> The other funny thing is that your previous experience doesn't do anything for you other than maybe getting to skip the technical phone screen. Everyone goes through the same process

You could also argue that this is fair chance between those who just came to the field.

> On the bright side, it does look like many companies are now realizing this isn't a great way to evaluate someone's ability and are beginning to incorporate more practical exercises.

It's the other way around: many more companies are incorporating Leetcode style interviews as their first "filters" either via online test or quick on-site.

Here's what happened: it used to be the case that only these FAANG companies have the resources and the know-how to either create these "trick" questions or picked a few from their favourite Algorithms book "exercise" part.

These days thanks to many "algo" challenge websites (like InterviewCake.com) that not only provides questions but also correct, detailed, and optimized answers, it is getting easier for employers to just pick a random ones and use that as interview materials.