I'm also self taught with over 20 YOE and pretty lost with leetcode problems. But I get the job done and have a really good eye for user and business domain concerns. My last two jobs haven't required any kind of test. I actually had to do a couple of short narrative essays for one to prove I could write - which was a hoot because I majored in English.
The only job I've ever had to do any kind of test for wasn't leetcode - just a practical demonstation that I could write a basic CRUD app. Was actually a pretty good test to weed out people who were just completely useless.
I'm also finding that experience matters. It's just tough to get that across up front.
The only job I've ever had to do any kind of test for wasn't leetcode - just a practical demonstration that I could write a basic CRUD app. Was actually a pretty good test to weed out people who were just completely useless.
I think this is a totally reasonable way to weed out applicants, particularly if they allow you to do it during the interview time. I've been through several interviews (though, to be fair, they were well over 15 years ago, since that's how long I've been with my current employer) that used a similar exercise. One interviewer just sat me down at his workstation, and told me to build a quick crud with their tech stack (which, of course, I knew going in). Nothing was off-limits (web searches, etc).
The only job I've ever had to do any kind of test for wasn't leetcode - just a practical demonstation that I could write a basic CRUD app. Was actually a pretty good test to weed out people who were just completely useless.
I'm also finding that experience matters. It's just tough to get that across up front.