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I don't think anyone cares if you can actually solve the problem. They are looking to see how you perform under pressure (not because the job is necessarily str

I don't think anyone cares if you can actually solve the problem. They are looking to see how you perform under pressure (not because the job is necessarily stressful, but because we can learn a lot about a person's true personality when they are under pressure), how good you are at problem solving, whether you actually know anything about coding or are just BSing, etc.

ericbarrett 6y ago
This is the ideal, and the original point of such questions (I was at a FAANG and interviewing candidates when they started becoming popular), but the inevitable result is that the test becomes interpreted more literally as it becomes more common.
enjo 6y ago
"but because we can learn a lot about a person's true personality when they are under pressure" Do you have a source for this? I can't help but think about the person in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlCEmPF4-V0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlCEmPF4-V0. You think you can learn much about her from that interaction?
- sanderjd 6y ago
  This is such a perfect distillation of the problem.
decafninja 6y ago
While what you say is the ideal situation, I think being able to get the optimal solution and giving at least a halfway decent explanation about why it works is the #1 most important thing (along with just plain old not being a jerk). I acknowledge there are some situations where you might pass the interview even without arriving at the optimal solution, but those are probably the exceptions.
- irrational 6y ago
  But, why? I've never seen one of these questions that mimics an actual real world work problem.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
TrevorJ 6y ago
Just being IN the interview to begin with is likely to be higher pressure than any sane or sustainable working environment would be. I've interviewed people who didn't know the answer to some of these tech questions, and honestly, I was more impressed by them calming saying "I'm not sure on this one, I would probably need to go look it up".
- randomswede 6y ago
  I used to be quite stressed-out by job interviews, until I realised a small crucial thing... If you're interviewing while employed (which, to be fair, is not a luxury everyone has), the absolute WORST outcome of that interview is "I am given an offer". Why worst? If you're not given an offer, nothing changes. You've spent somewhere between 45 minutes and a day, got some interview practice and all is basically status quo. But, if you're given an offer, you are now faced with having to weigh the pros and cons of accepting it.
seadan83 6y ago
Different people will experience different levels of pressure. Interview pressure is not the same as deadline or project pressure

ericbarrett 6y ago

This is the ideal, and the original point of such questions (I was at a FAANG and interviewing candidates when they started becoming popular), but the inevitable result is that the test becomes interpreted more literally as it becomes more common.

enjo 6y ago

"but because we can learn a lot about a person's true personality when they are under pressure" Do you have a source for this? I can't help but think about the person in this clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlCEmPF4-V0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlCEmPF4-V0. You think you can learn much about her from that interaction?

sanderjd 6y ago
This is such a perfect distillation of the problem.

decafninja 6y ago

While what you say is the ideal situation, I think being able to get the optimal solution and giving at least a halfway decent explanation about why it works is the #1 most important thing (along with just plain old not being a jerk). I acknowledge there are some situations where you might pass the interview even without arriving at the optimal solution, but those are probably the exceptions.

irrational 6y ago
But, why? I've never seen one of these questions that mimics an actual real world work problem.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]

TrevorJ 6y ago

Just being IN the interview to begin with is likely to be higher pressure than any sane or sustainable working environment would be. I've interviewed people who didn't know the answer to some of these tech questions, and honestly, I was more impressed by them calming saying "I'm not sure on this one, I would probably need to go look it up".

randomswede 6y ago
I used to be quite stressed-out by job interviews, until I realised a small crucial thing... If you're interviewing while employed (which, to be fair, is not a luxury everyone has), the absolute WORST outcome of that interview is "I am given an offer". Why worst? If you're not given an offer, nothing changes. You've spent somewhere between 45 minutes and a day, got some interview practice and all is basically status quo. But, if you're given an offer, you are now faced with having to weigh the pros and cons of accepting it.

seadan83 6y ago

Different people will experience different levels of pressure. Interview pressure is not the same as deadline or project pressure