[c0de517e]

No. One cannot refuse a whiteboard test.

One is entitled to think it's stupid, and get a bad impression of the company, and refuse an offer if one gets made, but you don't go and tell that is "unfair" and just refuse to answer, that is totally and utterly inappropriate.

I would have understood if he/she said to prefer a test on a computer, if there was the possibility of doing that. But not just refusing to answer.

And the WORST traits that a candidate can show don't lie in technical expertise, but in attitude and character. So this was totally deserving of getting booted out of the door without a second of hesitation.

[exclusiv]

Agreed. And the author later said they feel like they aced the Skype questions but wouldn't get the job because of young punks.

Who wants to hire someone that thinks they know everything, including the proper way to hire?

There's a thing called tact and it goes a long way. If you can't play nicely in the sandbox then go play by yourself.

If you are going to disagree then be professional about it and show you can still be a team player and have an honest, candid conversation.

[bluejekyll]

Sure you can refuse. By doing so you are basically saying that you don't want job, their loss, is your gain in happiness. And it feels so good to do it.

I remember interviewing somewhere, a Windows shop turned out, and while I had one COM project on my resume, I knew I didn't want to work there the minute I walked in the door. During the first interview I was asked if I wanted to work in Windows, I said no, they were surprised at my candor (b/c the obvious answer to get the job would have been "yes"). We used the rest of the interview to talk about general industry stuff and parted ways happily (needless to say, I never got a job offer there).

[skewart]

> No. One cannot refuse a whiteboard test.

I completely disagree with you on this. If a whiteboard test is such a strong turnoff to a candidate that they won't want to work at the company because of it, and they're willing to make the highly unusual move of refusing the test, then telling the interviewer about it and ending the interview early is the polite thing to do. As an interviewer I don't want to waste my time - and my team's time - by interviewing someone who certainly won't work out.

Candidates should feel comfortable saying no to anything at any point in the hiring process - of course with the potential consequence that the hiring process stops right then and there. But they shouldn't be expected to do things that make them uncomfortable or violates their personal beliefs. Should a candidate who doesn't drink alcohol be expected to have a beer if their interviewer proposes it? Should a candidate with strong religious beliefs be expected to violate them in an interview setting? What's the reasoning behind thinking that a candidate should always agree to a whiteboard test no matter how strongly they oppose them?

Look, the author of the post - the guy who refused the whiteboard test - does come across as cranky and difficult. He certainly should not have been surprised that the interview ended. And, for the record, I think feeling _that_ strongly about whiteboard tests is a little extreme. I just think that if something is a deal breaker for you as a candidate the polite thing to do is to let everyone know up front - ideally before an on-site so you can end things earlier rather than later and save everyone time.

[exclusiv]

I think the parent was phrasing it as you can't refuse a whiteboard test if you want to work there.

I think we all agree that if either party has made a decision before the interview then nobody's time should be wasted.

At a former job, our office was amazing inside as it used to be an old brewery. In fact it won several design & architecture awards. Anyway, we had a candidate simply drive by and then call saying that it looked too low end for him so he cancelled the interview without even walking inside. We thought that was ridiculous of course but were happy we didn't waste our time with him.