Vicki Brown wrote:
At 10:25 -0500 2003-03-06, Ajit Deshpande wrote:
I see a lot of benefit in administering such a test as a screening device.
This was mentioned earlier:
At 08:02 -0600 2003-03-05, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
I guess my point is that while they are a terrible gauge of actual ability, I would say anyone that can't pass the thing is *REALLY* not qualified, possibly to be a programmer at all.
BUT while I agree that such tests make a fine screening device, there are two problems remaining:
1) There are other screening devices available. I like "send me a code sample". I am constantly amazed by the fact that I am asked for writing samples when interviewing for Technical Writing jobs but rarely asked for code samples when interviewing for programming jobs!
Right but this still assumes that the employer can gauge whether the code sample is correct and good, which if they could do that then they could write their own 20 question exam that would produce as good if not better results than the 3rd parties. There is another problem with this approach, whose to say the code I send you is mine? Just because it is illegal doesn't mean a prospective employee won't do it...If head football coaches of major universities (see Notre Dame) can pull it off what's to stop a mediocre or bad programmer from going to CPAN and ripping off a module and sending it. Is the employer supposed to recognize code previously on CPAN or some other site? If they could, chances are good they could have written their own test....something circular about this ;-)....
2) The HR folks and recruiting shops aren't viewing these tests as a way to weed out the 10% at the bottom. They are viewing them as a way to find candidates. They don't realize that the important question is to look for people who fail; they are looking for people who pass (which isn't an indicator of whether someone is good enough).
But then I think that was the original point.
How about a test where the interviewee is given access to a computer, a set of relevant books nearby, and a short problem to solve? has _anyone_ ever done that?
Sure, that has been discussed here. But the second a third party is generating the test and/or administering it, then it falls apart, either because it is to vague to be good, to specific so not easily portable, or to hard to maintain/administer which makes it expensive, so less likely to be used.
The other interesting thing to add to ALL of this discussion is the inability of a test (for any skill) to adequately mix skills, which has become more and more important. I may be a great Perl programmer on Unix, but put me in a Windows environment and I would spend so much time looking for the damn string to close the curtains that I wouldn't get a lick of coding done. My current employer (is large enough so they could) developed a test ahead of time that included relevant questions about Perl, SMTP, FTP, fixed length records, and general Unix knowledge, etc. that was tailored very closely to the job I currently reside in, and I was given it orally instead of on paper, which gave them the best impression, whether my answers were correct or not what was important to them was how quickly and confidently I answered.
Just a couple more cents for the pot....
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