I agree: I won't leak your interview questions if you'll agree to make them fair. Deal?
To me, fair means: not asking me to write code on a whiteboard! Or, if you insist upon it, not complaining about not-compiler-perfect syntax, assisting me with the correct function names or argument order of library functions I'd normally autocomplete or look up, if I've forgotten, and focusing on the thought process and problem-solving rather than keypresses.
But really, most fair would be: don't ask me to code your stupid whiteboard interview question. Look at the shitloads of code I have on github, or ask me to walk through some interesting problems I had to solve recently, or ask me for my first-blush take on an interesting problem you're trying to solve. Make it a conversation instead of an interrogation.
Because, you know, a startup filled with people who are excellent at solving interview questions on a whiteboard might not be the best team for solving real-world problems. I work with a guy who can solve a rubik's cube in under 90 seconds -- that's about as relevant as some interview questions I've seen.
Who does this? Seriously? I've been on probably a dozen interviews where I would rank my performance from dismal to awesome, gotten offers. I was never, under any circumstance, expected to write syntax perfect code on a whiteboard. I have written plenty of stuff on whiteboards, in a few cases until my hand was cramped, but never did anyone bitch about the kind of issues you mention here.
A good white board interview question asks about a concrete problem like, "How does code complete work?"
You don't know that they're judging you based on perfect syntax and probably they aren't. Just because someone points out a syntax error doesn't mean they're marking you down for it; maybe they're trying to be helpful.
But that's the problem; there's little or no feedback from most interviews (for legal and other reasons), so many candidates assume the worst.
Yes, the key is to turn it into a technical conversation. Pretend they don't know the answer and genuinely want your help. Interviews are artificial but talking about technical problems in front of whiteboards is a normal work activity. It's not about perfect code but more about coming across as someone they'd want to go to for technical advice on a tough problem.
To me, fair means: not asking me to write code on a whiteboard! Or, if you insist upon it, not complaining about not-compiler-perfect syntax, assisting me with the correct function names or argument order of library functions I'd normally autocomplete or look up, if I've forgotten, and focusing on the thought process and problem-solving rather than keypresses.
But really, most fair would be: don't ask me to code your stupid whiteboard interview question. Look at the shitloads of code I have on github, or ask me to walk through some interesting problems I had to solve recently, or ask me for my first-blush take on an interesting problem you're trying to solve. Make it a conversation instead of an interrogation.
Because, you know, a startup filled with people who are excellent at solving interview questions on a whiteboard might not be the best team for solving real-world problems. I work with a guy who can solve a rubik's cube in under 90 seconds -- that's about as relevant as some interview questions I've seen.