As a candidate, coding exams are really useful for identifying companies I don't want to work for. As a hirer, they're useful for not very much at all. They d

As a candidate, coding exams are really useful for identifying companies I don't want to work for. As a hirer, they're useful for not very much at all. They don't tell you if someone can produce working software, they don't give any insight into how someone thinks or how quickly they can learn, and they will rule out many candidates who are better than most of those they rule in. They might help you whittle very large candidate lists down to smaller ones cheaply but if you have that problem you should be using a different approach. With code exams as part of your hiring process over time you will skew your hiring towards presentees who have crammed and rote learned and are there for the wrong reasons. Hire people you think are smart, try very hard to stamp on your unconscious biases, aim for a broad variety of experience levels and types in your team, give them all the support and help you can and make sure that you quickly fire people who turn out to have misled you about their skills.