Comment by Jach

I doubt there's that much, in general, since a lot of jobs just need a floor. But when it's used as a proxy for IQ test, the better you do at algorithms the higher IQ you probably have, and that typically correlates with better job performance, or being able to transform one's job into one with higher impact. (Even more if they have high Conscientiousness too but I don't think algorithms would correlate much with that.) It's also a weak proxy for seriousness. I hate algorithm questions (though fortunately not algorithms), almost everyone I talk to hates them, but if you're not expecting them and don't at least know the basic ones, you're not serious about applying to random tech job. (Which is fine, I don't mind that some people will get in a huff and walk out when asked to write a graph search algorithm or something as if it's beneath them or useless since the day-job never does such things, they just weren't serious about applying to that company.) Some tech companies have gotten rid of them, which is great, but you can't count on that yet as a candidate.