Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013)

Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by foldr on Thursday May 31, 2018 @01:46PM (#17198420)

It's quite absurd to suggest either that (i) the review process is entirely fair or (ii) that it is possible to land an academic position merely by publishing papers. (If so, where are all the professors without PhDs these days?) I don't claim that the process by which hiring decisions are made in academia is notably unfair by the standards of life in general or in comparison to many other career paths. But when talking to another (ex) academic, you must know that you can't get away with those kinds of simplifications.

I don't understand your rhetorical questions. Clearly, yes, conferences choose bad speakers sometimes.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by robotresearcher on Thursday May 31, 2018 @01:51PM (#17198456)

I didn't suggest either of those two points, which I agree are absurd.

I readily agree these selection processes are not perfect, and institutional nepotism in particular is an issue in academia.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by foldr on Thursday May 31, 2018 @01:55PM (#17198483)

>The equivalent to acing a code interview for an academic is submitting a terrific paper.

You can get a coding job just by acing a coding interview (and having basic social/professional skills). So this part of your comment did appear to suggest that merely publishing papers can be sufficient to obtain an academic position.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by robotresearcher on Thursday May 31, 2018 @01:59PM (#17198518)

You have to be invited to interview before you can ace it. So you probably have either a relevant degree or experience before you get in the room.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by foldr on Thursday May 31, 2018 @02:12PM (#17198637)

It's very much possible to get a coding interview without either of these things.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by HeyLaughingBoy on Thursday May 31, 2018 @04:56PM (#17200168)

I've hired many people and interviewed many more.

What possible reason would I have to interview someone if they had neither relevant experience, nor a degree? Should I just ask random people I see on the street to come in for an interview?

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by foldr on Friday June 01, 2018 @04:45AM (#17203629)

If they can write a good covering email, have a few github repos, and some other indications that they might be smart/capable. I know from experience that it is easy to get interviews on that basis.

If you're talking about people who have no experience in the sense that they've never written a line of code, then no, obviously not. But professional experience and relevant qualifications are not necessary.

As with any job application, you need to have something going for you. It just doesn't have to be any of those two things.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by fjsolwmv on Thursday May 31, 2018 @07:53PM (#17201357)

No, you ask random people on LinkedIn like every recruiter does.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by robotresearcher on Thursday May 31, 2018 @02:31PM (#17198808)

I used the word 'probably' on purpose.

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Re:Google admits brainteasers were useless for hiring (2013) by foldr on Thursday May 31, 2018 @02:54PM (#17198998)

Ehh, I guess, but lacking relevant qualifications and experience doesn't even make it difficult to get a coding interview. It is no doubt the case that most people being interviewed have relevant qualifications and experience, but that's not because there's all that much of a barrier to people who don't. There is certainly far less of a barrier than there is in academia.

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