Not the app itself, but the ethos behind it. Did this style of interviewing start at Google? Yahoo? Microsoft? What are the origins of this (incredibly incredibly shitty) style of interviewing? Would love to hear the insight of folks who’ve been interviewing since the early/mid 2000s
All started by Microsoft in late 90s. Google followed suit and other bay area companies followed.
Wait even GRE used to be similar. Memorize 4000 odd words and you are good to go.
It has reached insanity. I was around in mid 2000 and it was not this bad. Its absurd that we need months to prepare for interviews and doing leetcode. It is skewed towards younger folks who have that time after work. Old farts like me with family will probably have to try my luck if LC problems are the gatekeeper.
I am an old fart with family. I only spent two weeks leetcoding after a long time in one place. Actually liked it. Learned a thing or two. In mid 2000 you would interview and get rejected for no obvious reason.
I dont think this has been the methodology in the early 2000s. it used to different kinds of questions, which they later determined was not effective in determining skill, such as estimating the number of golf balls that fit on a train or school bus, etc. https://www.businessinsider.com/answers-to-15-google-interview-questions-that-will-make-you-feel-stupid-2009-11#how-many-golf-balls-can-fit-in-a-school-bus-1
I will get reamed for this, but I think it’s origins can be traced to books like CTCI and the exam mindset prevalent in India. In India, to clear entrance exams like JEE and CAT requires something similar. You practice a ton of problems and expect something from that finite set in the exam. Similarly, the current trend is that you have a finite number (albeit pretty large number) of questions you solve and expect to encounter them in the interview. The more you solve, the better your chances are. More quantity than quality IMO. Worse, I think we are headed towards a trend where interview coaching institutes would be required to get into FAANG.
Interview coaching places are already there
Correct, but they are not prevalent yet. I barely know anyone who paid $5k to get coached for interviews. Whereas everyone who did crack the JEE or CAT went through some coaching institute. Get my drift?