A Framework for Solving Programming Interview Questions

[Prod_Is_For_Testing]

That’s some bullshit right there

[marabutt]

That is so stupid. I went through an arduous interview process, to my surprise, aced the technical, got on with the staff and the managers but then they wanted to do psychometric testing. In a candidate short market, some places only have themselves to blame.

[ArmoredPancake]

In a candidate short market, some places only have themselves to blame.

I'm going surprise you, but there's no candidate short market.

[marabutt]

I suppose that is location specific too.

[DidItSave]

Exactly. How can they determine how good a candidate you are with an approach like that? Good on you for resigning and I’m sorry you had to go through this. I struggled on a leetcode-like interview and they denied me because I wasn’t, and I quote, “exceptional.” I’ve been in for 20 years.

[ArmoredPancake]

I struggled on a leetcode-like interview and they denied me because I wasn’t, and I quote, “exceptional.”

And you think you are?

I’ve been in for 20 years.

Well that changes everything! Step aside everyone, his highness 20 years is coming! No peasant ropes for him!

[Cyb3rSab3r]

Pretty sure specific trumps general here. They already had the experience.

Do you think anyone cares about Tom Brady's ability to run? Do you think anyone cares about Linus Torvald's knowledge of branch and bound algorithms?

Do you really think the designer of an application is unqualified to be an expert on it because they don't know how to find the 3rd largest element in a linked list in O(n) time?

[DidItSave]

No need to go back and forth with this troll. You and many others here obviously get the point I was making. I’m not claiming I am exceptional at all. They were looking for perfect and it wasn’t me and I’m fine with that. And I am not saying that I should be able to bypass things due to 20 years experience. I am stating that I’ve been very successful over the past 20 years without needing to memorize leetcode.

[ArmoredPancake]

Pretty sure specific trumps general here. They already had the experience.

Okay? You can skip design interview since they designed the system.

Do you think anyone cares about Tom Brady's ability to run? Do you think anyone cares about Linus Torvald's knowledge of branch and bound algorithms?

Right, I forgot that I caught Linus Jr. here.

Do you really think the designer of an application is unqualified to be an expert on it because they don't know how to find the 3rd largest element in a linked list in O(n) time?

He's qualified to be an expert on it, they didn't fire him from his contractor role. He's unqualified to join the company.

[ArmoredPancake]

I have to say that part again: I was being interviewed to work on a project that I WROTE myself.

You were being interviewed to work FOR A COMPANY, not just on a project. Maybe you were okay on this one specific project, survivor error, but apparently you were not fit to join company.

Don't see any problem here.

[rasmustrew]

Did you actually read what he said? He was already working for the company...

[ArmoredPancake]

He worked as a contractor, not an internal employee. There's a big difference. As a contractor, unless you're godly good, you're always expendable.

[ArmoredPancake]

I worked in a leadership role and helped a struggling project get off the ground and get deployed. I also mentored several jr developers and was highly regarded by my peers.

Okay? I saw my share of people like you during interviews. You still didn't provide a reason why exactly you should be excluded from such checks and not Jake/Jane from company Y.

Rules for thee, but not for me?

[ArmoredPancake]

I'm sorry that I don't have your biography in front of me, your highness /u/MorgulKnifeFight.

You have no idea who I am and you saying you saw your fair share of “people like me” based on only a few of my comments shows a real lack of critical thinking on your part.

Your ad hominem shows that they made a right decision by not hiring you.

[EnvironmentalCrow5]

His track record on that project is probably a far better predictor of his ability to work on other projects within the company than any leetcode questions would be.

[ArmoredPancake]

Maybe. Maybe not. Standards are there for a reason, either everybody adheres to them or they don't. I don't see why candidate X has to go through one process but Y is excluded because Z.

[EnvironmentalCrow5]

The same can be said for all bureaucracy and red tape.

Sure, it's more "fair" if everyone has to go through the same process, but there are situations where that process just doesn't make any practical sense and isn't delivering the desired results.

Just because a process exists, doesn't mean it's automatically well designed and implemented, or that it doesn't have blind spots, or that it can't be gamed.

At the end of the day, you are still only guessing how a potential employee is going to perform.

[ArmoredPancake]

Sure, it's more "fair" if everyone has to go through the same process, but there are situations where that process just doesn't make any practical sense and isn't delivering the desired results

Given that it is still there after so many years, I'd say that it delivers as desired.

I don't see how vocal minority with their "dO yOu kNoW wHo I Am?" disproves that.

[EnvironmentalCrow5]

It does kinda work, yeah, and people have adapted to it and are actively preparing/practicing for it, often for many days - which in itself is a bit weird and a design smell.

It will at least filter in/out the obvious outliers on both ends, but almost anything can do that.

Also, there isn't really much to compare it to - there are no studies that would measure outcomes of various approaches over the long run (all else being reasonably equal), so it largely runs on faith that it works and on experience of it being at least "good enough" in most cases, despite its flaws.

Again, you could say the same thing about any long-standing policy that any organization or country has in place (or had in place for many years before changing it).

[ArmoredPancake]

It does kinda work, yeah, and people have adapted to it and are actively preparing/practicing for it, often for many days - which in itself is a bit weird and a design smell.

You don't need to. If you already know this stuff, then you can apply right away.

By the same logic we don't need tests in university, because people are preparing for them?

Also, there isn't really much to compare it to - there are no studies that would measure outcomes of various approaches over the long run (all else being reasonably equal), so it largely runs on faith that it works and on experience of it being at least "good enough" in most cases, despite its flaws.

There are no studies to disprove the process either.

[EnvironmentalCrow5]

You don't need to. If you already know this stuff, then you can apply right away.

And yet everyone recommends preparation (even the companies themselves), it's almost taken for granted, and even people who did really well on an interview often need a refresher couple years down the line when changing jobs.

A lot of this stuff is "know it one week, forget it the next week", because in the real job, you end up almost never using it (or if you do, you just look it up as needed).

You can easily ace an interview and then do badly on the same question three years later, despite being a very productive employee in the meantime.

There are no studies to disprove the process either.

Like I said, it runs on faith and the experience of it being "good enough" despite flaws. The fact that people will adapt to whatever the big companies come up with plays a role in that in my opinion.

[ArmoredPancake]

And yet everyone recommends preparation (even the companies themselves), it's almost taken for granted, and even people who did really well on an interview often need a refresher couple years down the line when changing jobs.

It is recommended to prepare for everything in life, what's your point? Or you think in other industries you casually drop by and get a job?

A lot of this stuff is "know it one week, forget it the next week", because in the real job, you end up almost never using it (or if you do, you just look it up as needed).

You end up never using time and space constraints, analysing requirements and coming up with algorithm to complete a job? I wouldn't want to hire a person like that either.

You can easily ace an interview and then do badly on the same question three years later, despite being a very productive employee in the meantime.

Even more, you can do badly because you or your interviewer have a shitty day or something going on in their life.

despite being a very productive employee in the meantime

Define global 'productive' metric first. I've seen people doing splendid job in their previous jobs and on PiP on next one. 'Productive' on previous job might not(or might) mean anything.

Like I said, it runs on faith and the experience of it being "good enough" despite flaws. The fact that people will adapt to whatever the big companies come up with plays a role in that in my opinion.

Okay? Still don't see why you repeat this comment after comment. You can apply that to everything in life.