u-tunis-el-manar / think-cell-recruitment-test

think-cell-recruitment-test

This is my solution to the recruitment test by think-cell. The instructions to the test can be found here: https://pastebin.com/mRQPfaQp

I made this public because for multiple reasons.

1. I find their test to be very unfair. They only show some of the constraints after submitting your program and you only have one more chance to submit the program (after which they show even more hints, but you would have already failed by then). I would find it more sensible if the applicant was given an infinite amount of tries on the unit tests to optimise their solution and to see all of the constraints right away, as their way of testing is far from the reality of creating code and does not necessarily reflect how well an applicant would fit for working with them. I understand that you would have to realise some of these constraints yourself when creating code, but the test is devoid of any context on how this data structure could be used and that it is timecritical.

2. They treat their applicants with a lack of respect. They have automated mails setup to remind the applicant to take their test which contain very manipulative language to put pressure on the applicant (and brag about how desirable working at their company would be, by telling you x amount of employees have ever left the company (x is changing throughout the emails, so it seems they are lying or just had layoffs ;))). After submitting my response to this test, I got an email from the CTO containing one line, mocking my solution for being outside of the constraints for runtime (again, you don't immediately get the information telling you about the constraint). I answered that I could improve upon my solution to adhere to their constraints and even suggested to port the solution to ASM using branchless programming for further speed gains, but I did not receive any response.

3. The company has a history of treating applicants and employees terribly (according to employer review sites).