How to deal with an interviewer who needs a sample output of my work but I can't show them due to some circumstances

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

I've applied as a Software Engineer at a company and been interviewed. The initial interview with the employer was good. The next step for the application process was to be interviewed by a technical lead developer. The technical lead asked me to show some sample outputs of my work but I can't show my sample output because the outputs I've done is ONLY for use inside of my past company and its very confidential.

Note that in my past company. Flash Drives are prohibited and uploading is monitored. That's is why I cant really copy my work outside the company.

I've spoken with the technical lead and I said that I can't give the sample output because of its confidentiality. In return the technical lead just thanked me for my time and they said they'll contact me soon. Which I haven't got a callback for two months.

Given the situation. What could I have done to make them to prove that I have done this and that project?

manpreet 2 years ago

As an interviewer, I don't think I would ask to look at your code. I can tell a lot more by having a discussion with you about aspects of the language. I have no real way to know if the code you show me is actually yours. Coding tests as part of an interview annoy me for the same reason, its not really a good indicator of your abilities.

Most every job I've had the code would be either company proprietary or classified in some way, so providing it to someone else is not an option. In fact, I could see some interviewers using that as a test to see if you would provide your previous company's proprietary code to them and use that as a strike against you because that shows a lack of professionalism.

As an answer to your question, I think I would just say "I can't provide you with the code because it is proprietary and I'm sure you would want me to respect your code the same way, but I'll be happy to discuss the projects and technologies I have used as much as you want"...possibly phrased better. Most people don't have their own projects or open source submissions to provide. They should be able to understand that.