4 ms·

My biggest problem with coding interviews is not the actual communication tool (Skype/etc) but rather that the developer is pulled completely out of their envir

My biggest problem with coding interviews is not the actual communication tool (Skype/etc) but rather that the developer is pulled completely out of their environment. Take away my vim/snippets/custom key bindings/ide plugins/etc and then ask me to code? Feels like you're cutting off one of my arms right before you measure my performance.

asadlionpk 13y ago
I am a developer myself. I agree that most of the interviews are biased (forcing us to use whiteboard, paper). We had a little feature idea to include a screensharing mechanism so developers can use their ide. But sadly, only chrome supports that feature as of yet. We would probably add it later.
- Yoric 13y ago
  Firefox developer here: if you need a feature, feel free to get in touch. I assume that you mean WebRTC, and we have had it for a long time. Some bits are deactivated by default, but you can activate it with preferences if you need. I assume that any interviewee can be expected to reach into their prefs.
  - TheMakeA 13y ago
    WebRTC works as a transport mechanism, but does Firefox actually allow for screen capture?
  - asadlionpk 13y ago
    I agree that the candidate should be able to go to prefs and enable features. But I guess that is not an ideal solution. We can temporarily opt for this option though.
why-el 13y ago
If you are asked a question that you think you can't reasonably answer without your environment, then either you are too dependent on it or the question was unreasonable. In both scenarios just tell the interviewer that and I am sure there will be other ways.
- Bluestrike2 13y ago
  It's more an issue of comfort through familiarity for me, and I'd imagine, for most programmers in general. Sit me down in front of Visual Studio and I can write code just fine. It's just I do so while consciously thinking about the editor and how I'm using it more than I would in my preferred vim environment, where things are largely subconscious through familiarity.

asadlionpk 13y ago

I am a developer myself. I agree that most of the interviews are biased (forcing us to use whiteboard, paper). We had a little feature idea to include a screensharing mechanism so developers can use their ide. But sadly, only chrome supports that feature as of yet. We would probably add it later.

Yoric 13y ago
Firefox developer here: if you need a feature, feel free to get in touch. I assume that you mean WebRTC, and we have had it for a long time. Some bits are deactivated by default, but you can activate it with preferences if you need. I assume that any interviewee can be expected to reach into their prefs.
- TheMakeA 13y ago
  WebRTC works as a transport mechanism, but does Firefox actually allow for screen capture?
- asadlionpk 13y ago
  I agree that the candidate should be able to go to prefs and enable features. But I guess that is not an ideal solution. We can temporarily opt for this option though.

why-el 13y ago

If you are asked a question that you think you can't reasonably answer without your environment, then either you are too dependent on it or the question was unreasonable. In both scenarios just tell the interviewer that and I am sure there will be other ways.

Bluestrike2 13y ago
It's more an issue of comfort through familiarity for me, and I'd imagine, for most programmers in general. Sit me down in front of Visual Studio and I can write code just fine. It's just I do so while consciously thinking about the editor and how I'm using it more than I would in my preferred vim environment, where things are largely subconscious through familiarity.