4 ms·

If you ask me to do anything on a whiteboard I assure you it will take me a very long time and probably not work when transferred to an executable environment.

by dools 15y ago

If you ask me to do anything on a whiteboard I assure you it will take me a very long time and probably not work when transferred to an executable environment. At least let me type it in VIM and have an interpreter handy so I can test as I go. If I'm not expected to code on a whiteboard, having me write code on a whiteboard during an interview is retarded. I think that it would be appropriate to have me, say, model a database by drawing an ERD on a whiteboard as part of an interview question. If I went for a job interview and was asked to hand write code or write on a whiteboard I'd probably leave.

tikhonj 15y ago
I think some companies like Pivotal labs actually have you pair-program with your interviewer. I haven't applied there so all my knowledge is second-hand. Would you like that sort of interview?
- dools 15y ago
  Sure I'm more than happy to code with someone assessing me.
kls 15y ago
I actually had an interview where I not only had to code the solution on the whiteboard but the developers then gave me parameters that they wanted passed in and I had to execute the function in my mind and give the correct output of the function.
- roel_v 15y ago
  That's what efficient developers do. Relying on the compiler/interpreter for seeing if an algorithm works is a crutch. Mentally stepping through an algorithm, including keeping track of the state of e.g. state variables or stacks, is a litmus test to see if you really understand the code you just wrote. (preemptive nitpicker rebuke: getting the exact numeric output if that output depends on calculating e.g. the root of 34252 in your head is not what I mean by this)
bmj 15y ago
That seems at least slightly unreasonable. I think it's appropriate to ask the candidate to write pseudo-code (or real code, depending on the problem), especially if you are just examining how the candidate thinks through problems. I'm perfectly comfortable doing this during an interview, but, then again, I often sketch things out on paper. But, different strokes for different folks. In the past, I have been asked to sit at a machine and write code, which was far better than doing it on a whiteboard.

by dools 15y ago

tikhonj 15y ago

I think some companies like Pivotal labs actually have you pair-program with your interviewer. I haven't applied there so all my knowledge is second-hand. Would you like that sort of interview?

dools 15y ago
Sure I'm more than happy to code with someone assessing me.

kls 15y ago

I actually had an interview where I not only had to code the solution on the whiteboard but the developers then gave me parameters that they wanted passed in and I had to execute the function in my mind and give the correct output of the function.

roel_v 15y ago
That's what efficient developers do. Relying on the compiler/interpreter for seeing if an algorithm works is a crutch. Mentally stepping through an algorithm, including keeping track of the state of e.g. state variables or stacks, is a litmus test to see if you really understand the code you just wrote. (preemptive nitpicker rebuke: getting the exact numeric output if that output depends on calculating e.g. the root of 34252 in your head is not what I mean by this)

bmj 15y ago

That seems at least slightly unreasonable. I think it's appropriate to ask the candidate to write pseudo-code (or real code, depending on the problem), especially if you are just examining how the candidate thinks through problems. I'm perfectly comfortable doing this during an interview, but, then again, I often sketch things out on paper. But, different strokes for different folks. In the past, I have been asked to sit at a machine and write code, which was far better than doing it on a whiteboard.