in reply to Assessing Perl skill level in job interviews

Well, they asked me to be their advocate, so here is my opportunity. :-)

BrainBench provides technical evaluations via web-based "Computer Adaptive Testing," which tailors the test to the test-taker's abilities. The tests will take a maximum of two hours to complete (and should take far less -- it took me about 45 minutes), and will assess the test-taker's knowledge and understanding of various categories, like "Conceptual," "Problem-Solving" and "Terminology & Syntax."

The Perl exam has just completed its "beta" stage, and has been endorsed by the International Webmasters Association. You can find more information about the Perl exam at Perl Programmer Certification at BrainBench.

If you sign up with Brainbench as an employer, they will provide you with confirmation tests you can use at an interview. Tests are still free, though they have threatened to start charging for the certification exams. Costs will be small, but now is the time to get a certification if you are interested.

If you would like to see a "transcript" showing the results of an exam, go to BrainBench and enter "672022" in the "View Transcript" box near the bottom of the left-side nav bar. It's my transcript, and it'll give you some idea of the information available to employers, recruiters, etc.

As many others have said in this thread, there is far more to assessing an applicant than just knowledge. A good programmer with little Perl knowledge will be more valuable to you than someone with "book knowledge" of Perl, but little "instinct" for programming. This is probably the main reason why I like the Brainbench approach. If you don't know every trivial bit of Perl knowledge by heart, but know where to find the information quickly, you will likely be a very valued part of any team. The brainbench exams cater to those who are comfortable enough with the subject to find the answer.

There are a number of rather esoteric questions in the Perl exam. If you can consult the Camel book or other favorite writings (I'm very fond of the "One-liners" section in the back of merlyn's "Effective Perl Programming") or a quick Perl script to test something, you will score well on the test, even if you are not a Perl guru. As a team-leader-type, I value this ability. Knowing where to find the answer is almost as good as knowing the answer immediately.

So, when you go to take the Perl exam, have your reference materials handy.

<disclaimer>
For the record, I have agreed to be part of Brainbench's "MVP" program, where they ask me to assist with the exam's questions and other issues. I do not receive any money or other consideration from Brainbench.
</disclaimer>

Russ
Brainbench 'Most Valuable Professional' for Perl

  • Comment on Re: Assessing Perl skill level (Brainbench plug)

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RE: Re: Assessing Perl skill level (Brainbench plug)
by chromatic (Archbishop) on Aug 16, 2000 at 01:46 UTC
    I just took the Perl test (and am now officially certified as a Master), however I'm not convinced this is the best way to gauge ability.

    The test took me 15 minutes, without consulting any documentation, and there were a number of questions I found misleading... with more than one correct answer. These were largely conceptual.

    I'll take another test, and see if I can get up around the 4.8 level, but I think giving people a chance to explain their answers (in an interview setting) is more valuable than the ability to pick one answer out of five, especially when the terminology's not what I'm used to from the Camel or perldoc.

    Still, it's nice to be recognized as a master, better than 90-something percent of everyone else who's taken the test. :)

[reply]
      I have not yet heard back from Brainbench about the status of the latest test question changes.

      The problems will only be found by those who score the highest on the exam, because most of the problem questions deal with more difficult topics.

      If you remember any of the troublesome questions, feel free to let me know about them. I suspect they have not yet corrected the questions (since we only discussed them last week).

      You are, of course, correct that a test like this cannot be a completely adequate judge of ability. However, remember that you fall well outside the normal curve. You should rank as a guru in nearly any ability measure, so a general test such as this will be less precise in your case.

      Of course, if the interviewer is very Perl-knowledgeable, sample code and test problems will always be better. But, for any interviewer who may be less technically qualified than the interviewee, another tool is necessary. I think Brainbench makes a good tool in that case.

      Russ
      Brainbench 'Most Valuable Professional' for Perl

[reply]
Re: Re: Assessing Perl skill level (Brainbench plug)
by petemar1 (Pilgrim) on Jan 12, 2002 at 06:40 UTC

    Has Brainbench approached Larry Wall, to receive an endorsement for their Perl exam?

[reply]

      Larry speaks on certification here.

[reply]

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