DEV Community

Discussion on: The Full Stack Illusion

Collapse
 
dbshanks profile image
Derek Shanks

Thank you for sharing such an insightful story into your experience. I can't imagine juggling English amidst many other whom I am sure is their second language as well. English is not an easy language to speak and understand. Multiple team members trying to communicate would surely be challenging. Your English is fantastic. Bravo!!

I feel your pain, I do seem to think that HR teams really lose focus on the right skills. The interview I had today, I was recruited for the interview. Someone dropped the ball. I highly doubt the company would hire me. It was a bad interview. It wasn't matched to my skill sets at all.

I know a lot of companies don't like asking people to work for free. I wish companies would go with a simple project. Simple concept. 48 hour turn around. Discuss the code base decisions. I feel that you would get a better view of a developer skill set in that manner and have a visual proof of example. If someone cheated and copied a YouTube video. It would be evident very quickly.

All the best, hope you get the team mate you deserve!!

Collapse
 
khangnd profile image
Khang

Yep, that's exactly how the hiring should be done. Thank you and I wish you the best in your job hunting.

Collapse
 
raullarosa_ profile image
La Rosa ✈️

Your simple project with 48hour turn-around is exactly how i find the junior developers for my teams lately. I work on the projects i hire for and i need candidates that can hit the ground running.

After a 15-30min video screening, i present the mini project, normally a subset of an application we currently work on. This way i also dont have to go ahead and solve it since it has already been done and reviewed by the team. Then, when the candidate comes back 48hours later, the team can see how the candidate (hopefully) solved it, we will have them run through their solution and then throw a new quick challenge that builds on it so we can see them live code. This whole process has been the most efficient not only for me to understand if they'll be a good fit technically, but also how they talk through problems and bounce ideas. Communication is key in a software team. Even when a candidate doesn't do as great, they walk away knowing what they have to work on IF this is the type of job they want to pursue. I've even had some people tell me after the project is sent that "this isn't the type of work they're best at or what they're looking for" so it saves us both time in the end.

Thread Thread
 
dbshanks profile image
Derek Shanks

That’s an interview process that I would love to work through. Yeah, it’s work on free time. However, coding doesn’t cost anything except time. As a developer I like new challenges and working through new ideas. Doing challenges like this also keep my skill sets sharp I don’t see it as free work.

As well, no one knows the code base better than the person who coded it. You know why you did certain things. You know how the arrays and functions connect. You’re looking at a solved challenge. Now, when you ask me a question about why I chose a certain method. I know the answer.

I love the idea of live coding on that same project I worked on. I know where everything is. It’s great that you present it as a team communication challenge.

Thank you for being a good interview process.