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People who can do leetcode challenges are only roughly correlated with great engineers. The more I learn about software development the more I try to _not_ hav
by seer 4y ago
People who can do leetcode challenges are only roughly correlated with great engineers.
The more I learn about software development the more I try to _not_ have leet code style parts in my code - in the very rare circumstances would I see something like that and say - yes there is _no_ other library out there that has a battle tested algo to solve this particular problem, _and I have to code my own_.
Worse people who excel at Leet Code could start to bring that sort of thing into your codebases, optimising small parts of your code to perfection, and then leaving the whole thing a mess or just plain reject to work on solving business issues and concentrate on polishing their small bit of algorithm.
Of corse there are positions where that sort of mindset is welcome and sought after. Especially in very big companies, but for the most developers out there leet code is _just_ for the interview part and they would (should) never use that kind of problem solving in their day-to-day work.
When I have to interview somebody, and there's leet code involved:
a) they are _really_ comfortable with those types of challenges - that tells me they have spent a lot of time preparing - either for this interview or just generally, either way that wouldn't _really_ tell me much about their problem solving skills
b) they feel uncomfortable and fail to solve anything due to stress or anxiety - again no really knowledge gained, as real-world work environments tend to try to minimise those, at least in the places where I work in.
c) they feel uncomfortable but get the hang of it - now I _might_ have a glimpse of their problem solving skills, but I've put a human being in a very uncomfortable position just to _test_ them. There _has_ to be a better way.
The way I like to conduct interviews where possible is to ask people to walk you through some of the code they've written and ask various questions about decisions - much more relaxed and I still get the sense of how they organise their stuff and how they work.
If that's not possible - a take home task or something. Or even "hire fast fire fast" approach works too.
- nivenkos 4y agoI think it's fair to do two Leetcode Easys - ideally with problems that allow you to ask further questions about memory management (when are allocations triggered, etc.), recursion, stack frames, adjacent memory location for efficient reads and so on. The problem is that a take-home task can be impossible for some people already in a full-time job with kids, etc. and so has its own bias. And the "hire fast fire fast" approach doesn't really exist here in Scandinavia, even though there is a probation period it's still frowned upon to use it for anything but extreme circumstances, and if done en masse would likely raise issues with the trade unions.
- BlargMcLarg 4y ago>memory management (when are allocations triggered, etc.), recursion, stack frames, adjacent memory location for efficient reads and so on. This sounds incredibly specific. Most places requiring at most LC easy don't really need any of this, and I'd be worried about the interviewer looking for key words and specific answers over actually testing whether the candidate grasps things or can learn what is necessary.
- sithlord 4y agoThen part of the process should be to allocate part of the interview schedule to the take home. Say, 1 hour interview block, at minute 1 candidate is sent an exercise and at minute 45 a zoom call starts to discuss things. That way, some of the pressure is off of coding with someone looking over your shoulder, and you still have time allocated off already.
- mellavora 4y ago> c) but I've put a human being in a very uncomfortable position just to _test_ them. There _has_ to be a better way. > ... > Or even "hire fast fire fast" approach works too. Comment "c" shows a high level of care/concern for the candidate. "hire fast fire fast" does not. What if the candidate left an unsatisfying but steady job to join your company? And they get fired in the first few weeks. Now they are unemployed. This is much more uncomfortable than an awkward interview question.
- Kaze404 4y agoI believe the assumption here is that the candidate would be made aware of the circumstance.