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White-boarding is not nice. An unpaid take home project is not nice. We decided to apply the Ruby community motto "Matz is nice and so we are nice," to our technical interview process. Come learn what changes we made, how we enlisted support of other rubyists and non-rubyists alike, and how you can too. Jesse Spevack I am a senior platform engineer at Ibotta, a cash back for shopping mobile app. Before getting into the tech world, I worked in public K-12 education for 11 years. I transitioned from education into technology by way of the Turing School of Software Design, a Denver based code school with a Ruby-centric curriculum.
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In the video titled "The Minaswan::Interview," Jesse Spevack presents a transformative approach to technical interviews, particularly within the Ruby community, emphasizing kindness and support. He begins by addressing the many flaws present in traditional interview processes for both candidates and interviewers, sharing insights from his own experience transitioning from K-12 education to software engineering. Key points discussed include: - **Broken Interview System**: Spevack highlights how the traditional interview process often favors corporate interests over fair assessments, revealing imbalances in salary transparency that disadvantage candidates, particularly those from marginalized groups. - **Unpaid Take-Home Projects**: He critiques the expectation of unpaid work for take-home projects, sharing his own experience where he dedicated substantial time to a project that lacked relevance to the actual job. - **Whiteboard Interviews**: Spevack describes the disconnection between the questions asked during whiteboard interviews and the actual coding responsibilities of prospective jobs, arguing that such practices do not accurately reflect a candidate's potential contributions. - **Minaswan Interview Process**: In response to these issues, Spevack introduces the Minaswan interview, which embodies the Ruby community motto "Matz is nice, and so we are nice." This new interview style is shorter and more supportive, eliminating take-home projects and instead focusing on real-time coding assessments and discussions. - **Code Composition Module**: A significant feature in this new approach, where candidates read and discuss prepared code. This helps evaluate their understanding and analytical skills while keeping the atmosphere inclusive and constructive. - **Improved Candidate Experience**: Feedback from candidates about the new process has been overwhelmingly positive, with many expressing relief and appreciation for its more collaborative nature. - **Call for Change**: Lastly, Spevack encourages others in the tech industry to implement similar changes and promote salary transparency, especially for underrepresented groups. In conclusion, Jesse promotes an interview process that prioritizes kindness and respect, ultimately leading to better experiences for both candidates and interviewers. He asserts that adopting the Minaswan approach contributes to a more equitable, transparent hiring environment, providing not just a fair evaluation but also a more engaging experience for candidates, thus embodying the spirit of the Ruby community.
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