Are there any US companies whose hiring process involves project-based interviews, and are willing to sponsor H1B visas? Khan Academy is one such company (source: John Resig's blog post [1]), but I'm not sure if they hire overseas candidates.
I have decent experience with web [2] and Android development. But I tend to bomb traditional "whiteboard coding" + algorithm-centric interviews, which I think is because there are too many artificial constraints: no access to Google, documentation, preferred tools; limited time; and questions of the kind I don't usually encounter in my day-to-day work.
My definition of a "project-based interview" is this: 2-10 hour toy project, allowing me to work in my preferred development environment without an interviewer scrutinizing me every second, followed by code review, architecture discussion and feedback. I expect that this will reflect my technical and communication skills better than a high-pressure, think-on-your-feet interview could. If they decide to turn me down, all I ask for is honest feedback.
Lest this be misinterpreted, here's what I'm specifically not asking for:
- I'm not asking the company to hire me solely on my performance on the project. I'm entirely willing to do a few traditional interviews in addition to the project (presumably the project replaces the first 1-2 interviews).
- I'm not asking the company to pay me for the time I invest working on the project (should be obvious, but just in case).
[1]: http://ejohn.org/blog/project-based-interviews/
[2]: https://github.com/vickychijwani