Should I avoid a position that doesn't give a coding test?

I’m currently searching for a web developer position and I’ve had two interviews with a small company. Both interviews were merely sitting in a room asking each other questions for 30 minutes. They say they’re using Angular on the current project, they also reduce developer meeting time by using Github issues and Slack, etc. From the interviews, it seems like it’d be a good place for my first developer job.

However, there was no coding exam, no take-home project, nothing like that. If you’re aware of the Joel Test, this breaks rule #11.

I guess my question is, if you were in my shoes and got an offer, would you take it? It’s going to be my first developer job, so I want to join somewhere where I can really learn all that I need to have a successful career.

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I would never throw away something that seemed like a good opportunity just because of some abstract rule written by some blogger. If you like the place and the pay is what you’re looking for, then why wouldn’t you take that?

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Yup, I just needed to hear that. Don’t know about pay yet, have to wait for the offer, but anything will blow my current English teaching gig out of the water.

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Man I wish I could find a developer job that didn’t have a coding interview. :laughing:

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The majority of the jobs I’ve applied for (including all the jobs I’ve accepted) have not included a coding test. Most have some form of whiteboarding or something, but not a real “exam” or a take-home project.

I don’t think I’ve ever bothered completing an application for a company that required a take-home project to be honest.

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Huh, I guess I thought it was more common to have some sort of test or project based on the threads I’ve read on here. I didn’t have to do anything resembling coding in the interview. Just seemed really weird so I felt like asking on here.

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Even a crappy job is some experience and something to put on the resume.

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Well everyone, I spoke too soon. Just got an email from the recruiter saying they were happy with the interviews and would like me to complete some coding tests over the weekend.

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I’m 2 months into my first job as a js dev, and I didn’t have any coding exercises in my interviews. I was a bit surprised to be honest, and asked about it after I’d started. Turns out they’d been over my github with a fine tooth comb and were happy with my coding abilities before I ever set foot in the building. The face-to-face was much more about checking my personality than my technical abilities.

I interviewed unsuccessfully at two other companies before landing this one, and none of them involved coding tests on the day either.

An employer isn’t going to hire you or even bring you in for an interview without thoroughly researching you first- I would say don’t read too much into the lack of a test, take it as a compliment! They obviously think pretty highly of your skills.

Coding interviews are still a controversial topic when dealing with recruiting developer.

It gets criticise on twitter as well as there’s a curated Github repo that list companies that hire without the needs of CS riddle.

I would take it for the experience. You can always leave later.

:rofl: Well now you know there’s nothing to worry about!

(Besides the actual tests, of course.)