[smt88]

Many working programmers will disagree with this article. That's a good start, but we should also work toward ending this practice:

1. If your company does it, you should try to end it. Research alternatives and propose them. Take-home problems that mimic real problems at your company might be an option, as would hiring someone for a few contracting hours to do solve real problems before hiring them full-time.

2. If you apply to a company that uses these questions, politely excuse yourself from the process (assuming you are at the point in your life where you can refuse offers). That company probably doesn't really have the employee-focused culture you'd want to be a part of. If enough candidates refuse to do these tests, we might see them decline in prevalence.

3. If your company used interview methods like this and then stopped, try to create a case study. What did your company switch to? Do you have data to back up the perceived benefits of the switch?