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I just do not understand why somebody with 20 years of experience would invest that kind of time in leetcode. just say "no" and be done with the BS, and with th

I just do not understand why somebody with 20 years of experience would invest that kind of time in leetcode. just say "no" and be done with the BS, and with the kind of financial success the author has enjoyed previously, wait for the right company to come along that doesn't require it. That's the only way the industry is going to fix itself; enough people start saying no.

bcrosby95 5y ago
For me, it's either imposter's syndrome or I just suck. Regardless, I'm worried I won't be able to find a job.
- steve_adams_86 5y ago
  It’s the same for me. I’d like to have that kind of confidence, but the bottom line is that I’m extremely replaceable.
thebean11 5y ago
But why? Sure it’s boring, I certainly don’t enjoy doing Leetcode, but if the job requires it I’m not above practicing. It’s not like I’ll have to do it once I get hired.
ativzzz 5y ago
I am casually doing some leetcode in prep for a job search a few months down the line. I've never had to do these problems before, nor do I have a formal CS education (am a senior dev). While many of the hard problems are quite esoteric, IMO being able to easily power through most of the easy/mediums is 100% a sign of developer competency. Even if you don't remember the exact algorithm, being able to build it from the ground up quickly and accurately through reasonining seems like a pretty solid signifier of a quality developer to me.
Handytinge 5y ago
This seems like a very American problem, possibly a Silicon Valley specific one. Not once in my many years in this industry in multiple western countries have I heard of someone being subjigated to such a test. I had to google it to understand the article.
mattnewton 5y ago
Personally I don't think it's a very high signal when hiring, mostly useful asking one in a phone screen to see if the person is faking having any programming experience and then leaning more heavily on systems design and behavioral questions. But, I also don't feel like it's some huge indignity? I have spent far longer on take home tests from companies than practicing leetcode most interview circuits. I wouldn't discount a company for asking these kinds of questions to try to get more signal from applicants.
alexeiz 5y ago
Several years ago, I've seen an opening where a company was looking for someone to "lead their engineering effort". When I applied, they asked me to pass a hackerrank test. I said, thanks, but no thanks. It's obvious that such mismatch of the role description and the methods of finding the right candidate can only mean they are either incompetent or lying. None of that says anything good about that company.
- lostmsu 5y ago
  What do you think is a good prescreening test for candidates?
quest88 5y ago
I don't like these questions either. But, I've come to accept that it's worth your time if the companies you're interested in ask the questions. Especially so if they have a big compensation package.
- draw_down 5y ago
nathanfig 5y ago
Some people are very good at BSing their way through interviews, even technical ones. Those people also end up being very difficult to fire and are generally poisonous to culture. Asking them to code is a great filter, it’s hard to fool a compiler. It shouldn’t be the only filter, but for coding roles a coding interview is pretty critical.
- didip 5y ago
  Asking them to code is indeed a great filter. But is Dynamic Programming question necessary to perform the filter?
  - ed_balls 5y ago
    Facebook and other companies banned Dynamic Programming.
    - didip 5y ago
      Is this a recent thing? I still got them two years ago.
      - ed_balls 5y ago
        No idea. That's what I heard from a eng manager at FAANG 2 months ago. He said "We don't ask DP questions, they don't resemble problems that you are expected to do while working. You can still some of the problems using DP, but we don't ask pure DP problems."
      - vthallam 5y ago
        Yes, we don't ask DP questions. (I work at FB)
    - stjo 5y ago
      What?
- ruph123 5y ago
  How are people in the US difficult to fire?

bcrosby95 5y ago

For me, it's either imposter's syndrome or I just suck. Regardless, I'm worried I won't be able to find a job.

steve_adams_86 5y ago
It’s the same for me. I’d like to have that kind of confidence, but the bottom line is that I’m extremely replaceable.

thebean11 5y ago

But why? Sure it’s boring, I certainly don’t enjoy doing Leetcode, but if the job requires it I’m not above practicing. It’s not like I’ll have to do it once I get hired.

ativzzz 5y ago

I am casually doing some leetcode in prep for a job search a few months down the line. I've never had to do these problems before, nor do I have a formal CS education (am a senior dev). While many of the hard problems are quite esoteric, IMO being able to easily power through most of the easy/mediums is 100% a sign of developer competency. Even if you don't remember the exact algorithm, being able to build it from the ground up quickly and accurately through reasonining seems like a pretty solid signifier of a quality developer to me.

Handytinge 5y ago

This seems like a very American problem, possibly a Silicon Valley specific one. Not once in my many years in this industry in multiple western countries have I heard of someone being subjigated to such a test. I had to google it to understand the article.

mattnewton 5y ago

Personally I don't think it's a very high signal when hiring, mostly useful asking one in a phone screen to see if the person is faking having any programming experience and then leaning more heavily on systems design and behavioral questions. But, I also don't feel like it's some huge indignity? I have spent far longer on take home tests from companies than practicing leetcode most interview circuits. I wouldn't discount a company for asking these kinds of questions to try to get more signal from applicants.

alexeiz 5y ago

Several years ago, I've seen an opening where a company was looking for someone to "lead their engineering effort". When I applied, they asked me to pass a hackerrank test. I said, thanks, but no thanks. It's obvious that such mismatch of the role description and the methods of finding the right candidate can only mean they are either incompetent or lying. None of that says anything good about that company.

lostmsu 5y ago
What do you think is a good prescreening test for candidates?

quest88 5y ago

I don't like these questions either. But, I've come to accept that it's worth your time if the companies you're interested in ask the questions. Especially so if they have a big compensation package.

draw_down 5y ago

nathanfig 5y ago

Some people are very good at BSing their way through interviews, even technical ones. Those people also end up being very difficult to fire and are generally poisonous to culture. Asking them to code is a great filter, it’s hard to fool a compiler. It shouldn’t be the only filter, but for coding roles a coding interview is pretty critical.

didip 5y ago
Asking them to code is indeed a great filter. But is Dynamic Programming question necessary to perform the filter?
- ed_balls 5y ago
  Facebook and other companies banned Dynamic Programming.
  - didip 5y ago
    Is this a recent thing? I still got them two years ago.
    - ed_balls 5y ago
      No idea. That's what I heard from a eng manager at FAANG 2 months ago. He said "We don't ask DP questions, they don't resemble problems that you are expected to do while working. You can still some of the problems using DP, but we don't ask pure DP problems."
    - vthallam 5y ago
      Yes, we don't ask DP questions. (I work at FB)
  - stjo 5y ago
    What?
ruph123 5y ago
How are people in the US difficult to fire?