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Of course a resume could be full of lies. That's why nobody hires blindly based on the resume but always has an actual interview. During the interview, talking
by mcv 5y ago
Of course a resume could be full of lies. That's why nobody hires blindly based on the resume but always has an actual interview. During the interview, talking about code, you'll notice soon enough whether the candidate knows what they're talking about. And that doesn't have to be (whiteboard) coding challenges or questions about obscure language details. Just talk about how they code, what coding style they prefer, how they organise their code, etc.
- denton-scratch 5y agoNot sure what a "whiteboard" coding challenge is. The last interview I did, I was asked to find and fix a bug in a small code fragment. On my own, I'd have fixed it in a jiffy; with two interviewers looking over my shoulder I was nervous, and it took longer. But if you're interviewing on the basis that the candidate claims in their resume to know language X, then a brief test of that is essential; and an online test doesn't cut the mustard - it could be anyone doing the work.
- mgas 5y agoA Whiteboard coding challenge is the exact thing you describe. But instead of interviewers looking over your shoulder, they look at the whiteboard as you stand in front of them and write code on the whiteboard.
- beej71 5y agoI've found this works to great effect. I ask the prospective interviewee ahead of time for an example of some code they wrote that they're proud of. And then in the interview, I ask them to teach me how it works, what could be improved, etc. I might not know anything about it, but I can tell when someone's pretending to teach a thing. Once had someone bring in a device driver in C for a JavaScript position. Now, I've never written a device driver, but I know the general concepts, and the applicant's description was cogent. They got the job, and they were a great hire.