Whiteboard coding interview
Completed 6 interview in last 2 weeks , offer from 2 . All rejections from where I had to write code on a whiteboard and all offer from interview where I used a laptop for coding. Is whiteboarding a fair interview practice ?
FB, splunk , qumulo , offerup
Offer from G , Lyft
I have given a candidate my computer to code on when they said outright they were bad at coding on the whiteboard and would not be able to complete the interviews if required. Have you asked for accommodation? The whiteboard is normal and you should be able to do it, but it can’t hurt to ask. They should still be able to engage you, but it might be more intimate if they are right up on you while you type.
I don't think I am bad at coding on the white board and I did relatively well for all the failed ones. One thing that I noticed that while writing on whiteboard I failed to notice many edge cases and structure my code cleanly , which comes naturally when on my laptop. I think to that makes a difference since I was interviewing for senior position
Coding on the whiteboard takes some practice, otherwise you’ll probably suck at it. But it has its conveniences, i.e. you can take shortcuts and make assumptions.
Very true , I didn't practice whiteboarding at all ... Not that I necessary agree with coding in whiteboard , I think design on whiteboard is a fair game .
You know what’s worse? AirBnB’s style is to have you solve the problem on a whiteboard, then write the code on a laptop. If you interview there, I suggest ditching the whiteboard early, or you may have trouble with finishing on time.
Also, I don’t understand this issue with whiteboard coding. A whiteboard is PRETTY FORGIVING, and hearing people complain makes me wonder if they just have unresolved elementary school issues with handwriting or something. BTW, Gayle Laakmann has suggestions for how to handle the whiteboard more efficiently that even I found helpful (I say “even” because I’ve always found it a pretty comfortable format to begin with). Look it up!
It clearly depends on person to person , is handling whiteboard correctly a Job requirement? It's not and I don't understand the obsession with whiteboard. I think it's just a carry over from yesterday's when no one had a laptop and you don't want handover your gaint desktop
Do you mind telling the names of the companies? I wouldn't blame whiteboard as the reason why you failed.