4 ms·

I landed 2 solutions (sales) engineering jobs in NYC with the help of 2 different 3rd party recruiters and they were excellent. No hoops, no extra BS. They real

I landed 2 solutions (sales) engineering jobs in NYC with the help of 2 different 3rd party recruiters and they were excellent. No hoops, no extra BS. They really helped me zero in on the positions that fit with my goals and experience, so I wasn't wasting time. Coding positions might be a whole different ballgame, though. I probably wouldn't have much patience for coding tests with a recruiter which undoubtedly makes the process harder for all 3 parties.

joshstrange 12y ago
I'm sure recruiter usefulness does vary on a per-profession basis. As for coding tests, I am fine with problems that prove that you can work with a language and/or prove basic programming/problem solving skills. In fact I love them, I spend a good bit of time on Project Euler and the like (Code kata and stuff like that). My issue is with tests that really are seeing if you can execute code in your head: Given the following code snippet what is it's output: //IMAGE OF CODE A) 1 B) 2 C) false D) null These are stupid questions IMHO, in fact the last test I had to take like this I could have typed up each code example and run the code in the time I was given on each question. Test me on my problem solving but don't ask me to boot up an interpreter in my head that skill is NEVER needed in your day to day life as a coder. (I also take issue with tests that ask about boilerplate or stuff handled by the IDE/environment). We live in a world where a massive amount of information (I'd argue even more so when you look at just programming) is just a google away. Don't ask me to memorize docs that I can lookup in seconds, it's just not a skill that's really needed. I prefer "learn as you go" over "memorize this book". Now when it comes to programming concepts I might budge a little but not much.

4 ms·

I landed 2 solutions (sales) engineering jobs in NYC with the help of 2 different 3rd party recruiters and they were excellent. No hoops, no extra BS. They real

by fivedogit 12y ago

joshstrange 12y ago
I'm sure recruiter usefulness does vary on a per-profession basis. As for coding tests, I am fine with problems that prove that you can work with a language and/or prove basic programming/problem solving skills. In fact I love them, I spend a good bit of time on Project Euler and the like (Code kata and stuff like that). My issue is with tests that really are seeing if you can execute code in your head: Given the following code snippet what is it's output: //IMAGE OF CODE A) 1 B) 2 C) false D) null These are stupid questions IMHO, in fact the last test I had to take like this I could have typed up each code example and run the code in the time I was given on each question. Test me on my problem solving but don't ask me to boot up an interpreter in my head that skill is NEVER needed in your day to day life as a coder. (I also take issue with tests that ask about boilerplate or stuff handled by the IDE/environment). We live in a world where a massive amount of information (I'd argue even more so when you look at just programming) is just a google away. Don't ask me to memorize docs that I can lookup in seconds, it's just not a skill that's really needed. I prefer "learn as you go" over "memorize this book". Now when it comes to programming concepts I might budge a little but not much.