[ryanmarsh]

I went through a round of interviews as the interviewer and assigned take-home work. The problems were hard, fun hard, but would take time to solve. I had a number of people balk. They said they were too busy.

I realized in that moment what an asshole I was being for assuming somebody would be able to dedicate free time over a week to solving some problem just to prove to me they could, just for the potential of getting hired, and no other benefit.

Now, the way some people articulated (or yelled) their objections lead me to believe they wouldn't be a good culture fit. Others though opted for a lighter touch, "lets just talk through how we'd solve this" and I came away understanding how they think through problems. It was an attempt at saving the interviews. This stuff is hard, on both sides. That was a long time ago, I've since read way more horror (and success stories).

Please don't give people take home projects. I sure as fuck won't do them. I'm busy with hard problems I actually find rewarding.