Appropriate Interviewing For a Worldwide Search?

jellomizer writes 'I am a manager of a small Software Development department, looking to hire some more developers. By edict of the CEO, the search must be made globally, so we are dealing with different cultures and different ideas of truth and embellishment, etc. To try to counteract this, we give the potential employees tests where I watch what they do, to see if they actually know what they say they know. However, it seems a lot of applicants drop out when I mention that this test is mandatory. Is this a sign that we caught them in a lie, or are we weeding out good people where we shouldn't be? Would you be willing to take a test as part of an interview? If so, is there any type of heads up you would like to know beforehand to make the decision of whether to take the test easier?' What other difficulties have people seen while trying to hire from many different cultures?

Reminds of a story

[Locke2005]

The business owner was looking for a new receptionist, and couldn't decide which of they applicants to hire, so he decided to do a test. He accidentally "dropped" a $100 bill in front of each of them. The first just handed the money back to him. The second took the money, then came back later saying "I invested that $100 you dropped in oil futures. Here's your $100, plus $50 profit." The last slyly pocketed the money and didn't say anything about it.

Which one did he hire?
The one with the biggest tits, of course!

A better test

[Anonymous Coward]

Make them do the "Which feminine hygiene product are you?" quiz on blogsbook.

You are a what?

[Yvan256]

I am a manger of a small Software Development department

Good luck with eating the department.

Re:I don't take test as a matter of priniciple

[Quirkz]

Funny, I applied for this job two weeks ago. It was a bit of a stretch, but I thought I could make it up by asking any real stumpers here on slashdot. Unfortunately, the test was a real mindbender. They wanted me to join two separate queries. Who does that?

Re:No, I wouldn't be willing

[mevets]

Was it at a systems company? I worked at one where the HR flak would ask stupid technical questions if s?he couldn't follow the conversation. Something to do with adding value or some such nonsense. Her favourite was "what is the difference between a union and a structure?". I was always hoping somebody would give a dissertation on the effects of organized labour vs bureaucratic incompetence on innovative organizations.

Re:Seems I'm different here, but...

[Dunbal]

00A0, in decimal

Re:Good developers dont have time to take many tes

[Darinbob]

Yes, this process does weed out the self-important people.

Re:It's mandatory here.

[DoofusOfDeath]

You put him in front of a keyboard, and he asks you which key is the "Any" key.

This might be off-topic, but you got me curious: What's the answer?

Bingo.

[coryking]

Hell if I know how to reverse a string in place. I'll freeze if you get me to even try. I'm 1) left handed 2) a poor handwriter and 3) sometimes easy to frazzle. Get me in front of a whiteboard and ask me a stupid question like that and I'll freeze.

It is a stupid question anyway. What does solving it really mean? That you are good at writing bit-twiddling code? Screw that. Ask me to solve a problem. Ask me to sketch out a high-level view of the solution. Maybe a couple traces of code tossed in.

But you ask me to fucking reverse a linked list and you are looking for a code monkey who cannot think and cannot solve real problems. If that is what you want, so be it. But it isn't what I want. I solve real problems, bit twiddling is for the machines to solve.

Re:I like tests.

[Jewbird]

Hopefully, any given programmer's ego corresponds to what happens when they compile and execute the code they've written.