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by aaronem 4435 days ago
Judging by the downvotes, this isn't something HN commenters find advisable. It's also something I hadn't thought of, and as I am currently looking for a new position, I wondered whether it was something I should consider doing.

Will some of those with opinions of this suggestion describe those opinions, so that I can better evaluate whether or not it's actually worth considering? Thanks!

1 comments

As I'm responsible for a small development department, I regularly do interviews including written tests. If one of the candidates would ask me if they could do it on their notebook, I would probably say no, as it sort of defeats the purpose.

However, I don't think bringing your notebook to show off some of your work is a bad idea.

How does it defeat the purpose? We don't code on whiteboards, so just the mental transition of coding with a pen while standing up - under stress to boot - is not a good indicator of using proper tools the normal way.

Downvotes? Meh. Taking a notebook and writing the solution with sensible tools - while fielding unrelated questions from 4 interviewers - got me an offer.