That’s a good idea. I interview programmers and I’m pretty sure some would fail that question. What I don’t get: why put C++ on your resume if you don’t even know the basics?

If I had to guess, it's the "I'll figure it out" mentality. The problem here is, with C++, you probably will NOT figure it out!

I did the bare minimum C++ in my classes. I can write trivial little "code challenge" type things with it. (mostly imperative style, very basic OO) But, ask me anything about Templates, etc, and I'll quickly admit you've gone beyond my knowledge. I'm intrigued at the answer to this question though....

Actually a great programmer will figure C++ out fast enough for most purposes. Templates are weird and hard, but a great programmer can figure them out. However if you don't have a several years of experience you will make mistakes, so I can't hire you as the next go-to expert in the difficult corner cases of C++ that sometimes we can't avoid (though as we move to modern c++14 there are a lot less of them)

If you lie on your resume and I catch you that is an important red flag because I no longer no what else I can trust you on.

I think that's where I was coming from: "if you don't have several years...." I learned enough C++ in school to complete my assignments. But the C++ PRs I've reviewed contain FAR more than those rudimentary basics. When looking at Rust, it brought back some of those memories. (`using` vs `uses`, etc) I'd never DARE say I "know" C++ well enough to be useful.