Yep. Whiteboard/algorithm interviews are alive and well.
I once had an interviewer pose a question to me, then basically wait for me to say, "Dijkstra!" and put the code on the board. (Full disclosure: I failed to do so. I blame jetlag.)
At another company, they didn't have whiteboards, so they asked me to write out code with pen & paper.
And I did a Skype interview that consisted of, "Hi, how are you? I'm going to share a document with you. Please type in a sorting algorithm." Once I'd completed that, they thanked me for my time (all of 15 min.) and that was it.
Algorithm interviews are bogus, but I'm not about to let them stop me from getting a job, so once in a while I open up a fresh project in my IDE and code up a quick sort implementation, or do some kind of tree/graph traversal exercise to keep it all fresh in my mind.
On the other hand, the kinds of questions an interview poses, and how they company conducts interviews tells you a lot about the company culture, and who you'll be working with.
I see from your profile that you're a junior dev. One thing I wish I'd done early in my career is take interviews for jobs, even if I wasn't really looking. As long as a job looks like it might be a step up, apply for it and take the interview (if they call you). It'll sharpen your interview skills and give you a window into what opportunities are really out there.
Thank you, Chris, for sharing your experience with me! 🙏
I've already thought about doing interviews next to my current job, not because I'd like to change, but to practice how to participate in a job interview. 🙂 I guess I'm just about to start this process.
Yep. Whiteboard/algorithm interviews are alive and well.
I once had an interviewer pose a question to me, then basically wait for me to say, "Dijkstra!" and put the code on the board. (Full disclosure: I failed to do so. I blame jetlag.)
At another company, they didn't have whiteboards, so they asked me to write out code with pen & paper.
And I did a Skype interview that consisted of, "Hi, how are you? I'm going to share a document with you. Please type in a sorting algorithm." Once I'd completed that, they thanked me for my time (all of 15 min.) and that was it.
Algorithm interviews are bogus, but I'm not about to let them stop me from getting a job, so once in a while I open up a fresh project in my IDE and code up a quick sort implementation, or do some kind of tree/graph traversal exercise to keep it all fresh in my mind.
On the other hand, the kinds of questions an interview poses, and how they company conducts interviews tells you a lot about the company culture, and who you'll be working with.
I see from your profile that you're a junior dev. One thing I wish I'd done early in my career is take interviews for jobs, even if I wasn't really looking. As long as a job looks like it might be a step up, apply for it and take the interview (if they call you). It'll sharpen your interview skills and give you a window into what opportunities are really out there.
Thank you, Chris, for sharing your experience with me! 🙏
I've already thought about doing interviews next to my current job, not because I'd like to change, but to practice how to participate in a job interview. 🙂 I guess I'm just about to start this process.
You're very welcome! Good luck!
If you learn a little from every interview you do, you'll be super-strong in no time!