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This totally happens, but keeping the questions simple and the atmosphere friendly goes a long way to mitigating it. One thing my previous company did was to ha

This totally happens, but keeping the questions simple and the atmosphere friendly goes a long way to mitigating it. One thing my previous company did was to have a short take-home replace the live coding, then the candidates simply answered questions about it. A surprisingly large number of candidates plagiarised their submission from various blog posts online. Others were unable to answer any substantial questions about their work. All these people were senior and employed in big firms. These kinds of candidates outnumbered the obviously anxious candidates by maybe 10 to 1.

lapcat 2y ago
> All these people were senior and employed in big firms. Which big firms? I find it curious that a BigCo on one's résumé brings cachet, because BigCos are able to hide incompetence, even at the executive level, to a vastly greater extent than a small company. If you find someone who for example has around a decade of experience at a company of around ten people, it's going to be almost impossible for that person to have done nothing of value. > These kinds of candidates outnumbered the obviously anxious candidates by maybe 10 to 1. Anxiousness is not necessarily obvious. My stomach could be churning and my mind racing, but a stranger probably wouldn't be able to tell.
- jahewson 2y ago
  Indeed, but then I can’t measure the true positive rate. :) I suppose we’re really talking about having an anxiety disorder that impedes the ability to deliver vs feeling anxious on the day. The former should manifest noticeably somehow, by definition. As for which companies? Basically any large enterprise except absolute top-tier tech. I wouldn’t necessarily call such people incomponent though - I’m sure they were perfectly good button-pushers within the corporate machine. Low-skill high-specificity.
  - lapcat 2y ago
    > I suppose we’re really talking about having an anxiety disorder that impedes the ability to deliver vs feeling anxious on the day. The former should manifest noticeably somehow, by definition. I'm not really sure what you mean. First, anxiety is on a continuum, so I wouldn't propose a dichotomy here. Second, lots of people have situational anxiety, which I wouldn't call a "disorder". For example, a great fear of public speaking is pretty common. Of course poor performance at some specific task, e.g., an interview or a speech, is manifestly noticeable, but the cause of that poor performance isn't necessarily manifestly noticeable. In other words, you can't necessarily tell whether it was caused by a lack of skill or competence or just temporary anxiety. Or maybe lack of sleep the night before.

lapcat 2y ago

> All these people were senior and employed in big firms. Which big firms? I find it curious that a BigCo on one's résumé brings cachet, because BigCos are able to hide incompetence, even at the executive level, to a vastly greater extent than a small company. If you find someone who for example has around a decade of experience at a company of around ten people, it's going to be almost impossible for that person to have done nothing of value. > These kinds of candidates outnumbered the obviously anxious candidates by maybe 10 to 1. Anxiousness is not necessarily obvious. My stomach could be churning and my mind racing, but a stranger probably wouldn't be able to tell.

jahewson 2y ago
Indeed, but then I can’t measure the true positive rate. :) I suppose we’re really talking about having an anxiety disorder that impedes the ability to deliver vs feeling anxious on the day. The former should manifest noticeably somehow, by definition. As for which companies? Basically any large enterprise except absolute top-tier tech. I wouldn’t necessarily call such people incomponent though - I’m sure they were perfectly good button-pushers within the corporate machine. Low-skill high-specificity.
- lapcat 2y ago
  > I suppose we’re really talking about having an anxiety disorder that impedes the ability to deliver vs feeling anxious on the day. The former should manifest noticeably somehow, by definition. I'm not really sure what you mean. First, anxiety is on a continuum, so I wouldn't propose a dichotomy here. Second, lots of people have situational anxiety, which I wouldn't call a "disorder". For example, a great fear of public speaking is pretty common. Of course poor performance at some specific task, e.g., an interview or a speech, is manifestly noticeable, but the cause of that poor performance isn't necessarily manifestly noticeable. In other words, you can't necessarily tell whether it was caused by a lack of skill or competence or just temporary anxiety. Or maybe lack of sleep the night before.