Comment Re:Still an Extremely Good Signal for Senior Eng (Score 1) 69
The majority of interviewers pick their favorite algorithm from the data structures class. The stereotypical question is some variation of a graph problem that damn near no one uses professionally. So, the most senior of engineers haven't dealt with it in 10-30 years unless they grind Leetcode. That gives the advantage to the junior engineer fresh out of university who studied it in depth just a couple years ago. Giving advantages to junior engineers in your hiring process isn't how you get the best people.
Further, most interviewers tend to care primarily that the candidate solves the problem in the time allotted. That used to mean writing pseudo code on a white board. Today, that means writing code that compiles, runs, and passes all the tests, including the hidden tests. If a candidate doesn't actually solve the problem, no one cares about the structure of his solution. Any time spent understanding and structuring the solution is wasted.
Secondary consideration is provided to all the traits you listed: decomposing problems, abstraction, structure. Good luck getting an accurate read on all that given the limitations of an interview. Your candidate is working in a high-pressure, high-stress, time-limited situation that's completely artificial and alien to most developers who nearly always have access to their IDE, the internet, and now AI.
You've made a completely artificial situation and think you get genuine results? The thought is laughable. Well, except that you're likely not hiring good candidates due to some BS interview process.
Further, most interviewers tend to care primarily that the candidate solves the problem in the time allotted. That used to mean writing pseudo code on a white board. Today, that means writing code that compiles, runs, and passes all the tests, including the hidden tests. If a candidate doesn't actually solve the problem, no one cares about the structure of his solution. Any time spent understanding and structuring the solution is wasted.
Secondary consideration is provided to all the traits you listed: decomposing problems, abstraction, structure. Good luck getting an accurate read on all that given the limitations of an interview. Your candidate is working in a high-pressure, high-stress, time-limited situation that's completely artificial and alien to most developers who nearly always have access to their IDE, the internet, and now AI.
You've made a completely artificial situation and think you get genuine results? The thought is laughable. Well, except that you're likely not hiring good candidates due to some BS interview process.