

Ask HN: What is your opinion on timed code quizzes before or during interviews? - csmdev

Please start your answer with &quot;Developer&quot; or &quot;Interviewer&quot; so we can all get a better picture.
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valarauca1
I'd walk out, as a developer, I'd likely laugh too. Well I'd laugh, then see
you were serious and walk out.

You want me to code fast, I'll code fast. My code will be shit, but it'll
work. It won't scale, it'll roll over and die in 3 months when we make the
slightest change.

As an interviewer its idiotic. What are you testing? If I've memorized the
question you're asking me? Or seeing how fast I can think on my feet. If its
the former, what? If its the later, there are other ways to test this, that
make sense.

If you want to see how a developer thinks on his feet, give both of you a
problem you haven't seen before, prototype a data structure to solve this
problem. Work together interviewer and developer, you'll learn each other's
thought process, and a bit about the company dynamic. It'll take longer, but
more information is gained via osmosis.

------
_RPM
Developer: I took one of these 20 minute timed tests, where the interviewer
had access to my screen for the entire duration. There were 3 modules, one
CSS/HTML, and the rest JavaScript. I knew there wouldn't be enough time to
finish all three of them.

I thought it was the least effective way to probe my skills as a developer. It
would have been better to talk about how I would solve those problems instead
of a timed test.

------
kasey_junk
Developer: At least they are trying to see code which is better than nothing
but there is a very good chance that their hiring pipeline is messed up so be
wary.

Interviewer: There is no correlation between people's ability to take timed
code quizzes and good developers. It causes undue pressure on some candidates
for no reason and we should never have it be part of the process.

------
MalcolmDiggs
Developer: If it's for a "commodity" programming position (follow
instructions, crank out kloc) then maybe it'd be relevant, but those kind of
"code monkey" positions are actually pretty rare.

In the vast majority of jobs (IMHO), the speed at which they can write a given
function/whatever has almost no bearing on their overall productivity. Most
coders only program a few hours a day anyway (see:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8131116](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8131116))
...it's what they're doing the _rest_ of the time that matters most.

If you have a need to do a timed test, at least do it in pseudocode. That way
you're just testing the applicant's logic, instead of how much
[php/js/ruby/whatever] they happened to memorize over the years.

------
opless
Developer

I avoid the things these days. It's not about being _fast_ it's about getting
the job done. Quizzes don't demonstrate such things.

They might be okay for graduates, or low end candidates, but for experienced
folk it's irrelevant.

------
Piskvorrr
Developer: If they're reasonable in subject scope, length and proportional to
the rest of the interview (not to mention the level - you probably don't want
to do a code quiz for a senior position: that's a serious red flag, highly
correlated with micromanagers), why not.

Interviewer (many hats here): A _brief_ quiz is a useful highpass filter for
junior-level positions ("Ugg set clock on microwave! Ugg programmer now!"),
and a possible conversation starter ("what, why & how").

------
partisan
Developer: I welcome the challenge. I would rather do a timed code quiz than
the "how many tennis balls can fit in a school bus" type questions.

Interviewer: I wish we did more of this in our hiring process. A written code
sample is a great jumping off point for discussing how and why the applicant
makes decisions while coding.

~~~
_RPM
Open source projects / contributions seems like a better way to probe the
candidate on their decisions made while coding.

~~~
smeyer
But then you only get to use this with people who make substantial open source
contributions. There are lots and lots of good developers who don't spend time
on open source work.

~~~
Piskvorrr
Fair point. In a CV, I would consider work on OO projects a bonus, but I would
never consider its absence a detriment.

------
Someone1234
Developer: Is the job for someone who spends their days doing timed code
quizzes?

If it is then it is acceptable. If it isn't then it seems asinine.

For me myself, if I had a literal clock there ticking down then it will take
me twice as long and I'll do a much worse job. There's a lot of people who
cannot program under high stress situations like that (and a job interview is
naturally quite stressful already). So expect to dismiss a lot of otherwise
great candidates.

Maybe the interview process should be based around the job you're employing
them for rather than for trivial games that only test someone's abilities at
completing those exact type of task. Crazy I know, but maybe just maybe it
makes sense.

