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0 pointspeterhunt3y ago0 comments

Isn’t that going to result in a highly biased interview process? I suspect extroverts will do disproportionately better than introverts, and those who are comfortable in technologies the interviewer is not will do worse than those who share a similar technical background.

I also think the skill cap on this sort of question is super low.

(I’d put design questions in a different category though)

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vorpalhex3y ago

What process do you think introverts are going to have an equal footing at that isn't take home homework?

And yes, people who know technology will do better.. in a technology interview. I suppose I could ask about gardening but that doesn't help much does it?

peterhuntOP3y ago

Algorithmic interviews are huge equalizers. Anyone regardless of their social skills or technical background can show their talent.

I’m not talking about people who know technology generally. I’m talking about people who know different technology. The process you’ve proposed, if implemented at, say, PHP shop, will rule out plenty of great .NET developers since the interviewer won’t have the context.

maccard3y ago

Algorithmic interviews optimise for algorithmic knowledge, not on the job capability. It checks for rote learning and time spent preparing for the interview.

Knowing how to implement prefix tree or a hash table shows that you've learned solutions, but not that you can write good code in a team environment. Frankly I'd take a worse engineer that worked better in a team over a 10x that ends up silo'ed in 95% of cases.

peterhuntOP3y ago

That’s not a fair characterization of how most companies (well, at least FAANG) do algorithmic interviews.

A good algorithmic interview does not test algorithm trivia. The question should be solvable with only strong structured thinking and fundamentals.

For example, the much-derided “reverse a binary tree” question (I don’t ask it but I think it’s reasonable) doesn’t really require a ton of algorithm trivia. The data structure can be explained in a few minutes and the problem definition can be made super clear and crisp.

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koonsolo3y ago

Sorry, but introverts can do oral exams just fine.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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vorpalhex3y ago

What process do you think introverts are going to have an equal footing at that isn't take home homework?

And yes, people who know technology will do better.. in a technology interview. I suppose I could ask about gardening but that doesn't help much does it?

peterhuntOP3y ago

Algorithmic interviews are huge equalizers. Anyone regardless of their social skills or technical background can show their talent.

maccard3y ago

Algorithmic interviews optimise for algorithmic knowledge, not on the job capability. It checks for rote learning and time spent preparing for the interview.

peterhuntOP3y ago

That’s not a fair characterization of how most companies (well, at least FAANG) do algorithmic interviews.

A good algorithmic interview does not test algorithm trivia. The question should be solvable with only strong structured thinking and fundamentals.

2 more replies

koonsolo3y ago

Sorry, but introverts can do oral exams just fine.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse