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Discussion on: Engineering whiteboard interviews: yay or nay?

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stefandorresteijn profile image
Stefan Dorresteijn • Edited

I genuinely think coding challenges give no indication of actual programming skill. Programming is like 90% problem solving so I think intelligence, experience, and creativity are much more important. You can test for 2 of those!

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robencom profile image
robencom

Stefan, you really hit the motherload! I agree with you 100%.

But the problem is, how can you test intelligence or experience or creativity? Sure, there are some ways, but sadly not everyone is qualified to test such things. Developers surely cannot test them. Most of HR specialists are not psychologists/sociologists.

I love these talks, and I am gonna remember your answer. I really want us all work together, use our collective brainpower to solve the interview dilemma once and for all, so both interviewers and interviewees are OK with the terms of interviews.

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stefandorresteijn profile image
Stefan Dorresteijn

I think we should look at how business consultant interviews are done. Some of their interview questions might sound stupid (how many ping-pong balls fit inside of an airplane?) but they do test problem-solving skills and general intelligence. What is a developer if not a problem solver, using a programming language as his tools?