[yuliyp]

I think the post you were replying to was using "pass" to mean "pass on the candidate" i.e. not move forward in the interview/hiring process. The point of such recruiter screens is to avoid an engineer seeing in a coding screen that the candidate has no chance in hell of success.

[bsder]

Hrm. Good point. I didn't catch that might have been the implication.

However, being professional is also important and I don't consider it a waste. I've experienced the reverse. It was clear after one interview that I was not a fit for the position.

I still ran the interview out even after pointing out that I really wasn't a fit because that's what professionals do. I later got a contract out of that company simply because I was professional about things and so many other people aren't.