In this episode of The Programming Podcast, Danny Thompson and Leon Noel discuss the future of tech interviews in an AI-driven world. They share their thoughts on whether data-structure-and-algorithm (DSA) interviews are effective, how pair-programming or take-home tests can reveal a candidate’s real skills, and why many employers worry about AI “cheating.” They also explain why cold applying might be a huge waste of time and how networking is more crucial than ever in today’s tech job market. Finally, they dive into real-world AI coding assistants like Cursor IDE and Cody AI—highlighting what’s hype versus what actually delivers productivity gains.
Listen to The Programming Podcast on YouTube, Spotify, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts!
Spotify link
https://open.spotify.com/show/6d59PZ138KeoKfq5hoVvyQ
📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?
Email us at dannyandleonpodcast@gmail.com!
Danny Thompson
https://x.com/DThompsonDev
https://www.linkedin.com/in/DThompsonDev
https://www.DThompsonDev.Com
Leon Noel
https://x.com/leonnoel
https://www.linkedin.com/in/leonnoel/
https://100devs.org/
📧 Have ideas or questions for the show? Or are you a business that wants to talk business?
Email us at dannyandleonpodcast@gmail.com!
Chapters & Timestamps
0:00 Cold Applying & Why Networking Is Better
1:02 Welcome & Podcast Intros
1:28 AI Take-Home Tests & Cheating Concerns
6:00 DSA Interviews vs. Real-World Skills
8:56 Best Tech Interview Experience (AutoZone)
11:00 Behavioral Rounds & Project-Based Hiring
15:18 AI in Interviews & Prompt Engineering
21:04 Networking vs. Cold Applying
23:00 AI Arms Race: Resumes & Branding
25:00 Commit Your Code Conference for Charity
31:01 Cursor IDE & Building Apps with AI
40:55 Cody AI & Training on Your Codebase
42:35 Outro
