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0 points_qulr5y ago0 comments

> There aren't enough of the very best developers for a company to plan around hiring only those.

I've seen no evidence that companies are even trying to hire developers who "avoid complexity". If anything, the interview processes are designed to select for engineers who bathe in complexity. There are so many interviews which consist of "How would you rewrite from scratch this thing that already exists?"

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koonsolo5y ago

I'm doing technical interviews.

There is such a shortage of people that know the basics of programming, that selecting for such l33t skills is out of the question.

The hiring process right now is not about selecting the best, it's about selecting those that pass some low bar.

ryandrake5y ago

I don't know what your company is, but it may not have a reputation for paying well. I've worked both at well-paying FAANG companies and lots of BasicAverageTech companies, and the candidate flow is night and day different. There is no shortage of people that "know the basics." In fact, there is no shortage of really strong candidates. They are out there, looking around to job hop like everyone else. It's just that they are probably just not applying at your company. Not that you can personally do anything about your company's compensation, but that might explain it.

koonsolo5y ago

This is europe, and as far as I can tell all companies here have that problem.

On the other hand, great for us who can code :D.

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ZephyrBlu5y ago

What do you classify as the basics of programming. for loops and if statements?

zingar5y ago

My current employers hire +- 1/100 applicants. The vast majority fall off before even getting to a coding test. Of the last 20, most are not fluent with conditional logic and iteration, or cannot use a dictionary in an algorithm. In the most recent interview, an "experienced" React developer could not set properties on a JS object.

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koonsolo5y ago

Maybe I exagerated, but you can't believe that 50% of candidates have such a low capability.

"How high do you score your C++ skills out of 10?" "9/10" "OK, can you explain what a pointer is?" blank stare... "no idea"

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koonsolo5y ago

I'm doing technical interviews.

There is such a shortage of people that know the basics of programming, that selecting for such l33t skills is out of the question.

The hiring process right now is not about selecting the best, it's about selecting those that pass some low bar.

ryandrake5y ago

koonsolo5y ago

This is europe, and as far as I can tell all companies here have that problem.

On the other hand, great for us who can code :D.

1 more reply

ZephyrBlu5y ago

What do you classify as the basics of programming. for loops and if statements?

zingar5y ago

2 more replies

koonsolo5y ago

Maybe I exagerated, but you can't believe that 50% of candidates have such a low capability.

"How high do you score your C++ skills out of 10?" "9/10" "OK, can you explain what a pointer is?" blank stare... "no idea"

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse