The idea has always been to judge ability and potential rather than domain-specific knowledge.
The problem is that, as with most tests, these can be gamed. Every programmer under the sun now knows about FizzBuzz. So now there's an entire art dedicated to the craft of inventing new programming interview questions. Inevitably, the questions which were supposed to be the antithesis to trivia start to become their own trivia.
Really, though, it's just a hard problem. There is no easy way to really accurately assess a programmer you've never met or worked with. Your specific questions could easily turn down an incredibly talented programmer who just hasn't done much front-end work before but could pick it up in a few afternoons.
Comments
The idea has always been to judge ability and potential rather than domain-specific knowledge.
The problem is that, as with most tests, these can be gamed. Every programmer under the sun now knows about FizzBuzz. So now there's an entire art dedicated to the craft of inventing new programming interview questions. Inevitably, the questions which were supposed to be the antithesis to trivia start to become their own trivia.
Really, though, it's just a hard problem. There is no easy way to really accurately assess a programmer you've never met or worked with. Your specific questions could easily turn down an incredibly talented programmer who just hasn't done much front-end work before but could pick it up in a few afternoons.