Your instincts are good here - one cited problem was indeed the departure from standard conventions. I had my reasons, not saying they were good ones, but I didn't get a chance to explain them either.
I'd like to, but it appears I won't get that chance. I gotta say, that is the part of this all I don't really like. It was vastly better than my only previous experience with a take-home project, where I didn't hear back for a month and got a one-line brush off from a recruiter. In this case, I am certain that they looked over the code reasonably carefully - they did provide a short bit of feedback, though it was delivered by a recruiter, and there was no back and forth here. I'm ok with not getting a job, but I would have liked an actual follow-up where we reviewed the code after that level of effort and time invested.
Lastly, the job was fairly senior, so it may have been a high bar, and that wasn't the only problem with the code. Then again, how much are you really supposed to work on a sample project?
Overall? I'd be hesitant to do this again. I might ask in advance what the policy is on a review. Maybe a 30 minute conversation is a requirement for me to do this. Still mulling it over.
Your instincts are good here - one cited problem was indeed the departure from standard conventions. I had my reasons, not saying they were good ones, but I didn't get a chance to explain them either.
I'd like to, but it appears I won't get that chance. I gotta say, that is the part of this all I don't really like. It was vastly better than my only previous experience with a take-home project, where I didn't hear back for a month and got a one-line brush off from a recruiter. In this case, I am certain that they looked over the code reasonably carefully - they did provide a short bit of feedback, though it was delivered by a recruiter, and there was no back and forth here. I'm ok with not getting a job, but I would have liked an actual follow-up where we reviewed the code after that level of effort and time invested.
Lastly, the job was fairly senior, so it may have been a high bar, and that wasn't the only problem with the code. Then again, how much are you really supposed to work on a sample project?
Overall? I'd be hesitant to do this again. I might ask in advance what the policy is on a review. Maybe a 30 minute conversation is a requirement for me to do this. Still mulling it over.