4 ms·

Them: "We've got a coding challenge for you..." Me: "I've got this repo on Github with millions of downloads and 10k stars. It's at least 20k lines of my own c

by johnfn 6y ago

Them: "We've got a coding challenge for you..." Me: "I've got this repo on Github with millions of downloads and 10k stars. It's at least 20k lines of my own code. Would that be good to demonstrate my coding ability?" Them: "Haha, no, that'd be too much work for us. Please do the test instead." Me: "Fine." Then they rejected me because I used GET instead of POST. Clearly that shows I have no idea how to code. That was a large (1000+ employee) YC company, by the way.

dmitryminkovsky 6y ago
Truly absurd. Followed the link in your profile. You wrote VSCodeVim! 49,674++/14,291--. And because you used the "wrong" HTTP verb. Did they also say you should have used tabs instead of spaces?? Outrageous. By the way, thanks for VCCodeVim!
- johnfn 6y ago
  Hah! Thanks :-)
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
golergka 6y ago
> Then they rejected me because I used GET instead of POST. OK, I'm honestly curious here. What was the request, and why did you make such a decision? Do you think it is the right approach in this case, or that it's an insignificant mistake that does not represent a person's understanding of HTTP protocol? I remember hearing about at least one story where using GET instead of POST lead to disastrous consequences, as some robot crawled all over the "delete" links - but I have to admit, I can't imagine how it would happen without other significant design flaws happening as well (as "delete" links being public or robot being able to crawl under authenticated user's identity). This sounds like an error that can cause irrational irritation by the reviewer, but I can't imagine it being the sole reason to decide that the author can't code.
- hysan 6y ago
  Not the OP, but from my experience teaching web dev, one possible reason is nerves. I’ve seen some of the smartest students make that mistake on an assessment simply because they were under pressure. A simple conversation afterwards shows that they do understand the difference (as expected). In the moment though, sometimes you just have a brain fart.
  - bitten 6y ago
    Yep! I have been in similar situations where you make a mistake and you get out right rejected. Surely it's better to explain the mistake to me and then we can discuss it. This can also be a nice cultural check too, how well do I respond to my own mistakes? It's a shame most people don't follow your idea here.
  - wool_gather 6y ago
    This really can't be understated. The difference between your how your brain works when you're under the clock and know you're being observed vs. the "natural" flow of a calm working environment is tremendous. Anyone of us who's conducting the interview must do some kind of double-checking of obvious mistakes to fairly account for the limitations of the process.
- johnfn 6y ago
  I was definitely in the wrong about GET/POST. The company I had previously worked for simply didn't really care too much about getting the verbs right, so I didn't really fret about them. And the company I'm currently at (multiple thousands of employees, strong engineering culture if I dare say so myself) just does everything as a POST. So it really is somewhat cultural whether you care about GET/POST or not. But, IMO, even if you don't know, it's the kind of thing you learn once in code review and then don't worry about again.
  - cameronh90 6y ago
    For E2E encrypted APIs, one could well argue that worrying about HTTP verbs is just wasting time for no good reason. POST (consistently) lets you attach a body too. Just using POST for everything is a pattern I've seen becoming more popular recently.
srtjstjsj 6y ago
Seems like you are a brilliant programmer but lack domain knowledge for that specific job.
- bsg75 6y ago
  If you make that assumption based on a single thread comment, you lack domain knowledge on how candidates should be interviewed.
thiht 6y ago
> Haha, no, that'd be too much work for us What's funny is that it's literally their job. They receive money for doing it. Doing a take home is not paid. I have no idea why these recruiters assume it's ok to ask candidates for multi hours work without any kind of compensation.
edanm 6y ago
That's absurd. Also- thanks for VScode vim! I use it and love it. I've always wanted to reach out cause there's lots of features I wish would get implemented. Though even without those it's one of the better vim emulations I've tried, and I've tried many!

by johnfn 6y ago

dmitryminkovsky 6y ago

Truly absurd. Followed the link in your profile. You wrote VSCodeVim! 49,674++/14,291--. And because you used the "wrong" HTTP verb. Did they also say you should have used tabs instead of spaces?? Outrageous. By the way, thanks for VCCodeVim!

johnfn 6y ago
Hah! Thanks :-)

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

golergka 6y ago

> Then they rejected me because I used GET instead of POST. OK, I'm honestly curious here. What was the request, and why did you make such a decision? Do you think it is the right approach in this case, or that it's an insignificant mistake that does not represent a person's understanding of HTTP protocol? I remember hearing about at least one story where using GET instead of POST lead to disastrous consequences, as some robot crawled all over the "delete" links - but I have to admit, I can't imagine how it would happen without other significant design flaws happening as well (as "delete" links being public or robot being able to crawl under authenticated user's identity). This sounds like an error that can cause irrational irritation by the reviewer, but I can't imagine it being the sole reason to decide that the author can't code.

hysan 6y ago
Not the OP, but from my experience teaching web dev, one possible reason is nerves. I’ve seen some of the smartest students make that mistake on an assessment simply because they were under pressure. A simple conversation afterwards shows that they do understand the difference (as expected). In the moment though, sometimes you just have a brain fart.
- bitten 6y ago
  Yep! I have been in similar situations where you make a mistake and you get out right rejected. Surely it's better to explain the mistake to me and then we can discuss it. This can also be a nice cultural check too, how well do I respond to my own mistakes? It's a shame most people don't follow your idea here.
- wool_gather 6y ago
  This really can't be understated. The difference between your how your brain works when you're under the clock and know you're being observed vs. the "natural" flow of a calm working environment is tremendous. Anyone of us who's conducting the interview must do some kind of double-checking of obvious mistakes to fairly account for the limitations of the process.
johnfn 6y ago
I was definitely in the wrong about GET/POST. The company I had previously worked for simply didn't really care too much about getting the verbs right, so I didn't really fret about them. And the company I'm currently at (multiple thousands of employees, strong engineering culture if I dare say so myself) just does everything as a POST. So it really is somewhat cultural whether you care about GET/POST or not. But, IMO, even if you don't know, it's the kind of thing you learn once in code review and then don't worry about again.
- cameronh90 6y ago
  For E2E encrypted APIs, one could well argue that worrying about HTTP verbs is just wasting time for no good reason. POST (consistently) lets you attach a body too. Just using POST for everything is a pattern I've seen becoming more popular recently.

srtjstjsj 6y ago

Seems like you are a brilliant programmer but lack domain knowledge for that specific job.

bsg75 6y ago
If you make that assumption based on a single thread comment, you lack domain knowledge on how candidates should be interviewed.

thiht 6y ago

> Haha, no, that'd be too much work for us What's funny is that it's literally their job. They receive money for doing it. Doing a take home is not paid. I have no idea why these recruiters assume it's ok to ask candidates for multi hours work without any kind of compensation.

edanm 6y ago

That's absurd. Also- thanks for VScode vim! I use it and love it. I've always wanted to reach out cause there's lots of features I wish would get implemented. Though even without those it's one of the better vim emulations I've tried, and I've tried many!