[delphinius81]

I think many of the people on HN that say they won't do a take-home assignment would actually do a 30-60 minute take-home assignment if it meant avoiding the "code some algorithm on a whiteboard while the interviewer glares at you" situation. Then on the on-site, you can focus on the design/behavioral type things appropriate to the role's level of seniority.

Also, if you give the same assignment to multiple candidates, you'll get a better sense of how people use different approaches to solving a problem. You can still use discussions around side-projects to complement the process, but having a standard approach for all candidates is helpful.

[ryandrake]

> I think many of the people on HN that say they won't do a take-home assignment would actually do a 30-60 minute take-home assignment if it meant avoiding the "code some algorithm on a whiteboard while the interviewer glares at you" situation.

Except it never means this. It's always "and" and not "instead of". Many companies do these irritating programming challenges now, and then when you pass them, will still bring you in for the standard Whiteboard Hazing sessions.

[delphinius81]

I needed to emphasize the if in that statement. :) The typical saltiness regarding interviewing on HN is warranted since it's usually an "and" thing.

[nanodano]

Most people would not think twice if a potential employer interviewed them for 30-60 minutes and then asked them to do a follow-up interview. It's not that unusual to have 3 interviews before getting hired.

But if you ask them to do a 30-minute coding task, that suddenly becomes a total disrespect of their time.