Every skill degrades without usage, but if you can verify that I've recently used it successfully, I'm not sure why I'm being tested on it again.
Which is a better signal? Passing a leetcode style interview, or 5+ years in a development role at a reputable company?
Yes, of course. If you have a degree from a recognized schools and many years of experience at the job, why would you be hazed on undergrad trivia you've forgotten decades ago?
None of my high school friends who went into accounting, finance, medicine, law, etc have this problem. What is it with the dysfunctional hiring BS in software development?
A surgeon with many experience at a top hospital most certainly does not get grilled on organic chemistry trivia from their undergrad classes when chaning jobs.
The reason I would ask this because I don't want to join a team that writes bad code.
They would tell me that each engineer did the same test and passed.
I would then say, "I don't believe you, I demand a live exercise so you can't cheat and help each other out". After all, their skills could have deteriorated since they joined!
People are only offended because companies don't believe our past demonstrations of competence.
Well it’s not like the company you’re applying to has access to the test results from the company you’re leaving
> It's like companies are afraid that programmers will spontaneously forget how to program.
To be fair, I think most leetcoders agree that you need to practice regularly to keep your skills up. So if the point is to see how good you are at thinking algorithmically for the job you’re applying for, it makes sense that they’d want to see recent test results.