Does it seem the google folks are getting a bit myopic in their interview process? I mean, yes, they have a very focused mission depending on a very distinct kind of software but it just seems like an awful lot of the interview process is finding out if the candidate will yell "merge sort - n(log(n))" at just the right time.
Google's strength was that meandering "lets just work on what seems coolest" ethos. I'm wondering if they're not selecting out some really great talent by making the interview a test of how well a candidate can scribble some common design patterns on a white board.
I'm not saying that they should hire programmers that can't tell a merge sort from a bubble sort, but perhaps just knowing the difference and when to use them might be enough; Rather than finding out if they can write it out syntax-perfect on the spot in the interviewers favorite language.
Google's strength was that meandering "lets just work on what seems coolest" ethos. I'm wondering if they're not selecting out some really great talent by making the interview a test of how well a candidate can scribble some common design patterns on a white board.
I'm not saying that they should hire programmers that can't tell a merge sort from a bubble sort, but perhaps just knowing the difference and when to use them might be enough; Rather than finding out if they can write it out syntax-perfect on the spot in the interviewers favorite language.