tech do this?
  - thomascgalvin 7y ago
    So teams should just not vet candidates? An in person interview is also going to be 2-4 hours, plus travel time. Should we stop doing those, too? How exactly do you suggest teams screen candidates?
    - Zenbit_UX 7y ago
      Designers are hired based on their portfolio, why are devs treated differently? I have a plethora of options on my github as I'm sure most here do. Why is it not acceptable to judge a candidate by their already written code?
      - distances 7y ago
        Lots of people would see this as unfair, as they don't have anything GitHub. Either for preferring to do something else with their precious free time, or perhaps slaving full days in their closed-source jobs. I think the only fair option is an in-person interview without homework assignments. Treats everyone the same and doesn't require inordinate time commitment.

wccrawford 7y ago

We give a test that should take 1-2 hours, and give them an entire 7 days to do it. I feel like you might be being unnecessarily restrictive in your time limits. What I've seen is that people spend the time they'll spend on it, and that's it. Only 1 or 2 people over the last few years have said they ran out of time, and the quality of their code showed that they weren't a fit for the company anyhow.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]