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by tomp 2105 days ago
These kinda of “unbiased” exams only work if people can’t cheat (either directly, by learning the questions from someone who already took the exam, or indirectly by preparing in a way that helps them score more on the exam, while not actually improving the skills the exam is supposed to be a proxy of).

Creating such an exam is an unsolved problem.
1 comments
laboo 2105 days ago
The test can be open source and dynamic. It can be a test the applicant can take over and over again every day to practice. When she applies for the job, she takes that very same test under controlled conditions so we know she is taking it and not someone else.

Why can't we write a test to see if she can code in Python at an appropriate level of expertise without mixing it in with algorithm gotchas? What are the algorithms she needs to know? Why can't we provide her with a list of those algorithms and show her how we will test for mastery of them?

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marcinzm 2105 days ago
>The test can be open source and dynamic. It can be a test the applicant can take over and over again every day to practice.

>Why can't we provide her with a list of those algorithms and show her how we will test for mastery of them?

That's exactly what is done, it's called leetcode.com, recruiters send you a link to it and tell you to study. I don't see how anything you're describing isn't covered by the existing whiteboard interview dynamic.

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laboo 2105 days ago
What company gives you the full list of questions, and the acceptable answers? Which companies use only the results of these tests?

leetcode is an open-ended ocean of knowledge you have study, it's not a test.

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marcinzm 2105 days ago
Most every coding question asked to me by FAANG was on leetcode (I think 1 out of 10+ wasn't but maybe I just missed it). Had I gone through all of leetcode I'd have covered almost every question asked of me. The behavioral questions asked were basically told to me by the recruiter verbatim ahead of time so were not a surprise in any way. The system design is broader but most cover a few common areas that you can google to find.

So it's all standard questions that have answers you can study for ahead of time.

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laboo 2105 days ago
I think we're talking past each other. I'm saying that no company tell you that (1) all questions you will be asked are on leetcode, (2) these are the acceptable answers -- passing the tests does not always count as acceptable, and (3) if you pass all these tests you will be offered a job, or entered into a lottery with all other people who pass them?

leetcode as used by FAANG is a hurdle that you can't ever be sure you actually cleared. it's not a test that returns a pass fail score.

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