> the insane hazing ritual of the tech interview processThat's it, exactly. I was a hiring manager for 25 years, and never gave a single coding test, during that time. I never made any technical errors. The only bad hires were folks that couldn't adapt to the work environment. Some of them were quite technically proficient.
Some of my most gratifying hires, were ones that came in, with little tech proficiency or experience. I kept people for a long time, and helped them to develop their careers. It was not always a a bad thing, when they left. If my company wasn't willing to do what it took, to keep them, then I sincerely wished them luck.
In my rather truncated modern interview cycle (I gave up, after a few months), I came to understand that the interview process is, quite literally, a hazing ritual. Companies don't want "outside the box" thinking. They want people that won't rock the boat, and will do as they are told. I also personally believe that leetcode tests are "young pass filters." Us "olds" are quite unpopular, and it has nothing at all to do with how much we cost. In my entire career, I never made as much as many kids get, at their first job (yet, I still have more to show for it, than many).
When I would ask interviewers why they refused to look at my portfolio, and, instead relied exclusively on leetcode tests, they would hem and haw, but eventually, it would boil down to "Well, I got hazed, so you are, too."
After running into this a few times, I realized the fox ain't worth the chase.
That's it, exactly. I was a hiring manager for 25 years, and never gave a single coding test, during that time. I never made any technical errors. The only bad hires were folks that couldn't adapt to the work environment. Some of them were quite technically proficient.
Some of my most gratifying hires, were ones that came in, with little tech proficiency or experience. I kept people for a long time, and helped them to develop their careers. It was not always a a bad thing, when they left. If my company wasn't willing to do what it took, to keep them, then I sincerely wished them luck.
In my rather truncated modern interview cycle (I gave up, after a few months), I came to understand that the interview process is, quite literally, a hazing ritual. Companies don't want "outside the box" thinking. They want people that won't rock the boat, and will do as they are told. I also personally believe that leetcode tests are "young pass filters." Us "olds" are quite unpopular, and it has nothing at all to do with how much we cost. In my entire career, I never made as much as many kids get, at their first job (yet, I still have more to show for it, than many).
When I would ask interviewers why they refused to look at my portfolio, and, instead relied exclusively on leetcode tests, they would hem and haw, but eventually, it would boil down to "Well, I got hazed, so you are, too."
After running into this a few times, I realized the fox ain't worth the chase.