&gt; What is absolutely baffling to me is that companies assign coding tests as a pre-qualifier for the usual whiteboard interview despite the coding test being a far more adequate measure of the abilities of an engineer.<p>A coding test doesn&#x27;t tell you how well a candidate can collaborate.  Can you toss them an idea, and have them successfully expand it and put it to use? Can you give them a couple of half ideas, and they expand them to full ideas? Would they be able to work together with you? Can they understand you? Can you uderstand them?<p>Those are all vital components to success, and you can&#x27;t see those answers from a test. But white boarding is excellent for answering all those questions.<p>A quick word about hoop jumping. Being willing to jump through hoops means you&#x27;re willing to cooperate and go the extra mile, and that you want to work at the company in question.  This is a useful filter for the employer.  They might lose some of the least patient and dedicated engineers (and perhaps some of the most talented) developers in the process.