[pm90]

They are not just testing your analytical skills but also, I believe, your ability to self-study for something, even as "annoying" as algorithmic coding problems.

I kinda agree with you that it doesn't make sense much of the time if you have to specifically prepare for the coding interview; stuff you may never use in your job. But its not a lot of stuff: I bit the bullet and spent some time solving those questions and now can make past mostly any screen.

Its really not that hard, especially if you have a CS degree. Probably would take 1 week of dedicated effort to get better at it.

[hfdgiutdryg]

How is proving self study ability relevant to a job? Doesn't my resume of wildly varying projects and my ability to competently talk about them prove that?

It sounds to me like a way to weed out pesky applicants who have families or who are simply older.

[pm90]

> How is proving self study ability relevant to a job? Doesn't my resume of wildly varying projects and my ability to competently talk about them prove that?

People usually trust their own assessment of a candidate much more than that of others. While your projects might help generate interest in you and get you an interview, the actual interview process is meant to be an assessment by the Company conducting the interview. So you shouldn't automatically assume you have the jobs simply based on your past projects alone. I'm not saying I necessarily agree with how this works; I am simply pointing out why it works that way.

> It sounds to me like a way to weed out pesky applicants who have families or who are simply older.

Perhaps. It seems unlikely since many of the senior developers/hiring managers at most mature companies are older and have families.

[hfdgiutdryg]

While your projects might help generate interest in you and get you an interview, the actual interview process is meant to be an assessment by the Company conducting the interview. So you shouldn't automatically assume you have the jobs simply based on your past projects alone.

That's insane. If you brought me in because you liked what's on my resume, your number one priority should be determining if I really did what I said I did. Your priority shouldn't be arbitrary, unrelated questions or coding challenges pulled off some website.

I'm not aware of any other industry that behaves like this.

[pm90]

> That's insane. If you brought me in because you liked what's on my resume, your number one priority should be determining if I really did what I said I did. Your priority shouldn't be arbitrary, unrelated questions or coding challenges pulled off some website.

There generally is a component where you're asked about your past projects in detail. Its just not the only component.

[jarsin]

Dude stop being logical. This is software development hiring.

[collyw]

I don't have a week to dedicate to crap like that. I do have 15 years of experience building stuff people actually need and i am reasonably good at it.