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I had an phone interview that went fine and then I was asked for an in-person interview and to "spend some time with the team", this coming Monday.

What to do now? I am preparing myself for an on spot test. Why not.. Bring it on right? I think that the point of the test, is to see what would / could / should I do to solve a technical problem or bug, to see how do I understand requirements or/and objectives and finally to actually code.

I develop and write codes to solve problems and bugs by: Thinking of the problem, Researching the problem and then just Trying what I got from researching till the problem gets solved or/and the code works, then test it and maybe improve it.

Now this made me wonder, because I, and I assume most of us, uses the internet on daily basis and even in parallel while designing and implementing. And yeah, we built big applications this way and the company sold it. Therefore, if I was asked for a coding test, would it show a Bad Impression if I asked for internet access During the test, a Good Impression or it just depends?

I would like to hear:

Wait to hear or read the requirements. And if it was not mentioned then:

  • You should ask for it, as it is good to show that you are willing to use every resource available

  • You should not show that you are dependable

  • Other?

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    Off topic comments removed. Also a reminder to all of our Be Nice policy.
    – Jane S
    Commented Jun 22, 2016 at 23:13
  • 5
    If you are given a test don't be afraid to ask the rules. If Internet access is permitted, don't do something that is "obviously" not OK, such as ask the test question on a forum or copy a canned answer from somewhere without citation.
    – Brandin
    Commented Jun 22, 2016 at 23:27
  • Why the downvote?
    – Sandra K
    Commented Jun 23, 2016 at 1:41

2 Answers 2

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Relax.

The point of the in-person interview is to see if you can get along with the team and if the team can get along with you. This can be more important than how well you use Google.

Remember that interviewing is a 2-way process - you should be evaluating them at least as much as they are evaluating you.

If they ask a complex test question and expect working code without Internet access, then ask yourself what working there full time would be like (it may be unpleasant - inadequate resources and unreasonable demands).

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  • I am counting on the test to impress them so I didn't think about this, maybe I should now. Thanks for your answer :)
    – Sandra K
    Commented Jun 22, 2016 at 22:16
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    I have said point blank in interviews "... and I research it on dba.SE and MSDN." Not every one who works with code is expected to remember everything. It is more important to know what you need to do and how to go about doing it - not syntax. 11 years of data work and I still look up how to do "basic" things.
    – Anthony Genovese
    Commented Jun 23, 2016 at 16:17
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Therefore, if I was asked for a coding test, would it show a Bad Impression if I asked for internet access During the test, a Good Impression or it just depends?

If you are asked to take a test, it's always good to know what the rules are.

You want to understand how long you have to complete the assignment, if they are looking for real code or pseudo-code, if the result is expected to be bug-free, etc.

And of course you want to know what you are allowed and not allowed to do during the test - access the internet, phone a friend, ask clarifying questions, etc.

Before the test starts, just ask if you are allowed to access the internet or not. Then follow whatever rules are stated.

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