As a dev of nearly 20 years, a phrase I've often found useful when justifying my hires...
"We can teach them to code, but we can't teach them not to be a dick"
I generally try and decline "tech tests". Ive contributed to open source, and I've got 100 projects I've built from scratch, or as part of a team. I will happily bring my own, and walk through my decisions, and a potential employer can go through them with a fine tooth comb if they like, but honestly, I think those arbitrary tests don’t show off anything about my skillset that I'd actually want to show off.
"We can teach them to code, but we can't teach them not to be a dick"
I generally try and decline "tech tests". Ive contributed to open source, and I've got 100 projects I've built from scratch, or as part of a team. I will happily bring my own, and walk through my decisions, and a potential employer can go through them with a fine tooth comb if they like, but honestly, I think those arbitrary tests don’t show off anything about my skillset that I'd actually want to show off.