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Why to code on the board in a technical interview? [closed]
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Why technical interviews are done on the board? I find it very stupid that they ask you for example to write a function that sums up the integers from a file, and to do that on the whiteboard and have no syntax errors. But I find it impossible, I means how on earth I can remember that a Reader object has a the method name readLine() instead of nextLine()??! These stuff are hard to remember! So what are they looking for when they ask such questions?!
interviewing entry-level
asked Dec 11 '14 at 17:53
Jack Twain
1,28011132
closed as off-topic by Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields♦ Dec 11 '14 at 18:36
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Real questions have answers. Rather than explaining why your situation is terrible, or why your boss/coworker makes you unhappy, explain what you want to do to make it better. For more information, click here." – Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields
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up vote
-5
down vote
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Why technical interviews are done on the board? I find it very stupid that they ask you for example to write a function that sums up the integers from a file, and to do that on the whiteboard and have no syntax errors. But I find it impossible, I means how on earth I can remember that a Reader object has a the method name readLine() instead of nextLine()??! These stuff are hard to remember! So what are they looking for when they ask such questions?!
interviewing entry-level
asked Dec 11 '14 at 17:53
Jack Twain
1,28011132
closed as off-topic by Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields♦ Dec 11 '14 at 18:36
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Real questions have answers. Rather than explaining why your situation is terrible, or why your boss/coworker makes you unhappy, explain what you want to do to make it better. For more information, click here." – Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields
2
Similar, possibly even a duplicate.
– mkennedy
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
1
Are you sure they expect no syntax errors? Commands I use a lot I have memorized.
– paparazzo
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
4
see help center -> Questions that focus on ranting about problems rather than trying to solve them
– gnat
Dec 11 '14 at 18:13
5
you may find this enlightening: programmers.stackexchange.com/a/16799/285
– Kate Gregory
Dec 11 '14 at 18:59
3
Why would you think this is hard to remember? Competent professionals in every field know the basics without having to look things up. I know all the basic SQL syntax and probably about 85% of the advanced syntax without having to look it up. I know the database structure (hundreds of tables and thousands of stored procs) and what is stored where for literally thousands of pieces of data without having to look it up. Why wouldn't I expect other professionals to have the same level of knowledge in their field. This isn't school, it's work and we need you to know your profession not look it up.
– HLGEM
Dec 11 '14 at 20:33
 |Â
show 3 more comments
up vote
-5
down vote
favorite
up vote
-5
down vote
favorite
Why technical interviews are done on the board? I find it very stupid that they ask you for example to write a function that sums up the integers from a file, and to do that on the whiteboard and have no syntax errors. But I find it impossible, I means how on earth I can remember that a Reader object has a the method name readLine() instead of nextLine()??! These stuff are hard to remember! So what are they looking for when they ask such questions?!
interviewing entry-level
asked Dec 11 '14 at 17:53
Jack Twain
1,28011132
Why technical interviews are done on the board? I find it very stupid that they ask you for example to write a function that sums up the integers from a file, and to do that on the whiteboard and have no syntax errors. But I find it impossible, I means how on earth I can remember that a Reader object has a the method name readLine() instead of nextLine()??! These stuff are hard to remember! So what are they looking for when they ask such questions?!
interviewing entry-level
asked Dec 11 '14 at 17:53
Jack Twain
1,28011132
asked Dec 11 '14 at 17:53
Jack Twain
1,28011132
asked Dec 11 '14 at 17:53
Jack Twain
1,28011132
asked Dec 11 '14 at 17:53
Jack Twain
1,28011132
1,28011132
closed as off-topic by Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields♦ Dec 11 '14 at 18:36
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Real questions have answers. Rather than explaining why your situation is terrible, or why your boss/coworker makes you unhappy, explain what you want to do to make it better. For more information, click here." – Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields
closed as off-topic by Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields♦ Dec 11 '14 at 18:36
This question appears to be off-topic. The users who voted to close gave this specific reason:
- "Real questions have answers. Rather than explaining why your situation is terrible, or why your boss/coworker makes you unhappy, explain what you want to do to make it better. For more information, click here." – Chris E, gnat, Justin Cave, Elysian Fields
2
Similar, possibly even a duplicate.
– mkennedy
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
1
Are you sure they expect no syntax errors? Commands I use a lot I have memorized.
– paparazzo
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
4
see help center -> Questions that focus on ranting about problems rather than trying to solve them
– gnat
Dec 11 '14 at 18:13
5
you may find this enlightening: programmers.stackexchange.com/a/16799/285
– Kate Gregory
Dec 11 '14 at 18:59
3
Why would you think this is hard to remember? Competent professionals in every field know the basics without having to look things up. I know all the basic SQL syntax and probably about 85% of the advanced syntax without having to look it up. I know the database structure (hundreds of tables and thousands of stored procs) and what is stored where for literally thousands of pieces of data without having to look it up. Why wouldn't I expect other professionals to have the same level of knowledge in their field. This isn't school, it's work and we need you to know your profession not look it up.
– HLGEM
Dec 11 '14 at 20:33
 |Â
show 3 more comments
2
Similar, possibly even a duplicate.
– mkennedy
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
1
Are you sure they expect no syntax errors? Commands I use a lot I have memorized.
– paparazzo
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
4
see help center -> Questions that focus on ranting about problems rather than trying to solve them
– gnat
Dec 11 '14 at 18:13
5
you may find this enlightening: programmers.stackexchange.com/a/16799/285
– Kate Gregory
Dec 11 '14 at 18:59
3
Why would you think this is hard to remember? Competent professionals in every field know the basics without having to look things up. I know all the basic SQL syntax and probably about 85% of the advanced syntax without having to look it up. I know the database structure (hundreds of tables and thousands of stored procs) and what is stored where for literally thousands of pieces of data without having to look it up. Why wouldn't I expect other professionals to have the same level of knowledge in their field. This isn't school, it's work and we need you to know your profession not look it up.
– HLGEM
Dec 11 '14 at 20:33
2
2
Similar, possibly even a duplicate.
– mkennedy
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
Similar, possibly even a duplicate.
– mkennedy
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
1
1
Are you sure they expect no syntax errors? Commands I use a lot I have memorized.
– paparazzo
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
Are you sure they expect no syntax errors? Commands I use a lot I have memorized.
– paparazzo
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
4
4
see help center -> Questions that focus on ranting about problems rather than trying to solve them
– gnat
Dec 11 '14 at 18:13
see help center -> Questions that focus on ranting about problems rather than trying to solve them
– gnat
Dec 11 '14 at 18:13
5
5
you may find this enlightening: programmers.stackexchange.com/a/16799/285
– Kate Gregory
Dec 11 '14 at 18:59
you may find this enlightening: programmers.stackexchange.com/a/16799/285
– Kate Gregory
Dec 11 '14 at 18:59
3
3
Why would you think this is hard to remember? Competent professionals in every field know the basics without having to look things up. I know all the basic SQL syntax and probably about 85% of the advanced syntax without having to look it up. I know the database structure (hundreds of tables and thousands of stored procs) and what is stored where for literally thousands of pieces of data without having to look it up. Why wouldn't I expect other professionals to have the same level of knowledge in their field. This isn't school, it's work and we need you to know your profession not look it up.
– HLGEM
Dec 11 '14 at 20:33
Why would you think this is hard to remember? Competent professionals in every field know the basics without having to look things up. I know all the basic SQL syntax and probably about 85% of the advanced syntax without having to look it up. I know the database structure (hundreds of tables and thousands of stored procs) and what is stored where for literally thousands of pieces of data without having to look it up. Why wouldn't I expect other professionals to have the same level of knowledge in their field. This isn't school, it's work and we need you to know your profession not look it up.
– HLGEM
Dec 11 '14 at 20:33
 |Â
show 3 more comments
1 Answer
1
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What would you rather do that can be done to test someone's communication skills? Having laptops with all the software a developer could use would be quite unrealistic and so the idea is to have something that is rather simple which should be doable to see how well do you communicate on some points, what do you assume on other points. For example, did you ask if you could have typos in the code? Did you tell them you'd likely have IntelliSense or other checking mechanisms to ensure the code would compile? In a way, the whiteboard test has more than a few potholes that are designed to see whether or not you'd hit them and if so what do you do about it. At least this would be my understanding after doing probably about 70 of them in the past 17 years.
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
suggest improvements |Â
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
1
down vote
accepted
What would you rather do that can be done to test someone's communication skills? Having laptops with all the software a developer could use would be quite unrealistic and so the idea is to have something that is rather simple which should be doable to see how well do you communicate on some points, what do you assume on other points. For example, did you ask if you could have typos in the code? Did you tell them you'd likely have IntelliSense or other checking mechanisms to ensure the code would compile? In a way, the whiteboard test has more than a few potholes that are designed to see whether or not you'd hit them and if so what do you do about it. At least this would be my understanding after doing probably about 70 of them in the past 17 years.
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
1
down vote
accepted
What would you rather do that can be done to test someone's communication skills? Having laptops with all the software a developer could use would be quite unrealistic and so the idea is to have something that is rather simple which should be doable to see how well do you communicate on some points, what do you assume on other points. For example, did you ask if you could have typos in the code? Did you tell them you'd likely have IntelliSense or other checking mechanisms to ensure the code would compile? In a way, the whiteboard test has more than a few potholes that are designed to see whether or not you'd hit them and if so what do you do about it. At least this would be my understanding after doing probably about 70 of them in the past 17 years.
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
suggest improvements |Â
up vote
1
down vote
accepted
up vote
1
down vote
accepted
What would you rather do that can be done to test someone's communication skills? Having laptops with all the software a developer could use would be quite unrealistic and so the idea is to have something that is rather simple which should be doable to see how well do you communicate on some points, what do you assume on other points. For example, did you ask if you could have typos in the code? Did you tell them you'd likely have IntelliSense or other checking mechanisms to ensure the code would compile? In a way, the whiteboard test has more than a few potholes that are designed to see whether or not you'd hit them and if so what do you do about it. At least this would be my understanding after doing probably about 70 of them in the past 17 years.
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
What would you rather do that can be done to test someone's communication skills? Having laptops with all the software a developer could use would be quite unrealistic and so the idea is to have something that is rather simple which should be doable to see how well do you communicate on some points, what do you assume on other points. For example, did you ask if you could have typos in the code? Did you tell them you'd likely have IntelliSense or other checking mechanisms to ensure the code would compile? In a way, the whiteboard test has more than a few potholes that are designed to see whether or not you'd hit them and if so what do you do about it. At least this would be my understanding after doing probably about 70 of them in the past 17 years.
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
answered Dec 11 '14 at 18:21
JB King
15.1k22957
15.1k22957
suggest improvements |Â
suggest improvements |Â
2
Similar, possibly even a duplicate.
– mkennedy
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
1
Are you sure they expect no syntax errors? Commands I use a lot I have memorized.
– paparazzo
Dec 11 '14 at 18:02
4
see help center -> Questions that focus on ranting about problems rather than trying to solve them
– gnat
Dec 11 '14 at 18:13
5
you may find this enlightening: programmers.stackexchange.com/a/16799/285
– Kate Gregory
Dec 11 '14 at 18:59
3
Why would you think this is hard to remember? Competent professionals in every field know the basics without having to look things up. I know all the basic SQL syntax and probably about 85% of the advanced syntax without having to look it up. I know the database structure (hundreds of tables and thousands of stored procs) and what is stored where for literally thousands of pieces of data without having to look it up. Why wouldn't I expect other professionals to have the same level of knowledge in their field. This isn't school, it's work and we need you to know your profession not look it up.
– HLGEM
Dec 11 '14 at 20:33