Vitaliy,
The test posted is pretty easy but I would be looking more st the way
the questions are answered, rather than the answers themselves.
For a position as an embedded developer, I'd also suggest some
questions involving digital & software items. Preferably include some
"tricky" ones where second order effects (transmission line
reflections, digital race conditions etc.) are likely to be involved.

You probably also may want to ask a question that has no easy
immediate answer to see how the candidate approaches  problems where
all the details are not available and  more investigation is required.

Of course, if you're scanning a hundred+ applications prior to an
interview, then a simple multi-choice may be more appropriate.

RP

On 19/10/2007, Vitaliy <spam@maksimov.org> wrote:
> Four years of going through resumes and conducting interviews convinced me
> that tests are the best and the most objective way to judge a candidate's
> qualifications. Here's an example that tests basic electronics knowlege:
>
> http://scantool.net/pub/electronics_test.pdf
>
> This particular one was put together back in 2004, right now I'm working on
> updating it to make it more relevant to what we do (feedback is welcome).
>
> I'm thinking about putting together a couple more tests, to test math and
> software development skills. While math test is easy to write, I'm having
> difficulty coming up with specific problems to evaluate programming skills.
>
> Joel Spolsky has this to say on the subject:
>
> http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000073.html
>
> Specifically, he suggests the following exercises:
>
> 1. Reverse a string in place
> 2. Reverse a linked list
> 3. Count all the bits that are on in a byte
> 4. Binary search
> 5. Find the longest run in a string
> 6. atoi
> 7. itoa (great, because they have to use a stack or strrev)
>
> The exercises are followed up by a design problem (design a house or a trash
> can or ...)
>
> What do you think of those? In your opinion, what skills are essential for
> embedded developers? What sets them apart from desktop app programmers?
>
> Best regards,
>
> Vitaliy
>
> --
> http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
> View/change your membership options at
> http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist
>
-- 
http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive
View/change your membership options at
http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist