Is ChatGPT Ruining Job Interview Take Home Assignments?

ChatGPT, or Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer, is a state-of-the-art natural language processing tool developed by OpenAI. It has the ability to generate human-like text and code, making it a useful tool for various applications. However, its potential use in job interviews has raised some concerns.

Traditionally, job interviews for developers have been conducted in two ways:

• live skill tests

• take-home assignments.

Live skill tests, also known as technical interviews, involve the candidate being asked to solve coding problems on the spot, often with the aid of a whiteboard or online code editor. Take-home assignments, on the other hand, involve the candidate being given a set of tasks to complete within a certain time frame, usually a few days. These assignments are usually more complex and require more time to complete, as they aim to assess the candidate’s skills and understanding of the technologies being used.

However, with the advent of tools like ChatGPT, it is now possible for candidates to generate code and make small tweaks without fully understanding what they are doing. This means that even if a take-home assignment is designed to test a candidate’s skills and understanding, it may not be effective in identifying those who are merely using ChatGPT to generate code. Another trick we would do is narrow the take home task to 8 hours to assess developer speed of development. This trick becomes less effective with ChatGPT.

If a take-home assignment is too simple, it becomes easy for a candidate to fake their skills and potentially be hired as a developer without actually having the necessary knowledge and expertise. This can be detrimental to a company, as they may end up paying for a developer who is not able to deliver high-quality work.

So, what can be done to ensure that take-home assignments are effective in identifying the right candidates? One solution is to conduct live coding sessions during the interview process without the use of Google or other resources, it is possible to assess their problem-solving skills and understanding of the technologies being used. After passing the live coding session, give the candidate a broken project and having them fix it in an 8 hour session. This also ensures that a friend or colleague cannot help the candidate code the solution, as the time frame too short and not something easy to google every issue.

Another solution is to use more complex take-home assignments that require a deeper understanding of the technologies being used. This may involve asking the candidate to build a project from scratch or to complete a series of tasks that require them to demonstrate their skills and knowledge.

In conclusion, while tools like ChatGPT have the potential to revolutionize the way we work and communicate, their use in job interviews raises some concerns. By using live coding sessions or more complex take-home assignments, it is possible to ensure that candidates are being properly assessed for their skills and understanding of the technologies being used. This can help companies hire the best developers, rather than paying for those who are merely faking their skills.