Well, since a bunch of readers have sent me the link to the /. discussion Will the Solve-the-Riddle Hiring Trend Affect IT?, I suppose I should comment. :)  Basically, this slashdot discussion links to a "solve-this-and-you-have-a-job" website (but not really), which sends visitors on a clue finding and puzzle solving errand.  Once you solve the puzzle, you can apply for a job. But the poster asks, will this new trend of puzzle loving job requirements trump traditional requirements such as good ol' education and experience?  Does this approach give less pedigreed (my word) developers a shot over blue chips, or could these tactics turn away the brilliant I-hate-BS types?

Well, first, puzzles in IT are nothing new.  Microsoft became famous for the puzzle / riddle interviews in the 90s, and as I've seen first hand, they slowly phased their dependency on this approach out of their evaluation process.  But you'll still receive the occasional riddle from a Microsoft interviewer, and heck, all Microsofties love to solve those puzzles over a pint of beer.

So puzzles in IT?  This is no news.  A lot - if not most - technical employers ask some type of puzzles during their interview processes, and they have for years.

Now, what I really think people are hitting on is the application-via-puzzle trend that's caught on in the last couple years.  This Prove. Your.  Worth  website that slashdot points to is just a recent example of employers using puzzles as a point of entry into the application process.   Electronic Arts placed a puzzle billboard across the street from one of their competitors about three years ago, and then about two years ago, Google copied (but did it better) with their own puzzle street advertisement.  And over at my old stomping ground, Jenna even dabbles in the puzzle lure with her Coding Master competitions.  And of course, there's TopCoder, and the big boys' (Yahoo!, Google, et al) love for them.  Lots for employers are jumping on this look-puzzles-are-cool-and-we're-cool-so-please-work-here train.

While these puzzles may help the company's recruiters in evaluating talent, the real point and benefit behind them is not to make hiring decisions.  It's to build buzz around their career opportunities.  Hey, you went to that Prove. Your. Worth website, didn't you?  You probably talked about - or even blogged - the Google billboards.

In the end, it doesn't really matter if you solve their silly puzzles or not.  What matters is they made you aware they are hiring.

And maybe, just maybe, you'll think they're cool.

gretchen