Having been hiring developers, designers, and product managers for the better part of the last ten years ..... I agree.
I also hate the actual interview itself. So little time to try and learn something that for the most part cannot be learned in a high pressure, nervous, anxiety ridden situation (I realize I am also being interviewed, assessed, and reviewed). However, this is a different point altogether from what the author is discussing.
I do think it's great to try and understand how someone
1 - Problem solves
2 - Approaches asking questions, interacting with other people, etc
And quizes can sometimes be a way to figure that out.
I've just found that when using quizzes it's better to openly communicate with the person what you, the interviewer, are trying to better understand. I always pre-amble a quiz (if and when I do use one)
"hey, I'm going to ask you a question/quiz/riddle. It's important to note I could CARE LESS about the answer. I'm really looking to better understand how you would go about solving this. So please, make sure to walk me through your thought process and don't hesitate to ask me any questions along the way".
I also like to make it clear how it ties into what the person will be working on. For example
"the reason I ask, is one of the first projects you will be working on is ___________, so knowing how you approach nebulous problems will be important"
The best response I had to this is
Well, I might do X,Y,and Z, but to your real question, I have a great example, mind if I share that?
Also, this is just a data point. Going back to my second paragraph, I've never once "not hired" someone based on how well they think on their feet in an anxiety ridden, pressure filed, hour of their life in a room with total strangers.
I dunno. That sort of defeats the objective of assessing that person's natural reaction to a little interview pressure. It's not water boarding, it's a simple programming or logic puzzle that requires most people to think.
People (on average) are nervous, anxious, etc during an interview. I don't really care how they "naturally" react in that situation as THAT situation isn't day-to-day (at least not in the software companies I've spent my time) so I'm almost don't really care about that.
I really just care about how well they problem solve, not problem solve in a fox-hole with bullets flying over their head.
I also hate the actual interview itself. So little time to try and learn something that for the most part cannot be learned in a high pressure, nervous, anxiety ridden situation (I realize I am also being interviewed, assessed, and reviewed). However, this is a different point altogether from what the author is discussing.
I do think it's great to try and understand how someone
1 - Problem solves 2 - Approaches asking questions, interacting with other people, etc
And quizes can sometimes be a way to figure that out.
I've just found that when using quizzes it's better to openly communicate with the person what you, the interviewer, are trying to better understand. I always pre-amble a quiz (if and when I do use one)
"hey, I'm going to ask you a question/quiz/riddle. It's important to note I could CARE LESS about the answer. I'm really looking to better understand how you would go about solving this. So please, make sure to walk me through your thought process and don't hesitate to ask me any questions along the way".
I also like to make it clear how it ties into what the person will be working on. For example
"the reason I ask, is one of the first projects you will be working on is ___________, so knowing how you approach nebulous problems will be important"
The best response I had to this is
Well, I might do X,Y,and Z, but to your real question, I have a great example, mind if I share that?
Also, this is just a data point. Going back to my second paragraph, I've never once "not hired" someone based on how well they think on their feet in an anxiety ridden, pressure filed, hour of their life in a room with total strangers.