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If I could answer that question, I would be a billionaire already.

Programming interviews are almost exactly akin to actor's auditions. Just because you flunk an audition doesn't mean that you're a bad actor. Also, auditioning takes a special skill and it's not very much like being a real actor. But they still do it to this day. Programming interviews are similar.

The best hiring model I can come up with is the Netflix model. Pay top of the market, hire and fire people quickly if they don't meet expectations, with a generous severance. Have high expectations, reward the ones that can fulfill those expectations, and quickly get rid of those that don't. It's ruthless, but the Netflix engineers I know love working there.



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