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In an Ask HN on Summer 2026 Interviews, One Candidate's First Task Was Installing an Agent on a Windows Laptop
An Ask HN thread on how software interviews changed in Summer 2026 is small (18 points, 4 substantive replies) but the replies are pointed. One respondent's first interview task was to get an AI agent, OpenClaw or Hermes, installed on a Windows laptop. Others report a shift to 5-stage loops where culture-fit rounds now carry more weight than the technical round, technical questions moved into the recorded HR screen, and personal projects and referrals count for less. Single-thread anecdote, not data, but it is the first sighting of 'set up the agent' as a live coding-interview task.
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