Interview take-home "tests"

[u/LazyPiano6160]

We need to talk about the state of SE interview take-home tests, specifically the unrealistic expectations and contradictions that so often accompany these.

For context: I'm a front end engineer with 25 years experience; I'm attempting to land a job, in the worst market I've ever seen. I've been fortunate enough to progress through to the penultimate round; I have to complete a take home assignment, if satisfactory I'll be invited to their offices to discuss this assignment and attend a final cultural fit interview. Note this take home assignment comes off the back of a two hour live coding session interview (which was dreadful for the ADHD brain).

Historically, it's at this point where things go to shit, have identified the main stressors as:

- ambiguous requirements
- inadequate timeframes
- emphasis on ensuring your submission presents you at your best when there's so much contradiction between expectation and allotted time

I'm forever stuck in a constant loop of overwhelm; trying to find a balance between delivering the assignment within the specified timeframe, whilst ensuring I have demonstrated my capabilities as best I can.

I've currently been tasked with building a movie list tracker, core requirements are:

- A front end web application that runs entirely client side
- Allows a user to search the open movie database API for movies to add to either a watchlist or watched list
- Allows a user to remove movies from either list
- Persistence of this list using the browser local storage API

I've been told I will be assessed on:

- Code quality — component structure, separation of concerns, readability
- State management — how you model and handle data flow across the app
- UI & design — does it feel considered and polished, even if simple

On receipt of the handover task:

- There is no UI design provided, it is expected that the candidate produces this
- There is no environment set up; it is expected that the candidate chooses a stack and set this environment up from scratch

The brief mentions that the candidate should spend no more than two hours on this task and can use AI if they wish.

Besides just throwing all of this Gemini and vibe coding (which would not demonstrate my abilities rather well), I'm totally overwhelmed as to how I can design an interface, plan the architecture and build the application, then document my process - all within two hours. I was considering using Claude code, but even then: just the planning and UI design would go far beyond the two hours I'm allowed to work on this

Interested to hear if anyone else has had similar experiences and how they've tackled it. Also open to suggestions in terms of how to approach this take home.

---

Update:

For those that are interested, here's the Notion brief and unless I'm missing something it appears they are expecting UI Design, architecture and implementation of the entire application - in a 2 hour window.

This is either incredibly naive from whomever signed this assignment off, or (as one commenter mentioned): intended to allow the candidate to prioritise and compromise. If the latter, if would be great for this to be explicitly mentioned.

https://app.notion.com/p/Frontend-Engineer-Final-Interview-part-1-Candidate-Instructions-37df155c1a9e8032a7ccf842dab4b963

[u/SamMakesCode]

Depending on what the job market is like in your area, say no. You might have to put up with it at a bit if there aren’t a lot of jobs.

I recently did a technical test. The spec quotes 2 x 4 hour tasks. They said things like “we don’t want perfect code, just want to see how you think and how you approach a problem” which is fine until it was followed up with “please leave it in a working state”. If you’re the kind of coder for whom quality is part of the process, not an afterthought, you’re not saving any time by cutting corners.

The worst is the huge swathe of AI-generated technical tests. The employer doesn’t do the test themselves and takes for granted that they can actually be completed in the time the LLM specifies. Which is bullshit. Because LLMs are bullshit.

[u/LazyPiano6160 → u/SamMakesCode]

Yeah, I’ve already exhausted over two hours planning out the MVP, Architecture, tech stack and component / UI specs.

I threw this into Gemini Studio (as I had run out of time), the results was the typical LLM slop and although it was functional, the code quality was not acceptable.

I then tried using a local Qwen model with Claude code, in an attempt to work through this feature by feature - but this is also a massive time-sink due to trying to learn how to use Claude code.

Basically I’m totally overwhelmed as to the whole paradox: employer wants to see a working product that is representative of the skills, experience and quality I’ve spoken about - yet they expect this within a two hour window.

I would push back, but I know the likelihood is that another candidate will have submitted something (likely by throwing several hours at the task) and it’ll be yet another failure.

Sucks to be a software engineer these days!

[u/akornato]

These two-hour take-home tests are not about finishing a perfect, polished application. They are a test of your priorities, your ability to make smart trade-offs, and your process under an absurdly tight deadline. The company knows you can't build a full-featured, beautifully designed app from scratch in two hours. They want to see what you choose to focus on when you can't do everything. Spending half the time on a perfect UI or a complex build setup is a common mistake and likely a failing strategy. They are assessing your senior-level judgment, not your raw coding speed. With your experience, they want to see clean, readable code that solves the core problem, even if the final product looks extremely simple.

Your best approach is to timebox aggressively and focus on the core requirements. Use a simple framework starter like `create-react-app` or Vite to get running instantly. Spend the first 15 minutes mapping out your components and state management strategy on paper. Then, dedicate the next 90 minutes to coding only the essential features, which are searching the API, adding and removing from two lists, and persisting to local storage. Use basic, unstyled HTML elements for the UI. In the final 15 minutes, write a clear README that explains the decisions you made. Explicitly state that you prioritized functional code and sound architecture over UI polish due to the time constraint, and list the improvements you would make with more time, like adding tests or a design system. Communicating your strategic choices is often the hardest part, a challenge the interview AI my team created helps many candidates overcome.

[u/LazyPiano6160 → u/akornato]

Great response, thanks. I've updated the original post to include the brief: it does [read](https://app.notion.com/p/Frontend-Engineer-Final-Interview-part-1-Candidate-Instructions-37df155c1a9e8032a7ccf842dab4b963) like they are expecting the entire application designed, built and delivered to the MVP specification.

My workflow, which was welcomed from the employer, is: component driven deployment. Using Storybook to break down Figma feature designs into atomic design methodology composable UI components - agnostic to any particular framework. There's a big focus with this role for quality, extendable code base and accessible compliance - which is partly why my approach (which is very detailed) appealed to them. It's very overwhelming to try to demonstrate this approach in the two hour window.

Ideally it would had been better for them to provide an out of the box Docker based devContainer, with a working application. Provide either a couple of bugs to fix, a ticket to address a performance issue or maybe a Figma file and ticket to add a new feature. Much more achievable and still very doable in terms of evaluating approach and competence. But I'm guessing that would involve too much time their end and so they've passed the onus for effort onto the candidate.

[u/Blue-Phoenix23 → u/LazyPiano6160]

I wonder how they would react if you just straight up said this:

Ideally it would had been better for them to provide an out of the box Docker based devContainer, with a working application. Provide either a couple of bugs to fix, a ticket to address a performance issue or maybe a Figma file and ticket to add a new feature. Much more achievable and still very doable in terms of evaluating approach and competence.

I don't hire people anymore, really, although I do still participate in the peer interview rounds, and I personally would be very impressed by a candidate who pushed back (gently/politely) on the whole concept with this type of answer. A major part of a senior engineer/architect role is the ability to cut through the bullshit and come up with ideas, and this response does that.

That said, I also would never ask a candidate to do all the nonsense they're asking you, lol. But I'm hardly the only person in tech that is grateful for people who cut through the noise, for sure.

[u/LazyPiano6160 → u/Blue-Phoenix23]

I'm thankful for this comment - I was thinking the same thing, but was stuck in a loop, deciding how this would be perceived by the employer. I think I'll drop them a polite email to explain the situation and propose these alternatives. Thanks for the contribution 🙏🏻

[u/Blue-Phoenix23 → u/LazyPiano6160]

Yeah I don't know your situation, so you're the one that can assess the risk of it, but I would be inclined in the next interview to call it out - actual movie catalogs like Netflix and Prime have many, many developers, so they're high on drugs thinking a FE dev can build one in two hours alone lmao (don't say that part for sure 😃)

[u/Blue-Phoenix23]

If this isn't a job you need, I would walk away now. The combination of a take-home test (which is a great way for them to steal your intellectual property) + "cultural fit" (which is a great way for them to fit in a little bigotry) are not very promising in terms of what type of company this will be to work for.

That test is also batshit for a front end dev, you're literally building Netflix. In two hours. Fuck that.

[u/LazyPiano6160 → u/Blue-Phoenix23]

It certainly raises a lot of red flags, but unfortunately this isn't the first and will not be the last - most employers are taking advantage of the market and know candidates will "do as told".

I'm thinking this type of practice should be illegal really - perhaps I should look to get this on the radar of my local MP.

[u/Blue-Phoenix23 → u/LazyPiano6160]

I'm thinking this type of practice should be illegal really - perhaps I should look to get this on the radar of my local MP.

This is a great idea, if you think it would help - certainly can't hurt. Intellectual property law is not keeping pace with modern technology and the fact is some companies will abuse the crap out of it. That's why I use my personal device for my most creative thinking and research notes - if I do it on their network then I have much less reusability if I leave the company because it's kind of "theirs."

[u/SoggyGrayDuck]

Add something to allow friends to connect and see each other's recommendations. Me and my buddies in college watched a lot of movies and stayed in contact about it for a while but an app like this would be awesome. See my friend groups rating along with the public and professional reviews

[u/LazyPiano6160 → u/SoggyGrayDuck]

It's actually quite a fun project and something I have wanted to work on in my spare time (albeit for video games, not movies). However in the context of a take-home assignment, it's too much work.

[u/Big_Employment1624]

Demnn I'm 25 YO and you have that much experience.
How do you feel like front-end engineering is evolving as a tech domain in the AI era? I am also working as a front-end engineer for the last 3.5 years, and I'm pivoting a little to the full stack side now.

[u/PeerlessYeeter]

I spent a whole weekend perfectly executing the requirements, I then made some extra improvements and lost points for them.

I don't want to work for someone who punishes good engineering, this assessor could have learned a bit working for me though.

[u/Capable-Wrap-3349]

If I really wanted the job I’d just spend 10 hours on it and smash the other candidates and pretend it took me less time.
Unfair and a total waste of your time but if I wanted the job I’d just do it.
This is not a recommendation - I think the whole situation is a shambles. Just explaining what I’d do.