We had algorithm questions, but they weren't absurd. Whereas you'll routinely run into leetcode "hard" questions in interviews now -- which should be a dead giveaway that the candidate has memorized the answer -- back then you'd maybe get one question that peaked out at about medium. That's about the practical limit for a competent (but exceptional) mortal who hasn't simply memorized a book of trivia.
(And yes, we did these on whiteboards.)
It wasn't that long ago that Joel Spolsky proposed fizzbuzz as an interview screen...and he really meant that you should ask that question. The idea was that you demonstrate that you can write code using a simple test, then move on to more important factors. Can you imagine such a thing today?
(And yes, we did these on whiteboards.)
It wasn't that long ago that Joel Spolsky proposed fizzbuzz as an interview screen...and he really meant that you should ask that question. The idea was that you demonstrate that you can write code using a simple test, then move on to more important factors. Can you imagine such a thing today?