coding interviews

A new kind of coding challenge is making the rounds: instead of writing code, developers are asked to review a pull request containing three deliberately planted bugs and find them. The exercise inverts the usual interview format, testing code review and reading skills rather than implementation. Programmers are debating it as a fairer, more realistic test of everyday engineering ability.

Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, has said he now relies on only two tools in his daily work, adding that he no longer considers himself a programmer in the way he once was. The comments, made in a recent interview, are being shared widely in open-source communities, with many reflecting on how his role has shifted from writing code to overseeing and merging contributions from developers worldwide.

Job seekers in China are preparing for interviews much like candidates elsewhere, by drilling through common questions, and a developer has built an AI voice mock-interview tool to help them practise. Writing about the project, the builder shared lessons learned creating an AI career product, drawing attention in startup and coding communities.

A developer describes sitting a coding interview with an AI assistant present, but under tight restrictions: it could not help debug or assist with implementation, the two tasks at the heart of the test. The candidate was handed an unfamiliar codebase and asked to fix bugs within a time limit. They say the rules forced an adjustment, since they regularly rely on AI in day-to-day coding, highlighting how companies are now designing interview tasks that accommodate AI use while still probing real ability.