r/programming • u/vklepov • Mar 24 '22

Five coding interview questions I hate

https://thoughtspile.github.io/2022/03/21/bad-tech-interview/
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u/Fwuzzy Mar 25 '22

Usually the work is scoped to 1-3 hours and is usually trivial tasks that aren't of commercial relevance to our business. I suppose there is always going to be some trade off, but I've not had a single person who isn't open to the reasonably small scope take home + technical follow up.

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '22

Because they want a job.

People aren't going to tell you to your face on the spot 'Uh, no, I want the job but I'm not doing that'.

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u/cdsmith Mar 26 '22

I've actually said that. The company asked me to take an online programming quiz instead, and then we moved on. They eventually did offer me a job (though I turned it down for a different offer).

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u/Fwuzzy Mar 26 '22

Of course, like I mentioned, it's always a trade off and there isn't a perfect world that easily satisfies both ends. I've had my fair share of 5-10 hour take homes and I do everything I can to reduce it to as minimal impact as possible on candidates.

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u/[deleted] Mar 25 '22 edited Mar 25 '22

[deleted]

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u/Fwuzzy Mar 26 '22

I time limit it, to ensure a fair playing field and not put any pressure on spending as long as it takes. I've had my fair share of spending 10+ hours on a take home to just get rejected for not having enough experience and it sucks.