i actually have began to enjoy places that use these types of things for interview questions. it's a good way for me to know that i don't want to work there.
i once interviewed at a prominent company focusing on a certain language. they specifically stated in their job application that they just wanted motivated, enthusiastic, and smart people and that they didn't care if you knew said language. i sent them my resume with some recent code from my job since i had, within a few weeks, learned their language of choice on the job and on the fly for a project. it got their attention since it was decent code for someone new to the language. in the interview, they proceeded to quiz me on the language, including very specific details of how the language is implemented and things that don't even matter in day to day use of the language. and most of the stuff was something you could easily learn over a period of days or a week by just reading. it still boggles my mind. people, even very smart people, have no idea how to interview.
I don't know. I get your point and understand that language is just a tool, but having a vast code base in our company in C++ (for example), we have actively interviewed people who had experience in that language and were not just "smart", as we needed someone who could quickly get to work and we don't have to teach him inheritance and virtual functions from the beginning. Also, not sure about other languages, but efficient C++ code does take some experience IMO. So, personally I'd be willing to accept a good C++ programmer for a Java/C# programming job, but the opposite might not be an easy decision.
just as an elaboration, i was already an expert in another language. my primary skill is robust code and architecture, something that is completely missed by what i consider trivia questions.
although, i can understand if you have very specific needs for a language and need help asap. but i can also wager that people are missing out on some strong talent if they take too short term of a view. that is particularly applicable to potential employees from other fields. i was a mathematician turned software engineer and brought skills that no interview touched on. i just got initially lucky out of graduate school because of some connections.
and yea, i would consider c++ to be one of the most complex languages around, which is why i don't touch it. haha.
yes. The interview process is something out of the eighteenth century. It's just funny that with all the data collection and testing capabilities we have developed, we can't figure out how to create creative interviewing processes that target specific needs. I think it points more to the employers often not understanding what specific candidte qualities would actually make their team stronger. Sometimes, it's the glue that is most needed, and no one has figured out how to test for glue or morale optimization. These would be helpful target areas. They need to look at why certain world-class sports teams and arts organizations are so successful at what they do. A lot of this has to do with heart and morale. This process drains such qualities from candidates over surprisingly short periods of time.
i once interviewed at a prominent company focusing on a certain language. they specifically stated in their job application that they just wanted motivated, enthusiastic, and smart people and that they didn't care if you knew said language. i sent them my resume with some recent code from my job since i had, within a few weeks, learned their language of choice on the job and on the fly for a project. it got their attention since it was decent code for someone new to the language. in the interview, they proceeded to quiz me on the language, including very specific details of how the language is implemented and things that don't even matter in day to day use of the language. and most of the stuff was something you could easily learn over a period of days or a week by just reading. it still boggles my mind. people, even very smart people, have no idea how to interview.