Coding interview: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:45, 6 December 2020

Revision as of 21:37, 17 December 2020

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A '''coding interview''', '''programming interview''' or '''Microsoft interview''' is a technical problem-based [[job interview]] technique to assess potential employees. The technique was pioneered by [[Microsoft]], and subsequently developed by other large technology companies including [[Amazon.com|Amazon]], [[Facebook]], and [[Google]].<ref>[http://ifdefined.com/blog/post/Google-interview.aspx Applicants blog] after Google interview. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110313021040/http://ifdefined.com/blog/post/Google-interview.aspx |date=March 13, 2011 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1405340 Job Interviews Get Creative, NPR 2003]. Retrieved from the World Wide Web on January 16, 2006.</ref> Coding interviews test candidates' technical knowledge, coding ability, problem solving skills, and creativity, typically on a [[whiteboard]]. Candidates usually have a degree in [[computer science]], [[information science]], [[computer engineering]] or [[electrical engineering]], and are asked to solve [[Mathematical programming|programming]] problems, [[algorithms]], [[puzzle]]s.<ref>{{citation |title=Programming Interviews Exposed: Secrets to Landing Your Next Job |author=John Mongan |edition=2nd |isbn=978-0-470-12167-2 |publisher=Wrox |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/programminginter00mong_0 }}</ref><ref name=ctci>{{Cite book|title=[[Cracking the Coding Interview|Cracking the coding interview : 189 programming questions and solutions]]|last=McDowell|year=2015|first=Gayle Laakmann|authorlinkauthor-link=Gayle Laakmann McDowell|isbn=978-0-9847828-5-7|edition=6th|___location=Palo Alto, CA|oclc=913477191}}</ref> Coding interviews are typically conducted in-person or virtually.

==Innovation==

The Microsoft Interview was a pioneer in that it was about technical knowledge, problem solving and creativity as opposed to the [[Job interview#Behavioral|goal and weaknesses interviews]] most companies used at the time. Initially based on [[Bill Gates]]' obsession with puzzles, many of the puzzles presented during interviews started off being [[Fermi problem]]s, or sometimes logic problems, and have eventually transitioned over the years into questions relevant to programming:<ref>{{cite book | last = [[William Poundstone | author-link = William Poundstone]] | first = William | title = How Would You Move Mount Fuji | ___location = Boston | publisher = [[Little, Brown and Company]] | year = 2003 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/howwouldyoumovem00poun/page/50 50–90] | isbn = 0-316-91916-0 | url = https://archive.org/details/howwouldyoumovem00poun/page/50 }}</ref>

<blockquote>Puzzles test competitive edge as well as intelligence. Like business or football, a logic puzzle divides the world into winners and losers. You either get the answer, or you don't... Winning has to matter.<ref>Poundstone, page 62.</ref></blockquote>

=== Example interview questions ===

The questions asked during the Microsoft Interview are crafted to determine a candidate's problem solving, coding and design abilities. Eccentric questions (such as ''Which of the fifty states would you remove?'') test a candidate's ability to come to a decision and articulate it.<ref>Poundstone, page 67.</ref> Candidates answering questions should consider the use of technology in the present and future, and [[user scenarios]]. Some questions involve projects that the candidate has worked on in the past.

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===Interview resources===

Microsoft provides a list of suggested reading to prepare for its interview. Notable examples include:{{cncitation needed|date=January 2020}}<!-- A source should indicate that Microsoft has listed these books, otherwise this section should be reevaluated-->

* [[Steve McConnell|McConnell, Steve]] (2004) ''[[Code Complete]]'' ([[Microsoft Press]], 2nd ed.) {{ISBN|978-0-7356-1967-8}}

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==References==

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[[Category:Microsoft culture]]

[[Category:Job interview]]

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