All job interview have questions about code and math?

Question

Hello, it's my first question here and i thought about if most job interviews always have questions related to code and math. I've searched and found some questions that might be similar to my question, but this is different because i want to know if math and code always appear in a job interview.

Here in Brazil we heard few people talking that happens, but not so much, some companies do, other don't.

And in your country, it happens?

The tips to prepare for these interviews are unnecessary, there are many questions about it.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Definitely.

IF you're going to hire a salesman, you check for his speech, attitude and appearance.

As for the programmers, you need to make sure they do what you expect them to do.

Answer 2

For programming jobs, if the interview does not have some kind of code in the questions, ask yourself if you really want to work there.

Math you can take or leave. Programming is more problem-solving than outright math IMO, but knowledge of mathematical concepts can be invaluable, especially to programmers creating applications to perform math.

So, in summary, it depends :)

Answer 3

Just be yourself !

Answer 4

If you are on technical interview then you should expect technical questions which by all means include programming, algorithms, math, etc.

Answer 5

No, not always. In companies where software is a second thought (think hardware companies that dabble in software), usually no. In good companies where there is a solid software culture, then yes.

Many times it's not the answer that people are looking for, but the thought process.

Answer 6

@Carlos,

I'm from Brazil and I've never taken an interview question where I had to answer about Math, in most cases they were only worried about my skills in programming, English(basic indeed) and how to solve problems.

Answer 7

No, math and programming don't always appear, but if you're going for a programming position, they should. Programmers who can't demonstrate both math and coding competency shouldn't be applying.

Answer 8

I went on one interview and the guy asked me "if you could be any animal, what would it be?". I laughed a bit (really tried not to) and then got up and told him this wasn't for me.

Answer 9

It has happened to me that there is code and Math in the interviews, but I do have a degree in Mathematics so there is a chance that some interviews are skewed that way. This has been in both Canada and the US. Another question is what you want to call Math as merely mentioning a number could be viewed as using Math in a sense.

Answer 10

Yeah, all interviews I've been to involved some kind of math/comp.sci/comp language related questions or even tests, actually once I had to write a take home test (sample program) in order to prove that I possess the necessary skills. It was fun.

Usually most of the questions are actually quite similar, with slight variations.. there are only so many things you can ask, really.

There's a good book called "Programming Interviews Exposed" from Wrox it's actually quite nice, I highly recommend it.

Good luck!

Answer 11

In Australia, I have probably been to about 30 interviews, and I've never been asked any "complicated" maths, or really any maths at all.

Maths isn't really required for the work I do though; my work is mostly problem solving, web programming, and other such things. I don't work on games, I'm rarely re-writing collections, and even if I were, the maths there isn't so difficult.

About the only question that is even closely related to numbers, was to estimate some number of 'cars passing a window'. And that's logic, not maths.