I am offered a assessment, and not an interview

1

Only Google has used the “white board” approach to see my logic and ignore syntax.

For most applications, I am offered a assessment, and not an interview. How do I get pass assessments that may require that the code pass their tests. The problem is:

  1. I have select Java Script and Node 12.4 is next to it.
  • The recruiter didn’t understand the language.
  • I have selected JS and the built-in methods are not available.
  1. I might understand the logic and be looking for a syntax error which waste the time to complete that question and the following questions.
  2. I might need to ask a human a question

Are there any books that you would like to recommend on getting the first job in tech?

Where can I find companies that do not require assessments before an interview where a human reviews my logic and ability to understand? I can’t tell from the job advertisement.

2

If you are struggling to write code that meets requirements, that may be an indication of how ready you are for a job.

It’s pretty difficult to know exactly what the interview and screening process will be like without having gone through it or having a friend in the company.

3

I disagree that it means, I am not ready for the job. The questions are not related to the job.

I spent a significant amount of time preparing for a companies that actually “white board” , and do not care about syntax.

With the assessments, its possible to not understand the riddle, to ask for clarification, to not know how to answer their riddle with the best time/space complexity, but more often have a syntax error.
If I was already working, I would resolve that issue with a resource.

This is like failing a history exam because of a comma splice in my response essay. It is not like not answering the question.

Plus, the Codility site says that you can write your code in JavaScript, but when selected it says Node 12… and the JS built-in functions are not there? There are different IDEs that require JS be written differently. Normally, I use VSCode for projects.

Without a referral, most recruiters or team leads do not even call.

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4

Sure, interview questions are often not related to the job, but the process of receiving requirements and working towards functional code that meets the requirements is the job.

A change in IDE or the addition or subtraction of a few methods shouldn’t prevent you from being able to write code.

I wouldn’t obcess about optimal time and space complexity. Get a working solution first and then refine it if you have time. Focus on getting a simple solution without errors before getting fancy.

5

That’s a good remark.

In your intro post you are actually describing daily worklife:

  • you don’t know all details and have to communicate well
  • you have to explain stuff to people who are not experts in software engineering (manager, client, marketing etc.)
  • you work with (legacy) tools you don’t know much about
  • you can’t use all the tools you want to (e.g. due company policies)
  • (legacy) code has errors and breaks
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6

This is, naturally, not to say that all interviews are well designed. Everyone knows that the interview process is often crap but nobody knows the best way to fix it.

7

I began attending NYC Coders. It appears that I approached these assessments wrong.

I should learn Python. Implement brute force, and impress them with how it can be optimized and why you chose that application.

I said Python because many sites say they have javascript then only have Node.js or no built in functions.

Thank you so much. Even if I do problems from CTCI now, I will get it running first.

8

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