i don't think every candidate should be interviewed the same way, and i don't think these processes should be set in stone. if you look great on paper (e.g. ha

i don't think every candidate should be interviewed the same way, and i don't think these processes should be set in stone. if you look great on paper (e.g. have some nice name brands on your resume, are a minor celebrity in some relevant community, or come in through a strong internal referral), there's no need for stuff like this. however, if you don't fall into one of these categories, until there's a reliable way to tell if you're good from your resume, having an OPTIONAL coding challenge is a great way to get your foot in the door. coding challenges shouldn't be about making people jump through arbitrary procedural hoops. they should be about making the (very broken) eng hiring process more meritocratic for people who'd never get their foot in the door otherwise.