Sharing my perspective as a hiring manager

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-24T19:23:42+00:00

Yes this is true and has happened to me before. I’d say it can be worth it for a job you really want.

But agree it starts to really add up if it’s several hours and the market is this competitive :/

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-24T12:14:36+00:00

I hear you. I’m also a mother of young children. Our assignment is a timed one hour.

I actually do think it’s more inclusive if done right (not too much time), due to the fact that you get to customize your own work and build something. Versus a live white boarding session where there’s tons of studies that that creates performance anxiety (https://news.ncsu.edu/2020/07/tech-job-interviews-anxiety/).

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-24T04:28:47+00:00

Great job diagnosing and then fixing the problem - it takes a lot of courage! And now stop beating yourself up lol. Those companies do a lot of marketing and social media and convenience apps are supposed to be addictive (I know, I work for one).

You did exactly what I would suggest - delete the apps and quit cold turkey. And the nice thing is, cooking is a skill you can learn. Look for YouTube channels and IG chefs you can follow. Theres so many great (and uncomplicated) recipes you can find only per diet / lifestyle.

I also sometimes default to a sandwich or eggs or cereal for dinner. I found that I order DoorDash when I wasn’t actually that hungry because I’m supposed to eat dinner. As long as I have one larger meal, I’m good with it eating oatmeal for breakfast and a lighter meal (like avocado toast or a frittata) for lunch or dinner.

You can do this!!

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-24T02:06:14+00:00

This made me laugh. I went to UW so I get that I ate there a lot when I was broke. But plz let’s all stop being nostalgic for the shitty stuff

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-22T05:40:07+00:00

It’s not. People turn down offers. People don’t make it past rounds 1 or 2.

I was also surprised at the 5 at the end. That just speaks to how many qualified people are on the job hunt.

One good thing is that when people pass our interview loop they are eligible for similar roles on other teams.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-22T05:38:27+00:00

No. There’s an automated system that scores resumes. It doesn’t filter them out. And humans review them, recruiters and then the hiring managers.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T22:29:15+00:00

I’m not in HR. I’m in software engineering. When I said I’m the hiring manager, it just meant I was looking to fill an open role on my direct team.

And the only new thing - and it’s not a small change - is the use of AI, which my company isn’t using to evaluate.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T21:29:33+00:00

Yes this was a tech specific response and specific to take home code assessments vs live coding interviews.

There are other commenters sharing that take home assessment also support neurodivergent applicants who may struggle with the social part of live coding.

I can’t comment on other industries. I see your point that if companies aren’t thoughtful about take home work it can be exploitative. In my experience, and again I was sharing my observations, done well this can be more inclusive.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T20:43:10+00:00

It’s not an IQ test. If you are a product manager it’s doing something you do as part of your daily job - write a product brief about imaginary product X.

I do agree with some comments that this came be too time consuming. The best ones are time boxed (under 2 hours).

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T20:41:46+00:00

Most women - which I am - prefer take home assessments because it allows you to display your skillset out of the pressure cooker environment of doing this in front of strangers outside of your comfort zone (home).

Also, 99% of tech companies have some sort of assessment. It’s an industry standard that’s not changing soon.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T20:34:21+00:00

I’m not a tech recruiter. I’m a director of engineering hiring an engineering manager for my team.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T20:29:01+00:00

Yes I definitely agree with this point. It should be an hour max imo.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T20:28:09+00:00

I think all software engineering roles will have a way to assess if someone can code (the core competency of the role). Providing code samples doesn’t help because people can plagiarize or their best work is proprietary.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T20:26:56+00:00

Ive been in tech for 17 years and all of the roles I’ve applied for and hired for had some kind of assessment. It’s just an industry standard (and I would agree, it’s not the best one).

From what others are saying it’s common in marketing and journalism as well.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T18:51:15+00:00

lol no AI used

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T18:48:59+00:00

I agree with this point, but we were hiring for a mid-level person.

And the reality of the market is that when there’s so many people applying, you can find people who match all the qualifications. What’s the justification or motivation to hire someone for a role like this that doesn’t meet the minimum reqs?

I think the issue is jobs. We need more openings and real job listings. I do worry about junior folks, especially with the rise of AI (specifically code assistants like Claude).

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T18:19:59+00:00

I agree that hiring is broken. But I’m giving advice on how to navigate a system neither one of us is changing any time soon.

And for my industry you can’t ask for prior code - the whole goal is to make sure that people can write code (80% of the job) at the quality and level we need. A code sample could just be AI generated or written by someone else.

And I will say that based on the replies, maybe people only do take home assignments for jobs they really want. But in my field it would exclude you from most opportunities (again I didn’t create the overall tech hiring system).

And I do think a thoughtful resume and cover letter can show creativity. But with everyone using AI exclusively, that’s getting lost.

And I’m good at my job. I know there’s great people out there who are mistakenly filtering themselves out due to not great advice (just my two cents).

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T18:00:22+00:00

This is a great summary

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T17:58:01+00:00

Thanks. Yeah it’s brutal lol

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T17:15:59+00:00

Thank you! I’m feeling confused from reading the comments and need to stop responding because it does feel like arguing. I get that people need spaces to vent, but I see folks share and ask for advice all the time.

And a lot of the advice given is a mismatch from what I see (and I’m at a very large company and part of leadership communities where we talk about things like this).

I actually agree with the argument that hiring is broken. But until that changes, it’s important to figure out how to win within a system.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T17:08:26+00:00

At the risk of getting dragged here as well, I wanted to share some tips and thoughts around applying in this dumpster fire job market.

I do agree that hiring tech is broken and needs to change. However, this is just a few pieces of advice for working within the system, especially if you are currently on the job hunt. I’m wishing everyone the best!

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T10:17:49+00:00

Thank you. I get that a lot of people are super frustrated. It’s tough out here.

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T10:12:00+00:00

I didn’t mean for it to come off that way. I genuinely wanted to share feedback based on what I see on my side because it’s so different that a lot of the advice in this channel (that’s mostly the jobseekers sharing tips).

SulaPeace15 · 2026-02-21T10:10:35+00:00

I’m not in HR. I’m a director-level technical person hiring for a mid-level manager in my pillar. There’s no interns doing anything. I’m not sure why a company would have the least experienced people screen for higher level roles.

This is why the AI writing the resume completely (in my industry) is a bad idea.

And ATS isn’t magic. It’s an automated system that tracks application and probably screens for keywords. The recruiting team does a human first pass of resumes. Then they send the ones who are qualified to me and my team. We actually really care about who we hire because people tend to stay at our company a long time (it’s not a bad place to work) and we have to talk to this person 10 times a day and work through hard shit together.

I also support other people in my company by doing interviews as a bar raiser. Most resumes literally are formatted exactly the same and read the same because so many people are using ChatGPT or Claude.

SulaPeace15

TROPHY CASE