[pan69]

I think the problem with interview questions is the following;

Asking candidates about algorithmic problems is great, if that's what you're hiring for. However, what has happened over the past decade is that a lot of companies who aren't even close to solving those kind of problems (e.g. digital ad agencies, web dev & mobile app shops) have started to ask these kind of puzzle questions in their interviews because "that's what Google does" and if Google does it, well, then it must be good.

Interviewing is hard and hiring the right candidate is even harder. A lot of interviewers don't even come close to having the experience of hiring a fellow colleague. A lot of these interviewers are basically hiring themselves meaning; if the interviewer has a PhD then the candidate they're looking should also have a PhD. If the interviewer loves Haskell then the candidate should also have this quality, if the interviewer can reverse a binary tree then, well.. regardless whether or not this has any application to the position they are hiring for,

When I interview I try to look for smart people who can explain and articulate problems well. I'm looking for people who are thoughtful and have a strong sense of integrity and an absence of ego. If they can talk about building software and programming I can easily spot if they bullshit or not. Smart people can easily learn how to reserve a binary tree.