This is a feature not a bug-- let me explain: Recruiting is not necessarily easy. But you can judge a company by how they recruit people. Their hiring process

This is a feature not a bug-- let me explain: Recruiting is not necessarily easy. But you can judge a company by how they recruit people. Their hiring process-- given that talent is so critical-- tells you a great deal about the company. If they do a terrible job, if they are arbitrary or capricious, or if they have discrimination as a policy (e.g.: I was in the room at Startup School when Zuckerberg said "don't hire anyone over 30, they just don't get it" (paraphrased).... then you know it's not a good place to waste your time interviewing. I'd argue that the company with the puzzle saved you a lot of hassle-- you know they are arbitrary and did not put the effort into producing a competent hiring process, and this likely tells you that they won't respect you once you're on board as an employee either. There are a great many of these "smells". As I've gotten more experienced, and more in a position to be picky, here's my current gauntlet: -- If they locate themselves in a place that guarantees a 2 hour commute for most employees, but don't allow working from home 3 days a week, or remote employees, that's a bad sign. Why pay for downtown office space-- as a startup, no less! -- when there's a lot of cheap offices out in the periphery where most people live? (That's the case in this town, maybe not in others.) -- Asking for references. First off this is a legal minefield. A reference that isn't glowing is going to open themselves up to liability. Any well run business is only going to say you worked there for some period of time. And who is going to give people they think will give a bad reference? This one shows naivety. -- Having a preference for ivy league. Google impeaches itself with this one in my mind.