3 ms·

I think leetcoding has become the norm to increase the friction when considering new job opportunities and keep wages lower. It incentivizes people to cut down

I think leetcoding has become the norm to increase the friction when considering new job opportunities and keep wages lower. It incentivizes people to cut down on job hopping.

esoterica 7y ago
That makes zero sense. Companies may want to increase friction for people leaving them but they want to DECREASE friction for people joining them. Using white boarding as part of your recruiting process would increase friction in the wrong direction.
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
  If everyone uses whiteboards and leetcode, existing employers win. Now, I'm less incentivized to join $NEW_FANG because I have other obligations in life and can't commit to that much leetcode. On second thought, it does lead into the OP's point: it seems like a legal proxy for age discrimination. New grads, which will work for less and offer no experience (beyond internships), will have more aptitude for leetcode-style assessment.
  - esoterica 7y ago
    Read my comment again. White boarding increases friction in the wrong direction. Companies make decisions to benefit themselves, not the industry as a whole. Also hiring people who are willing to work for less money is not age discrimination.
anewguy9000 7y ago
well i agree with the part about low wages; i asked an interviewer to show me an example of a real challenge they were trying to solve (or had solved) and let me take a crack at it. instead i was told, "no, no.. please lets see if you can write a function that adds these numbers..." my eyes rolled so far back into my head i just stared at the whiteboard and thought, so you want a grad who can do this with their eyes closed (they have a memorized solution that will in no way predict their ability to solve the real problems) but probably will do it for a pay grade just above "intern".

3 ms·

I think leetcoding has become the norm to increase the friction when considering new job opportunities and keep wages lower. It incentivizes people to cut down

by JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago

I think leetcoding has become the norm to increase the friction when considering new job opportunities and keep wages lower. It incentivizes people to cut down on job hopping.

esoterica 7y ago
That makes zero sense. Companies may want to increase friction for people leaving them but they want to DECREASE friction for people joining them. Using white boarding as part of your recruiting process would increase friction in the wrong direction.
- JMTQp8lwXL 7y ago
  If everyone uses whiteboards and leetcode, existing employers win. Now, I'm less incentivized to join $NEW_FANG because I have other obligations in life and can't commit to that much leetcode. On second thought, it does lead into the OP's point: it seems like a legal proxy for age discrimination. New grads, which will work for less and offer no experience (beyond internships), will have more aptitude for leetcode-style assessment.
  - esoterica 7y ago
    Read my comment again. White boarding increases friction in the wrong direction. Companies make decisions to benefit themselves, not the industry as a whole. Also hiring people who are willing to work for less money is not age discrimination.
anewguy9000 7y ago
well i agree with the part about low wages; i asked an interviewer to show me an example of a real challenge they were trying to solve (or had solved) and let me take a crack at it. instead i was told, "no, no.. please lets see if you can write a function that adds these numbers..." my eyes rolled so far back into my head i just stared at the whiteboard and thought, so you want a grad who can do this with their eyes closed (they have a memorized solution that will in no way predict their ability to solve the real problems) but probably will do it for a pay grade just above "intern".