Anthropic Engineer Declares the Coding Interview Dead

An Anthropic engineering manager has announced he no longer uses conventional coding interviews, as AI systems are now capable of outperforming candidates in such assessments. Felix Rieseberg, in a blog post, stated that challenges like React or assembly language are now trivial for AI like Claude. He believes that top talent excels without excelling at these tests.

Rieseberg added that the coding interview is unlikely to return, noting the shift in software engineering towards abstraction. He is uncertain about the new interviewing methods, but is exploring how to evaluate candidates who work with AI. Jaana Dogan, a principal engineer at Google, also mentioned that while she doesn't conduct many coding interviews, she is interested in seeing how candidates use coding agents.

This change might indicate a shift from assessing technical skills to evaluating soft skills, as AI can now handle coding tasks. Tech employers, according to a ZipRecruiter survey, remain focused on skills assessment, with 62.5% requiring formal skill tests in the Information sector. However, 61.5% of employers report critical thinking as a primary skill gap in today's candidate pool, suggesting that human-centric skills may become more valued.