On Thu, Mar 02, 2017 at 02:22:34PM +1000, James A. Donald wrote: > On 3/2/2017 1:00 PM, Razer wrote: > >>A number of programmers have taken it Twitter to bring it to > >>everyone's, but particularly recruiter's, attention about the grueling > >>interview process in their field that relies heavily on technical > >>questions. > >> > >>David Heinemeier Hansson, a well-known programmer and the creator of > >>the popular Ruby on Rails coding framework, started it when he > >>tweeted, "Hello, my name is David. I would fail to write bubble sort > >>on a whiteboard. I look code up on the internet all the time. I don't > >>do riddles." Another coder added, "Hello, my name is Tim. I'm a lead > >>at Google with over 30 years coding experience and I need to look up > >>how to get length of a python string." Another coder chimed in, "Hello > >>my name is Mike, I'm a GDE and lead at NY Times, I don't know what np > >>complete means. Should I?" > >> > >>A feature story on The Outline adds: > >> > >>>This interview style, widely used by major tech companies including > >>>Google and Amazon, typically pits candidates against a whiteboard > >>>without access to reference material -- a scenario working > >>>programmers say is demoralizing and an unrealistic test of actual > >>>ability. People spend weeks preparing for this process, afraid that > >>>the interviewer will quiz them on the one obscure algorithm they > >>>haven't studied. " > >>> > >>A cottage industry has emerged that reminds us uncomfortably of SAT > >>prep," Karla Monterroso, VP of programs for Code2040, an organization > >>for black and Latino techies, wrote in a critique of the whiteboard > >>interview. [...] This means companies tend to favor recent computer > >>science grads from top-tier schools who have had time to cram; in > >>other words, it doesn't help diversify the field with women, older > >>people, and people of color. > >> > > > >With links: > >https://developers.slashdot.org/story/17/03/01/1643251/programmers-are-confessing-their-coding-sins-to-protest-a-broken-job-interview-process > > > I have not studied any of these things since forever and a day, but I can > still pass all of them, and anyone who cannot, should not be hired. > > I think the last time I read what a bubble sort was, or had to think about a > bubble sort, was when I read Knuth, more decades ago than I care to admit, > and yet I can do a bubble sort off the top of my head on a whiteboard.
Attempts to sidestep with (e.g.) "Oh, bubble sort's not a good example, what I should have said was ..." in 3 .. 2 .. > If companies have a lot of people who could not pass these tests, or could > not pass them without cramming, they should fire a lot of people. Now there's an idea! Snap computer science drills by your employer ... Microsoft used to cull the bottom x% (20%?) of their workforce each year or so, and this might be a way to be 'politically correct' about that process of culling ... "We might not have secure employees, but at least they all damn well know their np- from their turing- completes :D