[dr_kiszonka]

One of their hiring criteria is cognitive ability. If it correlates with strong proficiency in CS algorithms, then this might have been why they focus on it when hiring engineers.

(I am not saying that this strong correlation exists.)

[jmspring]

The correlation doesn't exist. A large segment of the Leetcode-uber-alles practitioners are also the ones that are obsessed with total compensation as the ultimate measure. It was a mistake by google and others to focus purely on this , but we are where we are. Many of the leetcode fanatics can't deal with real world issues in software or operations.

[lupire]

These companies look for people who write software to handle real-world issues on software and operations.

The mistake is in refusing to have a separate job and hiring rubric for sysadmins