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> Leet code is very contrived. However, learning leet code, then applying it in an interview shows you have the aptitude to learn quickly. I feel very strongly

> Leet code is very contrived. However, learning leet code, then applying it in an interview shows you have the aptitude to learn quickly. I feel very strongly that this premise is flawed. It shows that you have aptitude for a very specific type of learning. I lead an engineering org at a small startup. We teach our engineers to dive deeply into the customer value prop to find ways to deliver the simplest technical solution to their problem. You don't need leetcode skills when you can identify simpler, more accessible solutions to a customer's need. The reality is outside of very specialized technical businesses (or business components), most engineers jobs are not to build technically advanced solutions.

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago
Yes, exactly this. Leetcode isn't just an irrelevant skill in these situations, it's the wrong skill. Algorithmic optimisations are pointless if you can't assess how much value they generate. MAANG seems to use Leetcode as a legal proxy for conscientiousness and IQ without testing for other relevant qualities such as strategic insight, creativity, and other skills that are essential for a successful business. There's no problem with testing for basic coding ability, but if you're not selecting for broader skills - preferably with some diversity - you get the same old leet monoculture causing the same familiar delivery and stability issues.
- mring33621 4y ago
  I think this style of interviewing also serves as a proxy for age discrimination and/or to detect personal work/life balance values that don't favor the prospective employer. If you aren't willing to dedicate a considerable part of your unpaid, personal time to an activity that they mandate, you aren't a good fit for them.
nogridbag 4y ago
I agree. We lost two of our worst performers to FAANG companies. They were both junior and came from top schools. Communication was a huge problem and both wrote very sloppy code. We would assign trivial tasks to them that would take an average developer 30 minutes or less and they would struggle even with heavy mentoring. I was the mentor for one of them and I really tried my best, but there was little improvement over several months and luckily they moved on. Now I'm mentoring two devs who didn't study CS in college and only completed a coding bootcamp and they're working out amazing.
- mountainriver 4y ago
  Yup this is a pattern I’ve seen as well and why I think Leetcode is on the way out. People will figure this out

TheOtherHobbes 4y ago

Yes, exactly this. Leetcode isn't just an irrelevant skill in these situations, it's the wrong skill. Algorithmic optimisations are pointless if you can't assess how much value they generate. MAANG seems to use Leetcode as a legal proxy for conscientiousness and IQ without testing for other relevant qualities such as strategic insight, creativity, and other skills that are essential for a successful business. There's no problem with testing for basic coding ability, but if you're not selecting for broader skills - preferably with some diversity - you get the same old leet monoculture causing the same familiar delivery and stability issues.

mring33621 4y ago
I think this style of interviewing also serves as a proxy for age discrimination and/or to detect personal work/life balance values that don't favor the prospective employer. If you aren't willing to dedicate a considerable part of your unpaid, personal time to an activity that they mandate, you aren't a good fit for them.

nogridbag 4y ago

I agree. We lost two of our worst performers to FAANG companies. They were both junior and came from top schools. Communication was a huge problem and both wrote very sloppy code. We would assign trivial tasks to them that would take an average developer 30 minutes or less and they would struggle even with heavy mentoring. I was the mentor for one of them and I really tried my best, but there was little improvement over several months and luckily they moved on. Now I'm mentoring two devs who didn't study CS in college and only completed a coding bootcamp and they're working out amazing.

mountainriver 4y ago
Yup this is a pattern I’ve seen as well and why I think Leetcode is on the way out. People will figure this out