

Stupid interview questions: how to (not) write a file copy program - frisco
http://exold.com/article/stupid-interview-questions

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RiderOfGiraffes
When I was hiring recently I set a programming task:

Write a program that prints the numbers from 1 to 100 (inclusive), but if a
number is divisible by three print "fizz", if a number is divisible by five
print "buzz", and if it's divisible by both three and five, print "fizzbuzz".

80% of applicants failed.

For those who succeeded we then talked about symmetrical code, repeated tests,
parametrisation, leveraging library code, converting routines into blocks, and
so on.

But we _started_ by making sure they could actually write code.

And most of them couldn't.

I welcome people who ask relevant design questions, but I've found that some
of them can't actually code either.

I resent the wholesale condemnation of simple coding tests in the hiring
process. Perhaps they are the sign of someone who has limited vision or scope.

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cschneid
I'd reject hiring him, not because of technical ability, but because he's a
dick who can't see past technicalities and discern the meaning behind
questions.

