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Discussion on: Competitive programming - is it really important?

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kovidr profile image
Kovid Rathee

@leob - these are challenges that probably require 16-20 hours of work, with quite a bit of work. This is an alternative to the 1-3 hour programming rounds. I think some companies are going this way now.

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leob profile image
leob • Edited

Meaning they're asking you to put in 16-20 hours of unpaid work? I say that's a lot, clearly they can only get away with that because the balance of power is on their side. A more fair approach would be having 2 rounds, first round the 1-2 hours test (3 hours is already a LOT), then if you make it through that round they can ask you to do the 16 hours assignment, BUT in that stage it should come with something of a 50-75% chance job guarantee, or with some sort of financial compensation. If they're putting 25 people through an unpaid 20 hours assignment and only hiring one then I'd call that gross.

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kovidr profile image
Kovid Rathee

@leob - I have called that out. But I do it for the fun of it. Most of these assignments don't last that long, anyway. 16-20 hours is a conservative number. It usually takes much less. But you're right about the unpaid work!