The Senior Engineer's Dilemma: Recognition vs Execution
Every experienced developer faces this moment: a take-home assignment arrives. You're busy. You're recognised in your field.
Three options appear:
ย ย โข Invest the time and do it right
ย ย โข Decline respectfully
ย ย โข Spend 30 minutes and send what you can
Which one protects your reputation?
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ
Recently, we received a submission from an exceptional candidate, an engineer with strong industry credentials and active participation in high-visibility projects.
The architectural thinking? Solid.
The execution? The project couldn't be built.
Missing: essential configuration files that belong in version control.
Failing: the very quality checks the candidate added to their own project.
Result: Our technical lead's verdict: "The candidate decided it's ok to submit a solution that fails to pass the same quality checks he added himself."
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฏ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ต๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ณ๐ถ๐ต๐ฉ
This expert chose option 3, the "quick attempt." And it backfired spectacularly.
The irony: They demonstrated they knew what quality looked like. They just didn't deliver it.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฅ, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ช๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฏ๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด:
ย ย โข Your reputation is built over years, damaged in moments.
ย ย โข Recognition means higher scrutiny, not lower standards
ย ย โข A 30-minute attempt that fails to build is worse than a polite decline
ย ย โข When time is short, communicate honestly or step away
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐ด๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ:
Options 1 or 2 protect your reputation. Option 3 is a trap that suggests either incompetence or carelessness. That's the signal it sends.
๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ค๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐
In an industry obsessed with titles and credentials, how do we ensure quality isn't lost?
Simple: Judge people by their work, not their titles. Because credentials mean nothing if you don't uphold standards in everything you do.