Comment by bee_rider

Yeah, it tests if the candidate enjoys the programming-adjacent puzzle game of LeetCode, which is a perfectly decent game to play, but it is just a signal.

If somebody grinds LeetCode while hating it, it signals they are really desperate for a job and willing to jump through hoops for you.

If somebody actually enjoys this kind of stuff, that is probably a signal that they are a rare premium nerd and you should hire them. But the probably play Project Euler as well (is that still up?).

If somebody figures out a one-trick to minmax their LeetCode score… I dunno, I guess it means they are aware of the game and want to solve it efficiently. That seems clever to me…