[Chicago] Sanity Check

[Bryan Oakley]

On Wed, Dec 1, 2010 at 8:31 PM, Peter Fein <pfein at pobox.com> wrote:

>
> I'm particularly ticked off because:
>
> * I have ample open source code, which I've pointed people to. In fact, one
> company got in touch with me because THEY LIKED MY OSS CODE, then demanded I
> do a coding test anyway.
> * Some of the companies are startups, which have explicitly prided
> themselves on their low-bureaucracy/bullshit factor. Hypocrites.
>
> I've been coding in Python for eight bloody years already. Marketers don't
> take marketing tests, do they?
>
> Should I tell them to bugger off? Am I on crack?
>
>

I think the answer to that is simple: do you want the job? If so,
write the best solution you can, cheerfully and under deadline. If
not, tell them to bugger off.

As someone who evaluates such coding tests I know first hand how
people who otherwise look pretty good on paper can be absolutely lousy
coders. I mean, flat out awful. And remember, the people considering
you for a job don't know you from Adam. Your reputation almost
certainly has *not* preceded you. The coding challenge is one way for
a company to evaluate you on a somewhat level playing field.

For the coding test at my company we have seen solutions that range
from a single source file of a hundred lines of java, to a couple
dozen files jam packed with classes. Some have documentation, some
don't. Some have unit tests (hint: provide them with your code), most
don't. Just because you know a language or have been using it for 8
years doesn't necessarily mean you are a good programmer. AND, equally
important, just because you are a good programmer doesn't necessarily
mean you are good for a particular company.

I've worked with a company where you were practically forbidden to add
comments (and this code base was about the best I've ever seen as far
as performance, robustness, maintainability, etc) to code that
required more comments than actual code by a factor of several. I've
worked with companies that refuse to do OO, and companies that go way
overboard with deeply nested object hierarchies. Your code sample will
tell them what sort of programmer you are, and whether there's a
chance you'll fit.

So, again, it all boils down to whether you want the job or not. If
you submit the solution you have a chance at getting the job. If you
tell them to bugger off your chances go down precipitously.