Tech companies are famous for coddling their workers but after mass layoffs the industry's culture has shifted. Engineers say that getting hired can require days of work on unpaid assignments.
You’re exactly right. I didn’t read the article yet, but you can build a to do list app in a handful of minutes if you know your way around. I’m still green as a coder, but have been through dozens of tutorials, one of which was a simple to do list in JavaScript. I managed to complete it in about an hour. Seeing that someone thinks it takes weeks to do, that makes me wonder about them.
you can build a to do list app in a handful of minutes if you know your way around
No you can’t. You’re mistaking a “hastily thrown together prototype”, for an “actual app” with all its requirements, tests, multiple target support, hundreds of tiny features, QA for all that, then deployment, and ongoing support.
Depending on where on the scale between “prototype” and “final product” you look at, it’s going to be anywhere from less than an hour, to a full team working for years.
Now, arguably, showing whether you know the difference, can be the real test.
This could very well be a test to see if the applicant has an idea of how a project scales or how they need to interact with other departments or track down compliance information. It could also test the applicant’s ability to provide a sanity check to a boss’s idea before they pitch something that the team can’t actually do
Tbf you can do that in one day with ChatGPT, although it requires some generic software engineering skills. But that’s the point.
Even if you don’t complete the task, the process of coding can prove your skill level in a positive way.
You’re exactly right. I didn’t read the article yet, but you can build a to do list app in a handful of minutes if you know your way around. I’m still green as a coder, but have been through dozens of tutorials, one of which was a simple to do list in JavaScript. I managed to complete it in about an hour. Seeing that someone thinks it takes weeks to do, that makes me wonder about them.
No you can’t. You’re mistaking a “hastily thrown together prototype”, for an “actual app” with all its requirements, tests, multiple target support, hundreds of tiny features, QA for all that, then deployment, and ongoing support.
Depending on where on the scale between “prototype” and “final product” you look at, it’s going to be anywhere from less than an hour, to a full team working for years.
Now, arguably, showing whether you know the difference, can be the real test.
I mean, if you argue that way during the interview I’d pass… Nobody thinks you’re asked to do all that in a one-day interview.
Why should the interviewee assume that?
This could very well be a test to see if the applicant has an idea of how a project scales or how they need to interact with other departments or track down compliance information. It could also test the applicant’s ability to provide a sanity check to a boss’s idea before they pitch something that the team can’t actually do