4 ms·
None of this makes it better. “We give candidates all the time they need” (which you suggest is something insanely short notice, like 1-2 weeks) is not an answe
by mlthoughts2018 6y ago
None of this makes it better. “We give candidates all the time they need” (which you suggest is something insanely short notice, like 1-2 weeks) is not an answer. What about people who cannot give you time outside of 1-2 hour blocks within business hours of a weekday, as in they can never work on your assignment apart from that. You’re just openly admitting that you won’t assess that whole cohort of humans. I urge you to reconsider. You are determining a process that you happen to fancy, maybe because it makes you feel like you’re a visionary of interview process or you’re going against the trend, but you’ve got blinders on about your commitment to this and what it means for people who just happen to have obligations.
The standard whiteboard hazing trivia is bad enough, and 4+ hour long marathon on-sites that require weeks of study and taking vacation days just to interview are ridiculous. But your method is not much better. You’re still perpetuating this myth that somehow, unlike virtually every other profession on the planet, software engineering requires intense examination of on-the-spot demonstrated skill, rather than simple conversation probing past experience and domain knowledge.
We just do interviewing completely ass backwards in software. Part to assert gatekeeper superiority, part to judge fealty. It’s just bananas.
- 11thEarlOfMar 6y agoTo be honest, if a candidate told me they didn't have time for a take home, I'd arrange to complete the interview process in times-of-day that works for them. The purpose was to avoid 'coding in front of a firing squad', and we could achieve a similar outcome by leaving the room while they work. BTW, I will consider the approach of simple conversation probing past experience and domain knowledge. I infer that would be in lieu of a coding demonstration. If that has worked for you, any detail that you can fill in would be appreciated.