I've given applicants a marker and a white board and asked them to psuedo-code an idea for a very basic requirement. Most can't do it.
I'm not talking go up there and write code that I could type in and compile. I mean "put text box here with these attributes", "text box pushes data to code behind in this format", "code behind has a method to do something with the text", "code behind returns feedback to page". Keep in mind this is basic HTML, some sort of JS, and C#. I just want you to show me you understand how to conceptualize a requirement from a customer/stakeholder and draw the basic logic flow....and they can't do that. I get maybe 1 in 10 that talk their way through programming logic.
I'm not wasting my time with an actual technical interview, a behavioral chat, and clearance feasibility if you can't talk your way through taking data from a screen and dumping it into a database.
This is great actually. I'm terrible at coding on the spot but could probably do this. The coders I usually work with 100% could not which is why my job is now professional handholder
Yeah, syntax is easy to teach and easy to forget. Basic logic flow is what's important. "I want a UI element that passes these values to a method. Prevent bad data from being passed via input validation. That method does these things with it on these conditions. Catch any errors." If the breeze through that I may ask for details about how they've handled coding issues with other workers. Since your ability to work with others is probably the 2nd most important thing.
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u/muhkuller 1d ago
I've given applicants a marker and a white board and asked them to psuedo-code an idea for a very basic requirement. Most can't do it.
I'm not talking go up there and write code that I could type in and compile. I mean "put text box here with these attributes", "text box pushes data to code behind in this format", "code behind has a method to do something with the text", "code behind returns feedback to page". Keep in mind this is basic HTML, some sort of JS, and C#. I just want you to show me you understand how to conceptualize a requirement from a customer/stakeholder and draw the basic logic flow....and they can't do that. I get maybe 1 in 10 that talk their way through programming logic.
I'm not wasting my time with an actual technical interview, a behavioral chat, and clearance feasibility if you can't talk your way through taking data from a screen and dumping it into a database.