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> o Do they ask questions? I find I get 90% of the insight from simple questions like "write a function to shuffle a deck of cards. Don't worry about simple t
by gumby 3y ago
> o Do they ask questions?
I find I get 90% of the insight from simple questions like "write a function to shuffle a deck of cards. Don't worry about simple typos like forgetting a semicolon."
You learn a lot from how they set things up (make a suit class, and a vector of card classes? Or just use the integers 1-52?) and talking about that. Do they think about the problem (and, as you say, ask a couple of "requirement" questions) before diving in?
One of the best hires I remember was someone who got this problem wrong (went to a lot of work to leave the deck unshuffled). We gently asked if it did what was required. Hi smacked himself on the forehead and said, "I'm a fucking idiot" (in front of us in his interview!) and quickly corrected the bug. Great guy.
- devoutsalsa 3y agoIf you ask me a question that boils down to “write a card shuffling algorithm”, I’m going to do less well because I’m being taxed by the thought of “Why is this person asking me to shuffle a deck of virtual cards?” During the interview, I’d probably just google “best algorithm for shuffling deck of cards in <language>”, and I’d tell you I was looking it up. If you tasked me with shuffling cards on the job, that’s what I’d do.
- gumby 3y agoYou could just ask, and we'd answer "it's just a simple problem so both of us can see what it's like to work together." You'd be surprised how many people show up who don't actually know how to write a for loop. And if you didn't like the experience you wouldn't want to work for us so the interview would be a success too.
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y ago> don't actually know how to write a for loop My god, yes. We had a two-part problem that we used for the "work skills" part of the interview. Part 1 boiled down to writing a two-level nested for loop that was simpler than fizzbuzz. Part 2 was using that loop to solve the rest of the problem, which was far more complex. I lost track of how many candidates spent 40 of the 50 minutes just writing that loop.
- neon_electro 3y agoCome up with better problems, please.
- gumby 3y agoWhat would you recommend?
- deckard1 3y agoyou don't actually believe that "work together" crap do you? You realize you're dangling a job over their head, right? There is a power imbalance. You'll never see "work together" in an interview because you're not colleagues on equal footing.
- gumby 3y agoOften candidates already have a job and are looking to see if they want a change. There's parity in such situations.
- catiopatio 3y agoI’m not sure that’s a great interview question; the right answer to google the appropriate algorithm (e.g. Fisher–Yates), make sure you understand implementation errors that will lead to bias, and implement it over any arbitrary sequence.