[thelist] Good "tests" for prospective employees?

Matt Warden mwarden at gmail.com
Thu Jun 30 14:35:39 CDT 2005


On 6/30/05, Jay Blanchard <jay.blanchard at niicommunications.com> wrote:
> [snip]
> Has anyone had potential low-end developers (html/css/light db and
> scripting) complete any kind of qualifying "test" as part of the hiring
> process?  I've got people interviewing for a production position next
> week, and wondered if anyone had done this.  I'd like to test their css
> skills, and just make sure they have experience working with site on a
> real-world (rather than a textbook) basis.
> [/snip]
> 
> I like thinking exercises that help to demonstrate other cognitive
> skills...here are some examples

Most of your examples are about pattern recognition, which I would
suggest is not as relevant to programming (although, certainly you
could come up with examples of where it would be). It's much more
useful to use questions that test "algorithmic ability." One of my
favorite questions is one about 100 doors:

There are 100 closed doors in a row. You make 100 passes by the doors
starting at the beginning each time. In the first pass, you toggle
every door (i.e., if the door is closed, you open it; if its open, you
close it). In the second pass, you toggle every other door (i.e., the
second door, the fourth door, etc.). In the third pass, you toggle
every third door. You continue this until you visit only the hundredth
door. In the end, what is the state of the system of doors?

You can find more good ones at: http://www.techinterview.org

These questions pinpoint the cognitive skills that would be most
relevant to programming. The one above tests one's ability to
understand a iterative system (like the effects of a complex loop).

Basically, I would have difficulty answering your cognitive tasks
(although I could probably get it), because they are tasks I am not
used to performing (thus, such brain pathways are not strengthened).
However, I would not have difficulty answering cognitive tasks that
are analogous to programming tasks, because such brain pathways are
quite strong from experience.

Not to get all Neuroscience on you, or anything.

-- 
Matt Warden
Miami University
Oxford, OH, USA
http://mattwarden.com


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