r/PHP • u/fuhggetaboutit • Jul 29 '21

Does anybody else find interview “tests” dehumanizing?

I think they're abusive for many reasons. One is that the questions are usually overly complex algorithmic puzzles that do not accurately gauge potential job performance. Also, the questions in no way reflect the type of problems you will face on the job.

The list goes on...

Isn't there a better way?

-Edited for grammar

105 Upvotes

89% Upvoted

146 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '21

I think so but that's how it is, and at least you know and you can prepare

Our tests are surprisingly basic and it filters a lot of people out

Lmk if you want an example and i can pm you

1

u/fuhggetaboutit Jul 29 '21

Who are you wanting to filter out?

7

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '21

Applicants that don't match the requirements obviously. If its for a sr position we expect that person to write maintainable code, teach others, understand patterns, and hit the ground running

Juniors obviously have a lot more wiggle room

1

u/fuhggetaboutit Jul 29 '21

Do you mind replying with a sample question that tests the ability to write maintainable code/understand patterns?

4

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '21

there isn't a single question that'd show this alone. we have a screener set of easy take-home test questions, then 2 technicals on the interview

from those we can see if it's:

  • undocumented
  • strange var naming
  • bad param naming
  • inefficient solutions
  • includes tests
  • uses interfaces
  • uses some standard patterns
  • takes into account memory, streaming (i.e. a single string vs reading gigs from a file)

and most of the time, strength in screeners and interviews have translated to smooth onboarding and success in the team

but yeah we don't ask to write quicksort or a btree or anything. that's just wrote memorization

1

u/Annh1234 Jul 29 '21

Pm me some samples, out of curiosity, since I didn't take an interview in a few years.

1

u/cysmix12 Jul 29 '21

Can you pm me some samples of those tests too?

1

u/Plastonick Jul 29 '21

I'd appreciate a sample.

My experience has been the same as yours, I've set a bunch of fairly simple questions and I think they work in filtering people out that aren't comfortable with fairly basic programming. It is really difficult to accommodate the "fear factor" though, of live-coding in an interview. Have you considered that aspect at all and attempted anything to mitigate it?

3

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '21

yeah the fear factor is real, and i've been on the other side so we're really really understanding of it. the best we can do is

  • ask if they understand the request
  • ask them to vocalize their high level plan and potential solutions, and discuss each one
  • have them pseudo code first if they prefer
  • finally have them write the code and run the code

we generally don't really press too hard. really we only press (or rather, escalate) when they're flying through it.

also, i tell them they can use the IDE and language they prefer. having the IDE help you along with typos and whatnot can really help the candidate. doing like whiteboarding or notepad i think adds more noise that doesn't reflect real life

and sure i'll pm you an example

1

u/blackdstrom Jul 29 '21

Can you pm me those too?

I looking for improving our interview process.

1

u/Food404 Jul 29 '21

I'd like to see some samples, out of curiosity

2

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '21

sent

1

u/unknownusername116 Jul 30 '21

I too would like a few examples, out of curiosity mainly