What is wrong with coding a programming interview interview?

Question

I'm confusing the answers to another question that says you shouldn't bring a code portfolio to a programming interview.

Why the hell not? Others recommend it; this is even one of the “classic” stories in Peopleware :

“It would be ridiculous to think of hiring a juggler without previewing it. It’s just common sense. However, when you hired an engineer or designer or programmer or group manager, the rules of common sense often pause. You don’t ask to see a design or program or anything In fact, the interview just talk. "

So what gives? Any “war stories” about what went wrong when you appeared with a portfolio of codes? Or when did you interview a candidate who had one?

Answer 1

I have been interviewing for many years, but I have never asked for or shown any code. This is not what I am looking for. Firstly, I am trying to establish whether you can work in a team together. I also want to understand if you understand how to deal with all these trade-offs that employment implies. For the developer, I watch how you encounter problems, and your perseverance is persistent after failures.

Obviously, I want to feel your level of understanding of the art of programming. If you practice a certain skill, I will ask you some technical questions.

I would never want to see the code you wrote. How could I be sure that he is yours without help? How can I give him, in an interview time, enough time to check and appreciate the subtleties? How do I know the time when you needed to write?

There is a world of difference between writing a program in silence and the ability to work in a team under pressure, forcing to compromise, collaborate and make decisions about where to concentrate your resources.

Answer 2

My opinion on this issue is that you do not need to bring a portfolio of code for an interview if it is not directly offered. It just acts like a break in the flow of interviews, as the interviewer could predict. Besides, what evidence can you imagine that the code in your portfolio is really your own, not taken from the Internet or taken from a colleague? And finally, what use will the portfolio have if none of your previous codes relate to the new situation?

In addition, many companies have a lawful code for their employees. In the end, you will share the internal details of the software created in your previous company, even if you write it yourself.

Interviewers usually like to emphasize how much a prospective candidate will be able to adapt to the new company environment and how familiar he is with the technologies they are working on. Many interviewers may ask you to write a short piece of code to demonstrate your logical thinking and how you deal with problems in general.

Answer 3

I never took the code with me for an interview, and I never had someone who brought the code when I interviewed them. If I want to see a sample code, I will ask the candidate to submit it before the interview, so I will have enough time to study it. If I were handed the sample code personally, I would not have had enough time to understand its contents.

Do you have to provide sample code if it is not requested? I say no, and here's why: When I ask you to try a sample code, this is the test I'm trying to see if you fail . There are two possible results that I give after viewing the sample code:

Good code example: INDETERMINATE (i.e. other factors will determine 100% if you HIRE)

Bad Code: NO HIRE

So now that you know this, do you want to voluntarily take this test if I don’t ask you?

Answer 4

I was asked to enter the code at the interview. The safest thing is likely to bring you an example of code / portfolio, so at least you have something to show when prompted.

Answer 5

Keep in mind that the code that you created as an employee of the company is most likely the property of this company - this is a pretty solid reason not to have it on a flash drive in your pocket when you are going for an interview.

In addition, if I would be interested in how you code, I would ask you to do this in front of me right in the interview, and not consider some canned food.

Answer 6

During my interview, the "code for me" was not mentioned. Moreover, we have this problem, how would you solve it. (In the general case, for example, with a design pattern)

Answer 7

tl; dr: I always provided code for the interview. There are enough interesting problems that you can quickly write something representative and fill it in your bag.

My portfolio includes my resume, my resume (another type of document), important presentation slides (downloaded from JavaOne, for example), code samples (created in due time on my own computer), interesting project documents (for example, how I will do it now, if I had to do this), runtime images (downloaded from the publication site), etc.

Never invest anything in your portfolio, even hints of being a former employer or IP.

However, one of the great things about public presentations is that you can download a screenshot from the publication website. Of course, you should treat your publishing authority properly for proper fair use.

All that said, I am interviewing people who want to work here who don’t have a sample code with them. This is largely a factor of experience: many of them are new graduates. However, my expectations are much higher for experienced professionals. My filters are also quite thick: we would rather overload the work than hire one bad person.

Answer 8

I think the whole concept is that good managers want to see if you can think. I was asked riddles and asked to solve logic puzzles at the interview. My code can be copied or even stolen.

Just the process of viewing the steps that a person goes through will give you a good idea of ​​their logical ability to solve problems.

Answer 9

I would ask for a code only if I like the guy. And then I would prefer it to be available somewhere on the Internet in a public repository. But in any case, the decision on lease / rental will not be made. You should not look at the code ahead, because you could never be sure that it was written by the person who processes it.

Answer 10

Code samples can “sculpt” interviewers just looking for words and tricks, but respectable interviewers will look for problem-solving skills and the ability to reason on the fly. The most interesting code is too long for the interviewer to truly interpret and is likely to be wasted.

However, it is not a BAD thing to bring code samples until you impose them on the interviewer. It’s just a poor prioritization to post something that doesn’t really extol your benefits properly.

Answer 11

Any non-trivial software application is usually created by the whole team, and not just for understanding at first glance. It is probably not easy to look at the whole solution / project and clearly distinguish between code written by someone other than you when you first show the code to an outsider. I suspect that the interviewer (s) do not have time during the interview session to carefully study and study your code and try to understand the architecture and design of the low-level applications that you previously worked on. Be prepared to go through lengthy step-by-step instructions if you want to earn points.

In many cases, our line of work makes us more likely to enter an already launched project; maintaining / updating existing code and applications, instead of writing “beautiful” code from scratch. My code contributions are usually put in pieces to refactor and fix an existing code base that is massive and ugly. Such things are hard to demonstrate with pride of clay.

In addition, as mentioned by others, identifying the source code of previous organizations has many undesirable legal consequences.

When I want to see the coding style of interviewees, the interview may include off-development development work. Then the interlocutor will present the contents of the exercise for later reading. But during the interview session, he spends time getting to know the person he is talking to, his passion, mental models, problem-solving skills, etc.

Answer 12

You can really shoot yourself and your potential employer at your feet by taking the interview code. The company you work for may own some / all of your code, and if they find out that they will fight to get compensation for their “loss”.

Another time it’s bad if the new task is a similar role or a similar company for the old. If you hop onto a ship and have ever taken any of your previous employer codes, the previous employer may have a field day, even if the code was just flipped and then removed.

The only code you should take with you for an interview is the OSS code, and even then only if this code is really in the wild. I had to write GPL'd code (some of my best for small internal test applications) from all my previous employers, but because we never released binary files to anyone, we had no obligation to release the source. In this case, the new employers did not have the right to access this source, and I could not show them to them: (

Answer 13

Engineers and programmers should not bring code samples because they are already faced with a technical interview. If the candidate knows his things, he will not struggle with questions. There is no chance to fake technical answers. The candidate has either done this before or not. There is no room for interpretation.