> Why is the software engineering interview wildly different from the traditional engineering interview
I have my personal theory.
1) Top companies receive way more applications than the positions they have open. Thus they standardised around very technical interview as ways to eliminate false positives. I think these companies know this method produces several false negatives, but the ratio between those (eliminating candidates that wouldn't make it and missing on great candidates) is wide enough that it's fine. It does leads to some absurd results (such as people interviewed to maintain a library not being qualified despite being the very author) though.
2) Most of these top companies grew at such rates and hiring so aggressively from top colleges that eventually the interview was built by somewhat fresh grads for other fresh grads.
3) Many companies thought that replicating the brilliant results of these unicorns implied copying them. So you get OKR non sense or such interviews.
I have my personal theory.
1) Top companies receive way more applications than the positions they have open. Thus they standardised around very technical interview as ways to eliminate false positives. I think these companies know this method produces several false negatives, but the ratio between those (eliminating candidates that wouldn't make it and missing on great candidates) is wide enough that it's fine. It does leads to some absurd results (such as people interviewed to maintain a library not being qualified despite being the very author) though.
2) Most of these top companies grew at such rates and hiring so aggressively from top colleges that eventually the interview was built by somewhat fresh grads for other fresh grads.
3) Many companies thought that replicating the brilliant results of these unicorns implied copying them. So you get OKR non sense or such interviews.