I also get very anxious during exams and always make silly mistakes.
It saddens me to see some some interviewers on this thread that naively believe that the kind of stress a person feels during an exam (especially one where the tester is sitting in front of you and watching your every move) is the same kind of stress you might experience while trying to fix some problem in front of your computer.
Re:I will not do a tech interview
by mattmaroon on Thursday August 22, 2013 @10:49AM
(#6257471)
Well, the thing about anxiety is that it's very irrational. Unless you've suffered from it or, like me, are very close to someone who does, it's very hard to understand. (I still have only a surface level understanding after a 10 year relationship with a sufferer.)
It's easy to look at all of the things taking a test and fixing code in an emergency have in common and make the rational assumption that someone who is bad in one situation would be bad in the other.
There are plenty of students who are very bright, do outstanding jobs on their projects and homework, and otherwise get fantastic grades who then freeze up and get a C (or worse) on every test. Thankfully most real life situations don't mirror test taking, so often they're still high achievers.
Most job activity doesn't resemble a tech interview, so it's quite possible for this person to not freeze up ever after you hired him.
That said I'd still never hire this guy on the no false positives principle. I have neither the time nor inclination to contract with everyone who gets to that stage. But I rarely have projects for which a short term contractor could make much of a contribution. I suppose that's probably not the case for a lot of startups.