I recently completed a take home challenge for a full-stack engineer role. Given a week and told I could request more time if necessary. Instructions specifically said "We're not looking for a pretty UI, we prioritize component structure and functionality." and "Use any framework you'd like." The challenge was to build a back end with four endpoints for CRUD operations on a resource representing an application for car insurance. The front end was a single form for updating and submitting the application.
So naturally I whipped up a solution in less than 24 hours with simple pre-built components that both looked great and were functional (Mantine UI + Firebase)
I submit the challenge and check the logs every day to see if they'd run the application. A week passes before I hear anything back from them, logs still showing that the front end was never visited, none of the CRUD endpoints ever submitted to. "We reviewed your submission, thank you for your time, best of luck in your search"
Naturally, I respond confused about the claim to have reviewed my submission, wondering how they managed to test the functionality without visiting the site or making any submissions. I asked if I had misunderstood the challenge, asked if there was any feedback about how my submission fell short of their expectations.
"We reviewed your submission based on the code you submitted and came to the conclusion not to move forward."
...yea long story short, I'm never spending time or money on a take-home challenge ever again.
I recently completed a take home challenge for a full-stack engineer role. Given a week and told I could request more time if necessary. Instructions specifically said "We're not looking for a pretty UI, we prioritize component structure and functionality." and "Use any framework you'd like." The challenge was to build a back end with four endpoints for CRUD operations on a resource representing an application for car insurance. The front end was a single form for updating and submitting the application.
So naturally I whipped up a solution in less than 24 hours with simple pre-built components that both looked great and were functional (Mantine UI + Firebase)
I submit the challenge and check the logs every day to see if they'd run the application. A week passes before I hear anything back from them, logs still showing that the front end was never visited, none of the CRUD endpoints ever submitted to. "We reviewed your submission, thank you for your time, best of luck in your search"
Naturally, I respond confused about the claim to have reviewed my submission, wondering how they managed to test the functionality without visiting the site or making any submissions. I asked if I had misunderstood the challenge, asked if there was any feedback about how my submission fell short of their expectations.
"We reviewed your submission based on the code you submitted and came to the conclusion not to move forward."
...yea long story short, I'm never spending time or money on a take-home challenge ever again.