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> My biggest problem with leetcode type questions is that you can't ask clarifying questions. Huh? Of course you can. If you're practicing on leetcode, there

> My biggest problem with leetcode type questions is that you can't ask clarifying questions. Huh? Of course you can. If you're practicing on leetcode, there's a discussion thread for every question where you can ask questions till the cows come home. If you're in a job interview, ask the interviewer. It's supposed to be a conversation. > I wouldn't even mind the studying on leetcode types sites if they actually had decent explainers If you don't find the hundreds of free explanations for each question to be good enough, you can pay for Leetcode Pro and get access to editorial answers which explain everything. Or use ChatGPT for free. > It's not a matter of skill, it's just my ability to take in certain types of problems doesn't work well. I don't mean to be rude, but it is 100% a matter of skill. That's good news! It means if you put in the effort, you'll learn and improve, just like I did and just like thousands and thousands of other humans have. > Without any chance of additional info/questions it's literally a setup to fail. Well with that attitude you're guaranteed to fail! Put in the work and don't give up, and you'll succeed.

another_twist 1y ago
> My biggest problem with leetcode type questions is that you can't ask clarifying questions. Yeah this one confused me. Not asking clarifying questions is one of the sureshot ways of failing an interview. Kudos if the candidates ask something that the interviewers havent thought of, although its rare as most problems go through a vetting process (along with leak detection).
- smohare 1y ago
  [dead]
ok123456 1y ago
How does asking clarifying questions work when a non-programmer is tasked with performing the assessment, because their programmers are busy doing other things, or find it degrading and pointless?
tracker1 1y ago
Last year, I saw a lot of places do effectively AI/Automated pre-inverview screenings with a leetcode web editor, and a video capture... This is what I'm talking about. I'm fine with hard questions in an actual interview.
epolanski 1y ago
Many interviews now involve automated exercises on websites that track your activity (don't think about triggering a focus change event on your browser, it gets reported). Also, the reviewer gets an AI report telling it whether you copied the solution somewhere (expressed as a % probability). You have few minutes and you're on your own. If you pass that abomination, maybe, you have in person ones. It's ridiculous what software engineers impose on their peers when hiring, ffs lawyers, surgeons, civil engineers get NO practical nor theorical test, none.
- lukan 1y ago
  "don't think about triggering a focus change event on your browser, it gets reported)." So .. my approach would be to just open dev tools and deactivate that event. Show of practical skill or cheating?
  - supriyo-biswas 1y ago
    Switching to devtools also triggers a focus change and is detectable by other means (such as repeatedly invoking a debugger statement).
    - lukan 1y ago
      One can type in devtools withouth having the focus on dev tools, but indeed, to track down the event, one has to loose focus for a while. But after you find out what line of js is needed, then you can just inject that without dev tools with greasemonkey for instance. But probably a general solution exists ... and there are actually extensions that will do that in general.
- dmoy 1y ago
  The major difference between software devs and lawyers, surgeons, and civil engineers is that the latter three have fairly rigorous standards to pass to become a professional (bar, boards, and PE). That could exist for software too, but I'm not sure HN folks would like that alternative any better. Like if you thought memorizing leetcode questions for 2 weeks before an interview was bad, well I have some bad news. Maybe in 50-100 years software will have that, but things will look very different.

another_twist 1y ago

> My biggest problem with leetcode type questions is that you can't ask clarifying questions. Yeah this one confused me. Not asking clarifying questions is one of the sureshot ways of failing an interview. Kudos if the candidates ask something that the interviewers havent thought of, although its rare as most problems go through a vetting process (along with leak detection).

smohare 1y ago
[dead]

ok123456 1y ago

How does asking clarifying questions work when a non-programmer is tasked with performing the assessment, because their programmers are busy doing other things, or find it degrading and pointless?

tracker1 1y ago

Last year, I saw a lot of places do effectively AI/Automated pre-inverview screenings with a leetcode web editor, and a video capture... This is what I'm talking about. I'm fine with hard questions in an actual interview.

epolanski 1y ago

Many interviews now involve automated exercises on websites that track your activity (don't think about triggering a focus change event on your browser, it gets reported). Also, the reviewer gets an AI report telling it whether you copied the solution somewhere (expressed as a % probability). You have few minutes and you're on your own. If you pass that abomination, maybe, you have in person ones. It's ridiculous what software engineers impose on their peers when hiring, ffs lawyers, surgeons, civil engineers get NO practical nor theorical test, none.

lukan 1y ago
"don't think about triggering a focus change event on your browser, it gets reported)." So .. my approach would be to just open dev tools and deactivate that event. Show of practical skill or cheating?
- supriyo-biswas 1y ago
  Switching to devtools also triggers a focus change and is detectable by other means (such as repeatedly invoking a debugger statement).
  - lukan 1y ago
    One can type in devtools withouth having the focus on dev tools, but indeed, to track down the event, one has to loose focus for a while. But after you find out what line of js is needed, then you can just inject that without dev tools with greasemonkey for instance. But probably a general solution exists ... and there are actually extensions that will do that in general.
dmoy 1y ago
The major difference between software devs and lawyers, surgeons, and civil engineers is that the latter three have fairly rigorous standards to pass to become a professional (bar, boards, and PE). That could exist for software too, but I'm not sure HN folks would like that alternative any better. Like if you thought memorizing leetcode questions for 2 weeks before an interview was bad, well I have some bad news. Maybe in 50-100 years software will have that, but things will look very different.