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0 pointsandyjohnson08mo ago0 comments

> I read about this and started using binary search as my interview question. It worked well - about 2/3rds of highly credentialed applicants could not write a working implementation in 20 minutes.

I'd be interested to know why you feel that this is a useful interview question.

Implementing a well-known and widely implemented algorithm under stressful interview conditions wouldn't seem to me to demonstrate much about a candidate. In that situation I'd much rather be given a printout of some code and asked to talk around the implementation - how the code maps to the abstract algorithm, implementation trade-offs, readability, etc.

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mettamage8mo ago

It showcases they have done some leetcode. Or it showcases they can write code when someone is looking over your shoulder. There are company cultures where these skills are needed.

Companies that don't fall into a culture like this are indeed deluded.

I would do the following:

1. Write a tax calculator that reads in data from a CSV, or a similar question to showcase programming ability.

2. Do a small paid project. If it was good enough, hire them. If it wasn't, then give feedback and do another one in a week, tell them to learn as much about the topic as possible.

3. Do a small paid project a week later. If their learning agility is high, then hire them still.

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