[ldoughty]

I'm on the other coast, not even in a major tech hub, and we do a take home assignment now to screen applicants.

They choose from 2 languages,and an experienced coder is done in 5-15 minutes. A fresh grad maybe 45 minutes.

The tasks have no practical work application, and are just code samples.

If they pass this and a phone screening, there is a live challenge as well -- the take home version we give people 48 hours (their choice of weekday or weekend). In person is time boxed and part of the interview, but is the very last stage and usually simple functions to rule out people that needed help to get to that point or simply had someone else do all the work (which we've already had come through our small 10 person te team)

[fhbdukfrh]

How many steps total? How long to get through the process? This may work for lower demand markets but sounds excessive in competitive regions.

We've been super successful in mining the late round rejections from companies like Google. Getting to an on-sight is a huge signaling factor, they do the early filtering and we can move fast to an offer

[Drdrdrq]

Hm, how do you get to them? Apart from bribing an interviewer at Google I can't see how you could get the list of rejections?

[samstave]

I've been in SV since 1997.

I am not a coder. I am a very experienced manager/director/PM OF development/DevOPs/IT teams.

However, prior I was in architecture.

And starting out as a draftsman, it was extremely common for architectural companies to tes out your drafting skills on AutoCAD with a timed test.

I recall the two I took:

In Redmond Washington in 1994, I was given a test to draw out a site plan for a chevron gas station, whom was their primary client.

I was given 15 minutes. I drew it in 12.

They said that not only was I the most accurate, but the only person ever in the history of their company to finish it. [became a core designer on what was then the 'revolutionary' designs of marriage of gas-stations and fast-food restaurants... [[Soul killing]]

I got hired... but then I became CAD manager - and then just decided I liked "computers" and not arch... so I then moved to SF. So I moved on to hospitals... gosh...

... (became IT manager of a small firm on the peninsula)

So then I worked for a design firm, and they also tested me upon interview... in CAD...

Isometric datacenter cabling plans....

I wasnt really familiar with plane changing in AutoCAD at that point so I did it all manually designed based on switching my orthos for each thing. Finished a complete cable tray design in the allotted 30 min window.....

Got the job - which resulted in me being on the core data-center design team for the Lucas Presidio project.

(and I have many other storis such as this)

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Challenges are good which are practical to the company's/teams goals and needs -- but bullshit if they want you to design their whole shit for them.

Now get off my lawn....

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Oh I forgot to mention - now I am director of tech for a cannabis org... GET THE FUCK IN CANNABIS TECH.