If I ever come to need an extra hand or two for , I would reject the idea of using a standard coding interview to select the best hire. PyraMetrik The standard coding interview (SCI) gauges coding prowess the same way an IQ test gauges intelligence. Barely at all. If anything, it’s a good filter for those who absolutely code. But this is way too low of a bar. cannot And, those who ace algorithmic puzzles are not necessarily the same people who take your product to the next level . with little oversight Solving puzzles is not a skill. Even coding is not a skill. The skill is building a world-class product. This requires not just code, but a 360-degree understanding of product and UX. The mega-successful companies of the next decade will have little tolerance for one-dimensional skill sets. No tech company to hire a different person for a product, UI/UX, code, etc. They only do it for two reasons: wants They don’t know where else to look. It’s the status quo. Within most companies, there’s this role and that. >60% bloat. Friction. Flow killer. People separate code and product and UX — as if they were so different. They are all part of the same beast. Is a ‘proficient coder’ who doesn’t understand the product, ‘proficient’ after all? A distributed team of coders who need management is a nightmare. A distributed team of autonomous coders is a dream. You want coders who don’t need managing, understand nuance, and yes, can code. There is a way to assess one’s practical coding ability in ~ 1 hour, as it relates to building your truly unique product. Here’s my approach. I’m not asking you to copy, as your best results come from understanding first, and apply to your unique situation second. There are three parts to how I tackle this: Coding Question — Simple But Revealing Live, Feature Implementation Specific Verbal, Exploration Truth-Centric Keep in mind, this approach wouldn’t “scale” if I have to sift through 10,000 candidates, but honestly, I don’t plan to be in such a mass-hiring position anyway. That’s what I call the “ ” — but that’s for another time. growth disease Part 1: Coding Question — Simple But REVEALING First thing’s first. You hand-craft a question that can quickly determine whether the person has a basic level of understanding of data structures like arrays, maps, and sets. If your product employs trees, throw in trees. You get the point. Example: https://gist.github.com/Nikhil22/d42cc6ce736daa25fc9b6cf7daac876d Note, this question has some key qualities: Easy to understand. One-liners. No fluff. reveals your understanding of arrays, sets, and hash-maps. Instantly reveals your ability to write basic, clean, concise code. Instantly If you “pass” this, it simply means you’re not incompetent. Good sign. Step 2: Live, Feature Implementation SPECIFIC I would carve out a section of my app, simplify it a bit, and have you implement it, either from scratch or with some starter code, depending on the time and context. Example https://www.loom.com/share/8d650b0200d14ac48ae69c93b004f133 This is a simple auto-complete search feature in . Can you write a basic React component that successfully behaves this way? It’s a front-end skill assessment, to my product. PyraMetrik specific Understand — doing this your code to be modular. You should be able to swiftly carve out a piece of your product, throw it in a playground, and have a prospective partner work on it. forces Step 3: Verbal, TRUTH-CENTRIC Exploration Terms like Product Manager and UX Designer are , but the skills are true. fabricated Here, I’d have a direct, honest exploration with the prospective partner to understand their outlook on building products and the domain of my product. Our conversation reveals infinitely more about their “product” and “UX” “abilities”, than anything another so-called formal or standard measure. There is no specific set of questions. No framework. No agenda. Whatever happens, happens. Bottom Line I understand that established companies that wish to run on auto-pilot prefer to mass-hire via a standardized process like SCIs. This post is not for them. This is for the lean, uncompromising business that wishes to attract those that are absolutely necessary and effective. Twitter @PyraMetrik

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