What happens when you're asked to solve a problem that hasn't been solved before? By definition something you CANNOT google for
That's what I was looking for as a hiring manager.
That's what I was looking for as a hiring manager.
A genuine interviewer (and I realize several/many may not be genuine) is solely trying to figure out if the candidate has these types of reasoning skills.
Let me phrase it this way: By asking a common CS question, you'll get people who simply memorize answers/algorithms. By asking something obscure that is rarely known, you can try to get a glimpse into someone's thought process, which is infinitely more valuable than rote memorization.
The grandparent seems like the problem solving equivalent of yelling "think fast" whilst tossing a basketball at someone's face to test reflexes.
If you're hiring a point guard, isn't testing their reflexes by tossing them a basketball a reasonable approach?
This is the closest I can get to actual project work in 45 minutes.
My standard coding question is a funny-looking prime sieve. If someone isn't familiar with one, we can work it through together and I'll have a much better idea of their learning potential & what they'll be like to work with than the intern straight out of their Algorithms final.