3 ms·

I think a service product is a much better option. What is recruiting after all? It's a) contacts and b) a filter. Programmers deal with recruiters because the

by vaksel 17y ago

I think a service product is a much better option. What is recruiting after all? It's a) contacts and b) a filter. Programmers deal with recruiters because they have the "exclusives" and companies deal with recruiters because they can filter out the first interview stage. So create a service, that will let companies find out the quality of the programmer, without shelling out $20,000. I imagine it as a "testing company" you create a few thousand tests, programmers take them, get their rank, then they add it to their resumes. Employers see the ranking link, go to your site, find out about your testing methods, see aha, 90% percentile on this tough test, good guy to interview. Eventually offer programmers the ability to list their rates + languages, and let employers contact them for a small fee. i.e. Search for all programmers under $50/hr in California with Java rank of 90th percentile. Make one of the questionnaires the usual questions asked in the first interview, you know the script all recruiters follow to weed out people.

rbranson 17y ago
Too easy to cheat the test. Next.
- vaksel 17y ago
  fine, make it a real test, where you have to take a test in front of a representative
stonemetal 17y ago
Instead of tests or more likely as an augment to tests. I could see something more project Euler like only more language and skill level focused. You would have to invest in anti-plagiarism tools as well.
lmedinburgh 17y ago
www.brainbench.com
- nkohari 17y ago
  You're kidding, right? We used to laugh when people put BrainBench test results on their resumes.
F_J_H 17y ago
Or, you could ask for his/her university transcripts and get a fairly good summary of a whole lot of tests. :-) Also, this may not be a popular comment on this board (which I have been lurking for quite a while), but there is more to a good hire than someone who can get a high mark on a tough programming test. Granted, it is a good place to start, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to work with the person and they have to be able to work with the rest of the team. I have hired many programmers over the life of our startup, and about 5 months ago I fired the guy who would have easily got the highest mark on such a test. I should have done it years ago

by vaksel 17y ago

rbranson 17y ago

Too easy to cheat the test. Next.

vaksel 17y ago
fine, make it a real test, where you have to take a test in front of a representative

stonemetal 17y ago

Instead of tests or more likely as an augment to tests. I could see something more project Euler like only more language and skill level focused. You would have to invest in anti-plagiarism tools as well.

lmedinburgh 17y ago

www.brainbench.com

nkohari 17y ago
You're kidding, right? We used to laugh when people put BrainBench test results on their resumes.

F_J_H 17y ago

Or, you could ask for his/her university transcripts and get a fairly good summary of a whole lot of tests. :-) Also, this may not be a popular comment on this board (which I have been lurking for quite a while), but there is more to a good hire than someone who can get a high mark on a tough programming test. Granted, it is a good place to start, but at the end of the day, you have to be able to work with the person and they have to be able to work with the rest of the team. I have hired many programmers over the life of our startup, and about 5 months ago I fired the guy who would have easily got the highest mark on such a test. I should have done it years ago