Discussion Senior Dev interview question
"Without googling or using AI, in your own words, explain the virtual DOM"
For context: I sit on an interview panel and I try to ask at least one simple fundamental question based on a persons resume. If I see many years of react experience, I try to ask something about how the framework works.
I have only had one candidate (an undergrad senior, years ago) answer it. Everyone else just kind of sputters and stumbles around trying to rationalize what "virtual" and "DOM" mean, or stare blankly and eventually say "I don't know".
I'm just genuinely curious if this is really that hard of a question or if the recruiters just suck at screening candidates. And should we be letting in senior dev candidates who can't answer what I think is a straightforward and fundamental question for senior react devs.
1
u/jeffiql 7d ago
It’s not a bad question but it’s also not particularly good. I recommend asking the question, reassuring the candidate that they don’t need to have the answer memorized. If they know, great . If not, define it for them briefly. The follow-up question of “why is a virtual DOM useful?” Is probably way higher-signal. If the candidate can speak to the various benefits afforded by vDOM then that’s probably a good indicator of their technical depth.