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by minimaxir 2784 days ago
That 2015 tweet (https://twitter.com/mxcl/status/608682016205344768?s=21) helped popularize the Google Interview memes, but things like Cracking the Code Interview still existed long before then.
1 comments

One of the reply tweets linked an allegorical article about the pitfalls of whiteboard interviewing that I enjoyed quite a bit: http://www.unlimitednovelty.com/2011/12/can-you-solve-this-p...
It’s totally fair to slag on whiteboard interviews, I hate them too. But it’s worth pointing out that there aren’t any great options out there.

The traditional sit and have a chat interview is insanely biased towards people like the interviewer and doesn’t at all guarantee technical competence. The take home project feels like a big imposition to a lot of people, especially those that are currently employed, and raises concerns about cheating. The whiteboard interview except on a laptop has some advantages but has problems of comfort with the environment.

I think a whiteboard or laptop interview with a cleaned up realistic problem, not a thinly disguised implement Dijkstra’s, is the least bad option around.

Strongly prefer the take-home project as long as it is confined to less than 4 hours. The gun-to-head aspect of the other choices significantly dominates other concerns in my experience.
That creme brulee article was delicious, thanks for sharing!!