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what kind of a question should be asked to test the programming and DB knowledge of a developer ? i am guessing 2 hours practical would be fine. This is for a senior PHP resource and can anybody please suggest me some examples of questions for a technical test?

Not sure weather this is the right place to ask this question. if not, can i know where to ask this

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closed as too broad by Telastyn, Steven A. Lowe, gnat, MichaelT, Eric King Sep 5 '13 at 15:20


that's great. I hope he/she works out for you. Let the candidate know he is being considered and they'll be ready for your 2 hour test :) –  Mathew Foscarini Sep 5 '13 at 14:55
@MathewFoscarini I am baffled by this opinion of yours against long interviews (which is quite a common opinion I realize) when it's well known many of the best tech companies in the industry who employ only very talented engineers have gruelingly long interviews specifically because they've found it necessary to weed out the people who aren't good enough.. You're experienced enough to know this is how the google, MS, amazon et al companies work, why do you espouse that good engineers wouldn't put up with it when those places employ amazing engineers? –  Jimmy Hoffa Sep 5 '13 at 16:49
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1 Answer

up vote 4 down vote accepted

I'm not sure what you'll do with the second hour - I've never needed it to hire a senior dev.

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Do you actually need to ask a senior dev FizzBuzz? (this is not a rhetorical question) –  Brian Snow Sep 5 '13 at 14:46
@BrianSnow Sadly, yes. I've had candidates fail. They smile, put down the pencil, then try to B.S. their way out. I'm interested in the conversation, the thought process, how they ask for clarification, etc. –  Dan Pichelman Sep 5 '13 at 14:49
@mazraara Interviewing is a process - you're getting to know a candidate, and they're getting to know you. Asking for canned questions is almost as bad as looking for pickup lines. –  Dan Pichelman Sep 5 '13 at 14:52
@BrianSnow there are ways to ask the FizzBuzz question at a more senior level. The key is to see if the programmer can solve a nonlinear problem. –  Mathew Foscarini Sep 5 '13 at 14:52
@BrianSnow I've seen people applying for senior positions that struggled on equally trivial questions so I'd say its probably good to start with something similar but with an algorithm that could be improved to help see how the candidate thinks. –  Rig Sep 5 '13 at 18:36
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