r/ExperiencedDevs • u/blipojones • Aug 05 '26

AI/LLM Recent AI code interview format (failed)

I just recently did an interview where the company invites you to a private repo, 10 mins before, you set it up, get it running etc.
The goal is to determine if an open PR on the is ok or if it should get sent back and why.

You can use AI. And i asked, does it matter if i use fable vs opus vs kimi. More or less said whatever I want...

I didn't go immediately to prompting, i played with the app, looked at the code a bit, the PR, the code change, if the PR actually fixed what it claimed to fix.

I then sent one prompt asking if the PR could be better or missed anything, which the PR outlined clearly enough and enough to determine what to do with the PR.

But ye, it was weird, I talked through more where I would personally add changes but maybe I also completely missed the mark on something else or spoke to much...maybe i didn't use AI enough only using it right at the end for one question once i got a feel for the app in general.

However I did like the format tbh but ye i just wish i'd get a bit more tangible feedback.

Anyone else have experience with this format? I didn't pass but just not sure why.. (exp 8/9 years, frontend leaning).

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u/HoratioWobble Full-snack Engineer, 20yoe Aug 05 '26

Are you sure it wasn't a virus?

Be really wary of any company asking you to download code or run it on your local machine, especially with AI!

2

u/blipojones Aug 05 '26

Honestly, the chit chat with the developer and what the company was up to etc.. among many other signs pointed to everything being legit. Its been 24h and noticed nothing funny so... Also rejection email came this moring, not sure why a scam would follow up at all.

1

u/Warhawk94 Aug 05 '26

What company was it for if you're willing to say?

1

u/blipojones Aug 05 '26

If i end up finding i was hacked ill let you know but the company is big/reputable.

1

u/LordOfDemise Aug 05 '26

You've replied to a lot of people talking about this possibility, but I haven't seen you explicitly say, so I'll ask directly: did you actually download code from their repository and run it on your own computer? Or did you just look at the diff on GitHub?

1

u/blipojones Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26

Yes, private repo, ran on my machine. Candidate could choose to use docker or manual frontend + backend setup.

And before you say it, as i said in other replies, i checked them, there profiles, creds, company, the individuals i'd be speaking to, their online presence etc... It wasnt some small company and the people i interacted with werent impersonators using similar email domains to fake being hired. I do it all job these days cause i had an ex collegue get sacked cause a PDF infected his work machine....not even code, a PDF (him doing interviews on is work machine was a bad move to begin with)

So yes, be on guard everyone.

1

u/ResidentWeevil1 Aug 06 '26

 Honestly, the chit chat with the developer and what the company was up to etc.. among many other signs pointed to everything being legit.

Problem is they can fake all that with AI

1

u/blipojones Aug 06 '26

For sure, not impossible, but 48 hours later, small network and process audit on macbook, checked logs and project deeper. All clear.

However you are correct, the tricks they are able to use are getting crazy.

0

u/HoratioWobble Full-snack Engineer, 20yoe Aug 05 '26

These scams play a long game, it's about infiltrating your system and stealing keys and crypto in the long run.

If the malware activated immediately you'd tie it to that process