Byteboard assesses for on-the-job engineering skills
It&#x27;s interesting how there are so many different solutions and even entire companies focused on &quot;fixing&quot; parts of the hiring funnel. Byteboard looks to be targeting the technical validation part of the funnel which means they overlap with companies like Triplebyte. However, the approach is vastly different and seeks to tackle different pain points.<p>What I wonder though is whose pain points are being alleviated: job seekers or employers?<p>While it sounds like this is better for job seekers than technical interviews, it actually sounds like it will compound the pain. Specifically because this is yet another method of validation one must pass to even be considered for a job. Take the various hurdles a typical job seeker must overcome:<p>1. <i>Get through the initial filter.</i><p>Referrals, networking, and recruitment companies are potential solutions. Byteboard just tacks on another item to this list that must be checked off. It does not replace having to do any of these other things.<p>2. <i>Pass the technical screen.</i><p>Crack open those college textbooks, cram leetcode, shore up your portfolio, and now, also pass the Byteboard test. Unless <i>every</i> company uses Byteboard <i>or</i> Byteboard guarantees eventually getting you a job, this again doesn&#x27;t replace anything.<p>3. <i>Pass the onsite.</i><p>Culture fit is culture fit. That one is unavoidable and reasonable. However, everyone knows that onsites still contain a technical portion. Sometimes a significant one. Byteboard only replaces the pre-onsite screening portion of the interview process. That means GOTO Step 2. You still need to study and pass the onsite technical interview.<p>The copy reads well initially. Digging deeper though, it starts skewing much more heavily towards employers:<p>* employers get a better technical screen (filters better)<p>* employers save time (no resume filtering + technical screening)<p>* employers save a lot of time (fewer, higher quality onsites means fewer hours spent by the team interviewing candidates)<p>Which all leaves me wondering, what is the value proposition to a job seeker?