[asmdev]

I had a similar experience with a company in Bangalore.[1]

I wish there were a law to prevent such exploitative hiring practices.

[1]: https://github.com/surya-soft/Interview/issues/2

[praneshp]

It is a perfectly acceptable interview question. You were being a jerk (sorry) on that github issue, possibly because of your own issues/opinions. The fact that you call the issue here similar to your experience shows your inability to think about things objectively.

[jonandersense]

What's "exploitative" about this? It's a simple coding project that would just takes a few hours.

[s73ver_]

The "work" for "no pay" part. That's always exploitation, no matter how you try and justify it.

[jonandersense]

Yes I agree, but this is not about working for 3 months unpaid, this is about a coding interview: https://github.com/surya-soft/Interview/issues/2

This is a completely different company than the original post mentioned.

[asmdev]

A 4 hour coding assignment is half a day of work. I don't care if it is a toy project and if there is no business value in the work. But a 4 hour coding assignment is still half a day.

I may have to take a leave from my current work, take half a day off off my current contract or spend a significant part of my weekend on this problem, instead of with my family. I certainly expect to be paid for it.

[asmdev]

@jonandersense Honestly, I prefer doing a 1 day onsite interview. The equation is different here. Here, the company is investing as much time in interviewing me as I am putting in them. It sounds fair.

But doing half a day coding exercise even before any technical interviewer in the company is ready to talk to me has a very imbalanced investment of time from both sides. I invest 4 hours in the company when the company invests none.

[jonandersense]

That's true, it does take time. Interviewing for larger companies at least in the US is usually 1 day onsite. Would you expect to get paid for that as well? In the end however you do it you'll have to spend a few hours interviewing.

[asmdev]

You're okay doing a coding project for a few hours? Good for you! I like to get paid by the hour.

[jonandersense]

I think for an interview, it's a reasonable alternative instead of doing an 1-2h long coding interview. You have to interview people in some way, and a small coding project that you can discuss and talk about has been a nice experience for me. How do you want an interview to be conducted?

[asmdev]

In that case, we agree. I too believe that a 1 hour coding interview is reasonable although I am not too sure if it is ethical to do so without paying. But if it is a 4 hour coding interview without pay, I am certain that it is unethical.

Since you asked for alternatives, here are some suggestions I have:

- If you want to do a 4 hour coding round even before a phone interview, at least pay for your candidate's time and effort.

- Otherwise, restrict your coding round to 1 hour. I think this strikes the right balance between lack of pay and my time spent.