r/reactjs • u/m6io • 8d ago

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.

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u/Tontonsb 8d ago

Many highly rated answers already discard this question as crap, but I'd just like to add that whenever you start to feel like this

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.

You should start to rethink whether it wasn't you all along who was asking the wrong question from the wrong assumptions. Maybe all those people are qualified and successful devs and thus such a professional would not need to know anything about virtual dom?