June 8, 2017

Clarification regarding coding tests...

A few dev managers and firm owners wrote in with a counterpoint to yesterday’s message. If you didn’t see it, here’s my key point:

> If someone is asking you to take a coding test, they’re not the right kind of client.

For the record, I’m not against all coding tests ever. I think they are useful in certain situations and when handled in a particular way.

At the firm I managed back in the early 2000s, we gave a “take home” test to all applicants. They could take as long as they needed to accomplish the tasks, and in the privacy of their own home/office.

It was extremely useful for us in management and most of the applicants had quite a bit of fun with it.

The thing is, we were looking for hands not heads.

In my humble opinion, the employer/employee relationship is fundamentally different from the consultant/client relationship.

I mean, think about it...

Can you imagine searching for a primary care physician and demanding that each candidate take a quiz? You’d be laughed out of the office.

Yours,

—J

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