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Honest question: is tricking coders into doing work for free a thing that actually happens? I'm not saying it doesn't, I've just never heard of it. From their
by overgard 11y ago
Honest question: is tricking coders into doing work for free a thing that actually happens? I'm not saying it doesn't, I've just never heard of it.
From their end, if that was a thing they regularly did, it would be such a hassle. After all, you'd have to find a new person to do that work every time, find a way to split up the work into very small chunks, and who knows if the result from a person off the street would be usable?
My guess would be that he was trying to evaluate how you respond to bug fixes and criticism. (Still sounds like a weird interview strategy though)
- alphanumeric0 11y agoThis is a valid point. I agree it doesn't seem like an efficient way of conducting a business in the long-term, but for a one-off problem that they happen to be stuck on, it makes more sense. The feeling I got was that they weren't developers by trade (the code quality I mentioned was a red flag), very small, early-stage startup with no money and they needed expert help, fast.
- jcwilde 11y agoMost companies that do this (unintentionally, I believe) are not benefiting from the actual work product, but from the consulting regarding their business problems. How much do you think a consultant would charge to come in for a few hours and discuss their needs, not to mention put some working code together for their problem?
- k__ 11y agoMost of the time I faced only absurd coding challenges that yielded stuff the companies couldn't use for anything. I still paid it with my time.