alt Hacker NewsThe idea of getting quizzed on how good you are at recalling specific patterns in algorithm construction is completely and utterly bizarre.
I get that some people feel forced into it, but nobody can believe that this is an appropriate measure to judge programmers on. Sure, being able to understand and implement algorithms is important, but this is not what this is training for.
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It's just a power move on devs. People come on HN to brag about crazy high comp and how devs are untouchable. The reality is that if you feel the need to do circus tricks for someone in exchange for a role that makes you happy, you got no leverage. While this might have been less obvious during the late 10s and early 20s with all the fancy pods, consoles, free high quality fresh meals and what not that Big Tech used to offer to devs, it is certainly harder to deny nowadays.
I mostly agree that the interview format itself is strange. I do not think people should be judged mainly on how many patterns they can recall on command.
The reality for a lot of candidates is that they still face rounds that look exactly like that, and they stress out even when they understand the ideas. I built this for that group, where the bottleneck is turning a pattern they already know into code under a clock. Each step in the drills is tied to a first principles explanation, so the focus is on the reasoning behind the pattern, not trivia.