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I'm curious, is this a money issue, i.e., you refuse because it feels like working for free? Or is it just a principal thing? I doesn't seem unreasonable to m

by pdovy 13y ago

I'm curious, is this a money issue, i.e., you refuse because it feels like working for free? Or is it just a principal thing? I doesn't seem unreasonable to me to ask even a senior developer to do a small coding assignment as part of the interview process unless they can show a good, relevant coding sample. If we're going to agree that whiteboard coding isn't a great way to evaluate someone, and we can't ask you to do an assignment on your own, what else is left? Talking about past experience is great and an important part of an interview, but I think most people want to (rightly so) see some code at some point before extending an offer.

300bps 13y ago
I'm curious, is this a money issue, i.e., you refuse because it feels like working for free? Not OP, but it doesn't "feel" like working for free. It is working for free. Having someone perform work for you without paying them is illegal in the United States (see minimum wage laws). There's a simple solution; pay them $x per hour to do your 3 hours of work. Even if you pay them $100 per hour that's a cheap way of filtering out pre-screened candidates.
- pdovy 13y ago
  Hm, I guess I didn't think about it that way since we wouldn't actually ever give out "real" work, we give out the same problem (which is an extremely scaled down version of a real application) to most everybody who passes a phone screen. I think paying them is perfectly reasonable, but I'll also note anecdotally that having done this for many candidates for years, I think very few people have ever declined.
  - ewest 13y ago
    >>...which is an extremely scaled down version of a real application You're putting the candidate in a very vulnerable and stressful position: You're potentially asking a candidate to solve a problem with your application (even if scaled down)-- The question/assignment could be a long-standing issue your staff have been unable to address on their own and you want to try to find out whether you can get a free solution from qualified people. The candidate(s) could get the correct answer, yet you could walk away from the process with a free solution. >> "I think very few people have ever declined" That's short-sighted - they're not declining because the want/need a job and are already vulnerable during the process; many would not, understandably, have the presence of mind to decline.
    - pdovy 13y ago
      You're really twisting my words quite a bit here. We give out a very greatly simplified version of a real (solved) problem so that we're screening for skills relevant to the position, not because we need people to work for free. I just don't see a couple hours spent on a interview programming assignment as being any different from the 5-6 hours you spend in the office being interviewed, which by the way, you don't get paid for either (excepting reimbursements, etc).
- prezjordan 13y ago
  Interview programming assignment = work? I don't agree with this.
scdoshi 13y ago
I think they wanted him to do a 3 hour code test before they even talked to him

by pdovy 13y ago

300bps 13y ago

I'm curious, is this a money issue, i.e., you refuse because it feels like working for free? Not OP, but it doesn't "feel" like working for free. It is working for free. Having someone perform work for you without paying them is illegal in the United States (see minimum wage laws). There's a simple solution; pay them $x per hour to do your 3 hours of work. Even if you pay them $100 per hour that's a cheap way of filtering out pre-screened candidates.

pdovy 13y ago
Hm, I guess I didn't think about it that way since we wouldn't actually ever give out "real" work, we give out the same problem (which is an extremely scaled down version of a real application) to most everybody who passes a phone screen. I think paying them is perfectly reasonable, but I'll also note anecdotally that having done this for many candidates for years, I think very few people have ever declined.
- ewest 13y ago
  >>...which is an extremely scaled down version of a real application You're putting the candidate in a very vulnerable and stressful position: You're potentially asking a candidate to solve a problem with your application (even if scaled down)-- The question/assignment could be a long-standing issue your staff have been unable to address on their own and you want to try to find out whether you can get a free solution from qualified people. The candidate(s) could get the correct answer, yet you could walk away from the process with a free solution. >> "I think very few people have ever declined" That's short-sighted - they're not declining because the want/need a job and are already vulnerable during the process; many would not, understandably, have the presence of mind to decline.
  - pdovy 13y ago
    You're really twisting my words quite a bit here. We give out a very greatly simplified version of a real (solved) problem so that we're screening for skills relevant to the position, not because we need people to work for free. I just don't see a couple hours spent on a interview programming assignment as being any different from the 5-6 hours you spend in the office being interviewed, which by the way, you don't get paid for either (excepting reimbursements, etc).
prezjordan 13y ago
Interview programming assignment = work? I don't agree with this.

scdoshi 13y ago

I think they wanted him to do a 3 hour code test before they even talked to him