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Ask HN: How to prepare for a 4 hour coding challenge?

by ralston on 3/9/18, 5:08 PM with 9 comments

As part of the application/screening process, I was recently asked by the CTO of a startup, to build a feature as a part of of a 4 hour technical/coding challenge. His words were, "The challenge is setup to give you a sense for the types of problems we face and to give you a sense for how we work here at [company_name]. You will be asked to build a single standalone feature." I will be allowed to use whatever programming language and IDE that I want (which makes me think that the challenge will address fundamentals as opposed to specifics).

I'm a bit on edge as all coding challenges I've done previously have been 1 - 2 hrs (max), and have _never_ involved me 'building a standalone feature'.

Any tips? Advice? All would be appreciated.

  • by scarface74 on 3/10/18, 4:51 PM

    My first thought was that I wouldn't do it at this point in my career.

    Then after thinking about it - especially if they will actually pay you a token amount for it - meaning it's not exploitive - I might do it just as an interesting challenge.

    I once took a coding test for a job after I already accepted an offer somewhere else just out of curiosity. It helped me know where my weaknesses are.

  • by mtmail on 3/9/18, 5:30 PM

    Is it paid? If they'll use the feature in their product there should be payment for your time.

  • by ioddly on 3/9/18, 8:03 PM

    Some tips:

    - Don't pick now to use a weird language. Use whatever you are most confident with.

    - Get it working, then do conscientious things (add tests, add documentation).

    - Clarify as much as possible up front what they want from you.

    Good luck!

  • by not_the_nsa on 3/10/18, 4:57 AM

    Have you got info what you'll going to build? Can you prepare a starter project to hit the ground running?

    If you have to start from scratch, having built (and documented) a working example helps greatly to get going quickly.

    Last, don't forget to take care of yourself, hydrate, bring some food, painkillers, earplugs and so on. Situations like those are stressful enough, easy to rack up a migraine due to dehydration.

    Good luck!