> Younger people put up with this but seniors know it’s nonsense and he was probably just tired of it all. You didn’t want to hire a software developer, you want a leetcoder

Senior here! I'm doing the leetcode grind and in preparation of interview rounds at companies that ask those sort of coding questions: I don' think it's a waste of time, it so happens that those companies pay very well, if you're willing to run the gauntlet. Preparing for the interviews is a signal in itself, as someone who sat on the other side of the interview table, I know the hiring companies needs every last signal it can get.

I hope other seniors keep snootily refusing to do such interviews, for at least the next few months, that way, I'll face less competition :-)