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Title: Canva Now Requires Use of LLMs During Coding Interviews

Link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/06/12/005258/ca...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Register: Australian SaaS-y
graphic design service Canva now requires candidates for developer jobs to
use AI coding assistants during the interview process. [...] Canva's hiring
process previously included an interview focused on computer science
fundamentals, during which it required candidates to write code using only
their actual human brains. The company now expects candidates for frontend,
backend, and machine learning engineering roles to demonstrate skill with
tools like Copilot, Cursor, and Claude during technical interviews, Canva
head of platforms Simon Newton wrote in a Tuesday blog post. His rationale
for the change is that nearly half of Canva's frontend and backend engineers
use AI coding assistants daily, that it's now expected behavior, and that the
tools are "essential for staying productive and competitive in modern
software development." Yet Canva's old interview process "asked candidates to
solve coding problems without the very tools they'd use on the job," Newton
admitted. "This dismissal of AI tools during the interview process meant we
weren't truly evaluating how candidates would perform in their actual role,"
he added. Candidates were already starting to use AI assistants during
interview tasks -- and sometimes used subterfuge to hide it. "Rather than
fighting this reality and trying to police AI usage, we made the decision to
embrace transparency and work with this new reality," Newton wrote. "This
approach gives us a clearer signal about how they'll actually perform when
they join our team." The initial reaction among engineers "was worry that we
were simply replacing rigorous computer science fundamentals with what one
engineer called 'vibe-coding sessions,'" Newton said. The company addressed
these concerns with a recruitment process that sees candidates expected to
use their preferred AI tools, to solve what Newton described as "the kind of
challenges that require genuine engineering judgment even with AI
assistance." Newton added: "These problems can't be solved with a single
prompt; they require iterative thinking, requirement clarification, and good
decision-making."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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