Fuck you for testing devs with them online algo tests instead of giving them real projects to do as a way to assess their coding skills

They have those AI driven video interviews now two that judge your body language.

@sheriffderek

On hacker_news there was a story where some head of engineering wanted to hire a guy but he 'failed' HR's personality test (they felt that hiring a given type was a bad idea) ... so they didn't want to hire the guy.

So the head of engineering took it too... he failed as well ;)

@N00bPancakes hahaha how ironic 😂

I’ve never written anything even close to being considered an “algorithm” in real life... so, I guess it depends what industry you are in. Hopefully you know 10x than me if you are programming self-driving cars or electrical grids or something, but web development, I’m lucky if people can write some HTML and CSS.

Tic-tac-toe test! OF COURSE I WOULD GLADLY WASTE MY TIME ON THIS.

@sheriffderek I’m just a backend developer, and in all the job applications I have applied to, they asking me to do this stupid shit 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

jokes on them i can fail at either of them

I’m still not sure why devs are the only ones who have to work before even being considered to be hired.

Pretty sure a vet doesn’t have to castrate a cat for free in order to get a chance at an interview.

Before I was a dev, I applied to a hairdressing salon to be a receptionist. They asked me to work a whole day for free, with no contract, to see if I would be a good fit.

I was advised to sue them by my union because that’s illegal.

I agree that it’s nice not to hire a dumbfuck. But that’s the same in every field. That’s why we have resumes and more importantly, recommendations.

I get interviews, discussions, of course. But online tests? Some people lose their composure on anything that resembles a test, for no reason. And that’s fine. But they can be very good workers. It’s silly to judge them on something designed to raise your anxiety levels.

I refuse to hire based on tests. I refuse to be hired based on tests.

I can stay and discuss with you for a day if you want, we'll have a great time but I don't care about your unrelated testing process.

A few years ago I got a job after going through one of these assessments. The company told me that they had gone through like 50 interviews before finding me. I thought to myself "bruh something is fucked in your interview process".
Sure enough, a year and a half later when they were looking for more programmers, they had another test and everyone was failing it. They asked me to try it and I'm pretty sure I did like shit lol.

@T33th pretty sure someone doesn't get picked for a vet interview if the sollicitant took an online class, watched some YouTube videos about pet surgery and then self-proclaims themselves a vet. Their degree is only given if they actually are capable enough for the job.
Even with computer science degrees the question is whether or not someone can do exactly what you're looking for (I know lots of people who are great but only in one specific task/niche).

Although I agree with you, development is one of the few fields where you can be self-taught and a company has a 50/50 chance that you are completely incompetent or amazingly perfect for the job because of the countless expertises, niches, applications and sectors that you can be focused on during your personal growth and your career.
So I can imagine that they want to test someone's capabilities that they require specifically. But doing some generic tests or really long unpaid projects for this is really not the way to go...

@NEMESISprj oh yeah and I also don't disagree with any of you btw. It's just that I get why they would want to test your capabilities.

@T33th The thing I noticed is that a tonne of graduates can't write proper code. I am currently working in a company that does NOT do a code assessment before hiring and boy, let me tell you... We currently have a junior dev in the team that is causing a lot of tension.. He really really really really can not code and is still struggling with basic tasks after months of employment

@T33th If you have open source contributions on GitHub, then that’s another story - I agree that it’s probably not necessary in this case. But for me the bottom line is, if I were a manager there’s no way I’m hiring someone for a high amount of money without seeing some code.

Sure, but that’s the same with a secretary, a manager, a designer. Designers have portfolios, but that could be bullshit for all we know. Do designers also get asked to do design jobs BEFORE being hired? Do managers get asked to prepare a weekly schedule for free?

I think you get more info on what kind of dev a dev is by talking to them rather than just throwing a test at them being all like ok good luck!

CVs weed out the "on paper" profile you seek.

And as for self taught devs, well, that’s also what motivation letters are for. I would be way more likely to hire a self taught dev who tells me what’s up, links to his website / GitHub, than someone who just "please see my CV attached, kr" even if they got a masters.

But if you’re a good interviewer, you don’t need tests.

And re: your junior, if after multiple reviews he doesn’t progress, then get rid of him. In other fields that’s also how it’s done. "It’s not working out" is a valid thing to say as an employer.