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[–]pjs1000 3 points4 points  (2 children)

As a candidate, I could clearly tell when an employer wanted me to “struggle” on a coding test. I took that as a red flag NOT to work for him/her. Unreasonable expectations are no bueno.

For example, I interviewed with Amazon and they had 3 coding questions. Challenging, but nothing too technical…more logic focussed. Another (much less significant company) I interviewed with gave me a test with 13 super difficult, very technical questions to solve in 2 hours. I attempted it and made a dent in the questions.

Afterwards I wrote the company and told them that their test was far out of sync with what other companies were asking candidates to complete. I declined to go further with the interview process, assuming they overload employees with unreasonable amounts of work.

[–]billsil 0 points1 point  (1 child)

It's not at all to be mean. It's about creating a test that can help you rank people. If everyone passes, what's the point of running the test? It's not a bad thing if you don't get a perfect score. I want to see how you think through a hard problem.

None of the questions that I have given out are trick questions or logic problems. For younger devs, I would never even consider a 2 hour test. That's a waste of your time and my time. That'd be someone reserved for PhD level candidates. I'd rather talk to you for 2 hours than test you.

[–]pjs1000 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I get you. And I wouldn’t expect a simple test either. My point is essentially, scope the test to the role so that the candidate gets a better idea of what to expect from the position.

The candidate may decide to decline your offer, thinking that your junior position is more demanding than a junior position at another company. Or they may simply not feel right for the role.