If you are expecting a candidate to have a certain skill-set, having a simple timed coding test as the first round is the easiest way to filter out a lot of unqualified candidates. Stripe does this quite well for example.
When I hire for my company, I do a live coding round with the candidate after an initial phone screen. Since I get far fewer applicants, this works out for me. The objective with the coding round is to understand more than their ability to write code in a particular language. It's a good way to learn how they communicate, how they approach a new problem, how they seek help, etc
> If you are expecting a candidate to have a certain skill-set, having a simple timed coding test as the first round is the easiest way to filter out a lot of unqualified candidates. Stripe does this quite well for example.
The problem is 99% (or more) of the rand-o startups/companies that do this are not Stripe. They are not companies that people are fighting to become employed at.
> this works out for me
> their ability
> how they communicate
> how they approach
> how they seek help
What's ends up happening is you miss out on a lot of truly talented folks by putting the burden of proof 100% on them.
> is the easiest way to filter out a lot of unqualified candidates
It may be the easiest way for YOU. It's an important distinction as you (and this is not a personal attack, sorry if it sounds like it is) may not have the hiring skillset. It is a skill. Just like managing people, supporting software, being a CEO, etc...
Except when the candidate isn't told that they will have a timed coding interview in advance and in general what it would be.
I've been asked to write a full-stack app from scratch, and I spent like half of the time debugging the webpack config, which could've easily been solved by having a template prepared in advance if I knew what I was doing.
If anyone's reading these, please have the coders work off of an already existing template that you give them.
If you are expecting a candidate to have a certain skill-set, having a simple timed coding test as the first round is the easiest way to filter out a lot of unqualified candidates. Stripe does this quite well for example.
When I hire for my company, I do a live coding round with the candidate after an initial phone screen. Since I get far fewer applicants, this works out for me. The objective with the coding round is to understand more than their ability to write code in a particular language. It's a good way to learn how they communicate, how they approach a new problem, how they seek help, etc