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Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

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Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#51

Post by Piskvorrr »

nvarsj wrote: post #16
git-pull wrote: post #6

I am at my wits end. I am getting exhausted and drained in these interviews. There are times where I just botch interviews. Here and there, I look back and realize I came off the wrong way, like wow, I did that. But I reflect, and strive to get better. Sometimes it's just not a fit. Or someone comes along that's a better option than me. But there is a growing pocket of places I interview at where they blatantly lie,…

It's Hanlon's razor. Tech interviewing is done poorly, almost everywhere. It's cargo culted to death, with little thought. It's brutal on certain types of personalities. It predominately favors people without families or responsibilities. And it rarely correlates with actual engineering skill. I personally get bad anxiety from interviews, from some negative experiences. To the point where I actively avoid interviews,…

Not everywhere. Most places I've interviewed for had a recruiter and an actual team member; after the recruiter ticks their checkboxes for "moves Mt.Fuji" and "can tell a RB tree from a hole in the ground", someone who actually works with the code takes over with domain-specific questions. (Yes, I'm aware this wouldn't scale for an organization that hires by the thousands)

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#52

Post by Beltiras »

chipperyman573 wrote: post #7
kaikai wrote: post #4

Interviews aren't only for the company to get a feel for you- it's also your chance to get a feel for the company. Would you want to work with someone who talked over you? How about someone more interested in boosting their own ego than doing their job (interviewing you)? If the company thinks this is the person best qualified to judge applicants, you're dodging a bullet.

If the company thinks this is the person best qualified to judge applicants, you're dodging a bullet. There are so many reasons this is a bad way of thinking. - A sample size of one is never enough. This alone is enough of a reason. - The interviewer could have normally been a great person but been having a rough day (maybe some personal stuff or a huge deadline coming up - every company has those every once in a whi…

I'm ruled out after one bad interview. Why should I extend a company any more courtesy than it extends me?

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#53

Post by bob_roboto »

If a company can't spare the time of a senior team member to talk to you after some initial vetting they are probably not worth your time. I've been on the other side quite often and properly interviewing is time intense. Preparation, conducting and wrap-up can easily be 4 hours. We only assign a senior member if we think it could be a match and we need to actively persuade the candidate. So unless you really want a position, if you get an inexperienced interview partner just cut your losses and move on. Don't think too much about it and focus on the next one.

Just generally, be bolder with how you select your employer. If they don't want to know you personally, move on. If they are not interested in what you did in previous positions, move on. If they are only interested in skills you built up previously, move on (because they won't want to develop you). Etc...

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#54

Post by virtuabhi »

I think that commentators on this page have got this one completely wrong. It is important to let inexperienced engineers have a say in the recruitment process because they are the ones who will be working under you (right when you join or maybe in 6-12 months)!

Just to give an example, in one of the onsite interviews at a big tech company, I was interviewed by someone 1-2 years out of his undergrad. He asked me to solve a puzzle. Though I am not a big fan of puzzles, I answered it to the best of my ability. Then the conversation turned into what work he is doing and how he was getting frustrated on not having any meaningful projects. I gave him some standard career advice - do a side project that will improve the efficiency of your team (a new build system, test integration, wiki, etc.) and discussed higher education options. Both of us were happy by the end of interview. In addition, it also allowed me to catch a breath between the many back-to-back interviews.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#55

Post by jjkk0101 »

gaius wrote: post #40
pksadiq wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Complain to the recruiter afterwards, if they bother calling you, but make sure you tell them that the particular interviewer was not good. That would be a bad idea. The recruiter knows nothing about the OP, and probably not much about the interviewer. But the recruiter probably will be in better terms with the interviewer than the OP (or the one who is being interviewed). So the end result would be that the OP wil…

That would be a bad idea. The recruiter knows nothing about the OP, and probably not much about the interviewer A recruiter wants to place candidates and thereby earn commissions. If they get a stream of candidates they've sent to interview at company X come back and say "the interviewer was deeply unpleasant and I would never work there" then they are going to have to react - either by raising it with the company or…

This. Know thy recruiter, they can hand pick your interview loop with better interviewer.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#56

Post by gardnr »

Piskvorrr wrote: post #51
nvarsj wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's Hanlon's razor. Tech interviewing is done poorly, almost everywhere. It's cargo culted to death, with little thought. It's brutal on certain types of personalities. It predominately favors people without families or responsibilities. And it rarely correlates with actual engineering skill. I personally get bad anxiety from interviews, from some negative experiences. To the point where I actively avoid interviews,…

Not everywhere. Most places I've interviewed for had a recruiter and an actual team member; after the recruiter ticks their checkboxes for "moves Mt.Fuji" and "can tell a RB tree from a hole in the ground", someone who actually works with the code takes over with domain-specific questions. (Yes, I'm aware this wouldn't scale for an organization that hires by the thousands)

Thanks for this. I agree that some companies are sane, or even progressive.

I personally have been lucky enough never to have heard the Mt Fuji question.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#57

Post by nvarsj »

Piskvorrr wrote: post #51
nvarsj wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's Hanlon's razor. Tech interviewing is done poorly, almost everywhere. It's cargo culted to death, with little thought. It's brutal on certain types of personalities. It predominately favors people without families or responsibilities. And it rarely correlates with actual engineering skill. I personally get bad anxiety from interviews, from some negative experiences. To the point where I actively avoid interviews,…

Not everywhere. Most places I've interviewed for had a recruiter and an actual team member; after the recruiter ticks their checkboxes for "moves Mt.Fuji" and "can tell a RB tree from a hole in the ground", someone who actually works with the code takes over with domain-specific questions. (Yes, I'm aware this wouldn't scale for an organization that hires by the thousands)

Yeah not everywhere. I was being a little dramatic. This is like the 10000th hacker news post on interviews after all.

London contractor job market could be a good case study for what happens when interviews are more reasonable. It's usually a phone call, and an hour face to face and you get a job. Some people hop every 6 months. Others stick around longer (with the spectre of HMRC IR35 hanging over them). Everyone seems to get to know each other in the job market pretty fast. When you need someone, you know who to call because you have worked with a lot of people and know who's good and who's not.

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#58

Post by [deleted] »

gardnr wrote: post #56
Piskvorrr wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not everywhere. Most places I've interviewed for had a recruiter and an actual team member; after the recruiter ticks their checkboxes for "moves Mt.Fuji" and "can tell a RB tree from a hole in the ground", someone who actually works with the code takes over with domain-specific questions. (Yes, I'm aware this wouldn't scale for an organization that hires by the thousands)

Thanks for this. I agree that some companies are sane, or even progressive. I personally have been lucky enough never to have heard the Mt Fuji question.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How to deal with inexperienced interviewers?

#59

Post by blubb-fish »

I guess the answer depends on how strong your desire is to work for that company and whether you consider the (annoying) interviewer representative for the place. Who would like to work with a bunch of wise-asses?! and also it depends on your mental features - like patience and communication skills.

I usually just stay friendly and see what I can do to keep the interview short.

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