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Discussion on: Should I accept coding challenges for a potential job?

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spirodonfl profile image
Spiro Floropoulos

Yeah that is absolutely wrong. I might try and tackle the ageism problem in the tech industry with another post/video.

In any case, your point, in this case, is wholly seen. A code test was pointless. All they had to do was ask how old you were to reject you instead. So much time saved, right?

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jfrankcarr profile image
Frank Carr

In the US they can't legally ask your age other than "Are you over 18?". They can't ask about race, religion, etc either, legally. This leaves companies using other tricks, such as length of resume or a name, to guess at it. I suppose in my case their guess was wrong, probably by about 10-15 years low.

But, tests are essentially a waste of time because human factors (legal and illegal) will outweigh any testing. If the person looks good on paper and sounds reasonably intelligent on a phone interview, bring them in and talk programming with them. Don't jerk them around with homework or trivia quizzes. Just have a conversation.