How to handle interview request ~ Modified ~
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I'm in the middle of interviewing for jobs out of state. I'm traveling down to do face to face interviews next week and one of the companies has requested that I send them some sample code before hand (as in today). I'm very leary of doing this. I've heard of companies asking for code samples and then later it's found out that they have stole the code for use in their own programs. If I do send sample code, I am making sure nothing prioritary gets sent and usernames, passwords, filepaths and server names have been renamed or removed. Let it be noted I haven't done any programming outside of work in a couple of years (busy with kids graduating from high school and getting them into college) so I would have to use some code from work. How would you handle this? Would you send code or not? ~ Modified ~ Thanks to all who answered. You confirmed what I was feeling leery about. I only graduated a couple of years ago so I went back and pulled some code from my last class. The only issue I had with that is the programming was done for Windows Form and the job is ASP.net. But it should give them a good example of my code skills.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
CARisk3 wrote:
I've heard of companies asking for code samples
That's just plain nuts. Not only is the company asking you to violate your existing employee agreement, they're putting themselves at risk of being sued. I would politely refuse and ask them to give you a programming test, or point them to any open source work or applications you've published. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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I'm in the middle of interviewing for jobs out of state. I'm traveling down to do face to face interviews next week and one of the companies has requested that I send them some sample code before hand (as in today). I'm very leary of doing this. I've heard of companies asking for code samples and then later it's found out that they have stole the code for use in their own programs. If I do send sample code, I am making sure nothing prioritary gets sent and usernames, passwords, filepaths and server names have been renamed or removed. Let it be noted I haven't done any programming outside of work in a couple of years (busy with kids graduating from high school and getting them into college) so I would have to use some code from work. How would you handle this? Would you send code or not? ~ Modified ~ Thanks to all who answered. You confirmed what I was feeling leery about. I only graduated a couple of years ago so I went back and pulled some code from my last class. The only issue I had with that is the programming was done for Windows Form and the job is ASP.net. But it should give them a good example of my code skills.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
ditto to what the others have said. Do not send code from work. Especially if you signed any papers at work(NDA). Where I currently work has a very light NDA policy but it is very explicit for code written for the company, as I'm sure most would be. Basically, any code for the company is the express property of the company etc, and should not be disclosed to ANY outside parties. Even if you didn't sign one, 10 to 1 says they could still pork you pretty badly for it if they found out. Stick with your own code for something, or ask for a specific type of example that you could write for them.
Common sense is not a gift it's a curse. Those of us who have it have to deal with those that don't.... Be careful which toes you step on today, they might be connected to the foot that kicks your butt tomorrow. You can't scare me, I have children.
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Haha, at my last interview, the first thing the guy said when he raised the topic of me completing an evaluation project for him, was "I won't sell your code!"
with a wink of the eye, or with his fingers crosses I'm sure. :)
I wasn't, now I am, then I won't be anymore.
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I'm in the middle of interviewing for jobs out of state. I'm traveling down to do face to face interviews next week and one of the companies has requested that I send them some sample code before hand (as in today). I'm very leary of doing this. I've heard of companies asking for code samples and then later it's found out that they have stole the code for use in their own programs. If I do send sample code, I am making sure nothing prioritary gets sent and usernames, passwords, filepaths and server names have been renamed or removed. Let it be noted I haven't done any programming outside of work in a couple of years (busy with kids graduating from high school and getting them into college) so I would have to use some code from work. How would you handle this? Would you send code or not? ~ Modified ~ Thanks to all who answered. You confirmed what I was feeling leery about. I only graduated a couple of years ago so I went back and pulled some code from my last class. The only issue I had with that is the programming was done for Windows Form and the job is ASP.net. But it should give them a good example of my code skills.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
I wouldn't do it. Apart form anything else, what does it prove? You could download some code from one of the articles here and send it - how would they know? It's a thoughtless request: you don't want to work for a company like that.
"If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur." Red Adair. nils illegitimus carborundum me, me, me
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with a wink of the eye, or with his fingers crosses I'm sure. :)
I wasn't, now I am, then I won't be anymore.
Hehe, nah, he's a pretty decent guy, known to people I know.
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CARisk3 wrote:
I've heard of companies asking for code samples
That's just plain nuts. Not only is the company asking you to violate your existing employee agreement, they're putting themselves at risk of being sued. I would politely refuse and ask them to give you a programming test, or point them to any open source work or applications you've published. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Ravi Bhavnani wrote:
Not only is the company asking you to violate your existing employee agreement
Why do you assume that asking for a code sample is equivalent to asking for a proprietary and confidential code sample? Simply asking for a code sample is not necessarily asking you to steal code.
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Ravi Bhavnani wrote:
Not only is the company asking you to violate your existing employee agreement
Why do you assume that asking for a code sample is equivalent to asking for a proprietary and confidential code sample? Simply asking for a code sample is not necessarily asking you to steal code.
What I implied (admittedly not explicitly) was asking for (and submitting) a sample of one's professional work is unwise. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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I'm in the middle of interviewing for jobs out of state. I'm traveling down to do face to face interviews next week and one of the companies has requested that I send them some sample code before hand (as in today). I'm very leary of doing this. I've heard of companies asking for code samples and then later it's found out that they have stole the code for use in their own programs. If I do send sample code, I am making sure nothing prioritary gets sent and usernames, passwords, filepaths and server names have been renamed or removed. Let it be noted I haven't done any programming outside of work in a couple of years (busy with kids graduating from high school and getting them into college) so I would have to use some code from work. How would you handle this? Would you send code or not? ~ Modified ~ Thanks to all who answered. You confirmed what I was feeling leery about. I only graduated a couple of years ago so I went back and pulled some code from my last class. The only issue I had with that is the programming was done for Windows Form and the job is ASP.net. But it should give them a good example of my code skills.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
I always take a laptop with me to interviews so they can peruse the code and watch the program run. If they want code ahead of time, I point them here and tell them to download source code from an article or two.
".45 ACP - because shooting twice is just silly" - JSOP, 2010
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You can never have too much ammo - unless you're swimming, or on fire. - JSOP, 2010
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"Why don't you tie a kerosene-soaked rag around your ankles so the ants won't climb up and eat your candy ass." - Dale Earnhardt, 1997 -
I'm in the middle of interviewing for jobs out of state. I'm traveling down to do face to face interviews next week and one of the companies has requested that I send them some sample code before hand (as in today). I'm very leary of doing this. I've heard of companies asking for code samples and then later it's found out that they have stole the code for use in their own programs. If I do send sample code, I am making sure nothing prioritary gets sent and usernames, passwords, filepaths and server names have been renamed or removed. Let it be noted I haven't done any programming outside of work in a couple of years (busy with kids graduating from high school and getting them into college) so I would have to use some code from work. How would you handle this? Would you send code or not? ~ Modified ~ Thanks to all who answered. You confirmed what I was feeling leery about. I only graduated a couple of years ago so I went back and pulled some code from my last class. The only issue I had with that is the programming was done for Windows Form and the job is ASP.net. But it should give them a good example of my code skills.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
While I won't take online code tests and in-general don't provide sample code, if a potential client has an interesting problem and it has no real commercial application (ie, they can't steal it and not hire me) I have been known to provide code for an interview. I remember once when I solved a very hard problem before this was my policy. Magically the position dried up.
Need custom software developed? I do custom programming based primarily on MS tools with an emphasis on C# development and consulting. I also do Android Programming as I find it a refreshing break from the MS. "And they, since they Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs" -- Robert Frost
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What I implied (admittedly not explicitly) was asking for (and submitting) a sample of one's professional work is unwise. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
Generally, yes. My current lead gave me an evaluation project to complete, to see what my code and thought processes are like, rather than ask for an already code sample.
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Generally, yes. My current lead gave me an evaluation project to complete, to see what my code and thought processes are like, rather than ask for an already code sample.
That makes sense. I've found directing my prospective employer to my freeware apps has provided instant credibility of my skills, although I've almost always also interviewed in person. The interviews work both ways - the company obviously wants to verify whether I'd be an appropriate fit, and I want to ensure the company and team in which I might end up is an environment in which I would thrive. /ravi
My new year resolution: 2048 x 1536 Home | Articles | My .NET bits | Freeware ravib(at)ravib(dot)com
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Haha, at my last interview, the first thing the guy said when he raised the topic of me completing an evaluation project for him, was "I won't sell your code!"
My boss? Tall, bald, glasses - Looks like Wally?
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I'm in the middle of interviewing for jobs out of state. I'm traveling down to do face to face interviews next week and one of the companies has requested that I send them some sample code before hand (as in today). I'm very leary of doing this. I've heard of companies asking for code samples and then later it's found out that they have stole the code for use in their own programs. If I do send sample code, I am making sure nothing prioritary gets sent and usernames, passwords, filepaths and server names have been renamed or removed. Let it be noted I haven't done any programming outside of work in a couple of years (busy with kids graduating from high school and getting them into college) so I would have to use some code from work. How would you handle this? Would you send code or not? ~ Modified ~ Thanks to all who answered. You confirmed what I was feeling leery about. I only graduated a couple of years ago so I went back and pulled some code from my last class. The only issue I had with that is the programming was done for Windows Form and the job is ASP.net. But it should give them a good example of my code skills.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
I have two articles here which have examples of my code. I even put the URL to those articles on my resume.
m.bergman
For Bruce Schneier, quanta only have one state : afraid.
To succeed in the world it is not enough to be stupid, you must also be well-mannered. -- Voltaire
In most cases the only difference between disappointment and depression is your level of commitment. -- Marc Maron
I am not a chatbot
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I'm in the middle of interviewing for jobs out of state. I'm traveling down to do face to face interviews next week and one of the companies has requested that I send them some sample code before hand (as in today). I'm very leary of doing this. I've heard of companies asking for code samples and then later it's found out that they have stole the code for use in their own programs. If I do send sample code, I am making sure nothing prioritary gets sent and usernames, passwords, filepaths and server names have been renamed or removed. Let it be noted I haven't done any programming outside of work in a couple of years (busy with kids graduating from high school and getting them into college) so I would have to use some code from work. How would you handle this? Would you send code or not? ~ Modified ~ Thanks to all who answered. You confirmed what I was feeling leery about. I only graduated a couple of years ago so I went back and pulled some code from my last class. The only issue I had with that is the programming was done for Windows Form and the job is ASP.net. But it should give them a good example of my code skills.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
Don't send work code. Send some hobby project code, or if you really don't have anything that you write for yourself, be honest about that. If asked a question like this, I'd point people at my code on here, though I mention CP in my CV already so a competent HR department would already have looked.
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No. Indianapolis interviewing in Florida.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
Best of luck to you. We just got a code sample from a guy this morning. I can give you some advice as to what I looked for and the purpose of it. He didn't have much code from his job he could provide, so he just sent a simple web scraping app catered to one website. Now this is for someone out of school 3 years, but got his masters, too. Work experience ~3 years. What I looked for: Does he seem to know when to use access modifiers? / Not make everything public? Pass. Comments documentation? Pass, but not nearly how I like it. He will adapt. Architecture? Fail. Giant functions that look like an old script, but hiring for junior-mid level (At least I think, I don't know his salary). OO? Pass. Yes, but not nearly enough reusability. Others? Pass. Though hardcoded "select *" queries in code. I hate this, but he'll learn. From the looks of it, I think he used a modified script from work and built an application around it. We just wanted to see if he was going to send crayon drawings or completely plagiarize. I'll put him through some tests while he's here, to see how he codes, but at least for now we know we can pay for his plane ticket. I gave the go ahead for a face to face, they are flying him in next week.
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Best of luck to you. We just got a code sample from a guy this morning. I can give you some advice as to what I looked for and the purpose of it. He didn't have much code from his job he could provide, so he just sent a simple web scraping app catered to one website. Now this is for someone out of school 3 years, but got his masters, too. Work experience ~3 years. What I looked for: Does he seem to know when to use access modifiers? / Not make everything public? Pass. Comments documentation? Pass, but not nearly how I like it. He will adapt. Architecture? Fail. Giant functions that look like an old script, but hiring for junior-mid level (At least I think, I don't know his salary). OO? Pass. Yes, but not nearly enough reusability. Others? Pass. Though hardcoded "select *" queries in code. I hate this, but he'll learn. From the looks of it, I think he used a modified script from work and built an application around it. We just wanted to see if he was going to send crayon drawings or completely plagiarize. I'll put him through some tests while he's here, to see how he codes, but at least for now we know we can pay for his plane ticket. I gave the go ahead for a face to face, they are flying him in next week.
Thanks for the input. I'll keep that in mind if anyone else ask for a sample code. I may end up writing some code if no offers come from the face to face interviews. While I'm in Florida, I have three interviews lined up. I've had four phone interviews and had three want to go to the next step. I thought that was pretty good. I've taken some test, I'm working through recruiters since I don't know the area very well or what companies are down there. I think the thing that's helping me the most is I work for the School of Medicine and in Florida a lot of their jobs deal with the Health industry. Good luck with your hiring process. I hope you find someone that's a great fit.
If you can’t have fun at work, then why go to work?
