Ask HN: Why not use on-site programming contests to hire employees? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Why not use on-site programming contests to hire employees?

3 pointsamichail10 comments

Just like a normal programming contest, you would be able to submit your solution for automated testing and resubmit if an error is found.

Contestants who solve the most programming problems in the given time limit would be offered jobs.

View on HN

Being able to churn out programming answers is at best 50% of the necessary skill for an engineer, but in practice quite a bit lower.

I’d rather hire 10 people who can communicate well and teach them programming than hire 10 people who can churn out individual code and teach them to communicate as part of a team.

Why not use on-site communication contests to hire employees?

Will the automated tests also assess the candidates’ ability to write maintainable code? Appropriate automated tests? Find a library to use instead? Understand the trade offs between using a library and writing our own code? Ask for help when they get stuck?

This might work for college recruitment event to win an internship - otherwise it’s a terrible idea. No senior developer will compete to “win” a job.

Phew... not easy. It would depend on what "being a dev / programmer" means in your company. In real life, I think being a developer is also a lot about defining the problem space, and then the problem. Solving it is then almost accessory...

I think it is a terrible Idea. First and foremost: an employee has a lot of dimension, from which the technical side is only one of them. Just to name the most obvious: he has to be able to communicate and work in a team. But also from the technical point of view: can you really test abilities and knowledge with such a contest? I really doubt it. I personally still rather much prefer 1 to 2 hs interview. Is cheaper in the long run.

Programming contests select for people who like programming contests.

To the degree that venns with what a company hopes for, then programming contests are useful.

I don't think this would yield the best hires and the best dev teams

Would this be compatible with DEI mandates at many organizations today?

Why does Harvard still want to consider race in making admissions decisions?

this is even more ridiculous than the current leetcode situation. people should be offered jobs based on their previous projects and experience and degrees. not based on some timed coding test.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com