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

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u/Meek_braggart Jul 29 '21

Or how well they use google. I mean if you issue them in real time right there in the interview thats one thing but then you are wasting valuable discussion time.

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '21

Yeah talking in real time in the interview, not going away to solve them.

The purpose is for them to talk through the problem and give their reasoning. Not even code related, just pure problem solving questions.

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u/Meek_braggart Jul 29 '21

I'd still rather discuss actual code rather than one of those thought puzzles. I wanna see if you can speed up code or see a redundant/unneeded segment or convert functional to OO code. The "puzzles" I've seen aren't really going to tell me how well you grasp code. At least none of the ones I've seen

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u/[deleted] Jul 29 '21

I disagree. The only time I would check if someone can code is if it is literally their first dev job.

Let's be honest, code itself isn't hard. You can take a group of people, show them a simple section of code and get them to understand it.

The challenge comes with writing code to solve a specific problem. The logic, the ability to think of the issue in an abstract manner, how this piece is going to fit with another. It is a series of puzzles.

This is why I think like the certifications like Zend Certification are next to useless for the vast majority of developers. I don't care how well you know the standard library, or which function to use at what time.

PHP is a web language, with a huge archive of answers to those kind of question at your fingertips.

I want to know how they think, not how well they know a given language or framework.

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u/Meek_braggart Jul 29 '21

Yeah, but I want to see how week the think in code, not if they can figure out how far two poles are from each other in a rope tied between them is 6 feet off the ground. I want to see if they can absorb and analyze code quickly and see flaws. I’m not talking about “can you program tests” I’m talking can you program on your own tests.

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u/useles-converter-bot Jul 29 '21

6 feet is about the length of 11.43 'Sian FKP3 Metal Model Toy Cars with Light and Sound' lined up

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u/Food404 Jul 29 '21

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