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Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

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Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#61

Post by thedufer »

salarynope wrote: post #56
JDiculous wrote: post #17

Before even that, I'd rather see salaries posted. Only a disappointingly small number of companies post salary information.

In my company, it's very rare that we'll have a need that's so specific that we could actually know the salary within $10k before we hire. It's far more common that we have openings for "Software Engineers", and we end up hiring one very junior, one very senior engineer, and some folks in between. Thus, from the same ad, compensation could range from $90k w/1,000 shares to $280k w/20,000 shares. And, frankly, saying…

>And, frankly, saying "salary is typically between $75k and $300k" isn't useful information.

I disagree. That is absolutely better than not posting anything.

Also, I suspect that ranges for most positions aren't that big - not everyone is lumping everything from the most junior to the most senior into one position.

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#62

Post by dexterdog »

llamataboot wrote: post #6

I wish companies didn't think their interviews were some weird "secret sauce" -- I've had companies flat out refuse to tell me what the interview process would be like, or even how long I should expect for the interview beyond "1-4 hours". Well, you know 1 hour is a lot different than 4 hours! Personally I think all companies should be using pair-programming or contract to hire, as I think trivia questions and whiteb…

If they say 1-4 hours then 1 hour usually means you aren't getting the job. 3-4 hours means you are still in the running, but still probably won't get the job.

I am with you on contract-to-hire. I get that companies are cautious because a bad hire can be tough to recover from, but the processes 99% of companies do are not conducive to good hires.

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#63

Post by pumblechook »

Yes! It needn't be a lot of detail either. Example: I interviewed with a leading UX consulting firm, and they were very up front about the process. It was essentially 1 short take home assignment (30 mins), 1 phone screen (30 mins), 1 longer take home assignment (4-8 hours), and 1 full day of on site interviews where you have to give an hour long presentation. I didn't get the job, but it was by far the best and most transparent interview process I've been through.

Edit: on a side note, I really wish more companies would provide honest feedback to the candidate during the interview process. Especially when you've invested significant time into an interview process and are ultimately rejected, it is beyond frustrating to ask for feedback and just hear crickets, or a generic "other candidates are a better fit", etc...

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#64

Post by jrockway »

kevindeasis wrote: post #55

What is your guys' go-to strategy in getting an interview? Especially, if you are a recent grad in Canada (AB) how do you get more job interviews? Especially for top tech companies? Like how do you arrange your resume so it passes the key word scan. Who do you pass your resume to? Which websites should you go to?

Networking is key. I've never cold-submitted my resume anywhere.

Networking doesn't necessarily mean standing around in a room with a name tag and making small talk. Put your work out where people can see it; release open source, talk at conferences, etc. Then the jobs will find you.

HN has also been very helpful; a few kind folks here helped me deal with Google's hiring process.

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#66

Post by [deleted] »

santaclaus wrote: post #38
melvinmt wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apple not big enough?

I've heard from various friends at Apple that their interviews are way less structured than Google or Facebook or Microsoft's. For similar software positions, one friend was seriously grilled on implementation details of WebKit internals, while the other said he just shot some high level shit about music production software for a coupe of hours. Similar resumes, similar backgrounds, both got gigs but I was kind of su…

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#67

Post by ethanbond »

tdkl wrote: post #48
imh wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a part of the secrecy is so that if it goes poorly they can stop the interview after a really bad session without indicating to the candidate that it's gone so badly. "Yup, it's always just two sessions, goodbye." This is an actual rational I've heard. I don't agree with it, but it's a thing.

I'd rather wish for being open, honest and direct with the rejection then tolerant and polite. It saves a lot of time and emotional investment.

I'm sure it's not for no reason. Is it difficult to imagine a (particularly bad) candidate throwing a miniature temper tantrum if s/he knew that leaving before lunch was a rejection?

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#68

Post by joelx »

tdkl wrote: post #48
imh wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a part of the secrecy is so that if it goes poorly they can stop the interview after a really bad session without indicating to the candidate that it's gone so badly. "Yup, it's always just two sessions, goodbye." This is an actual rational I've heard. I don't agree with it, but it's a thing.

I'd rather wish for being open, honest and direct with the rejection then tolerant and polite. It saves a lot of time and emotional investment.

As an employer, I have found that if you honestly tell 10 people the reason that you did not hire them that a minimum of 3 people will have hostile reactions to you.

I do agree that it would be a better way for all employees to give feedback to all candidates and for those candidates to handle the rejection in an emotionally mature way.

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#69

Post by mooreds »

dexterdog wrote: post #62
llamataboot wrote: post #6

I wish companies didn't think their interviews were some weird "secret sauce" -- I've had companies flat out refuse to tell me what the interview process would be like, or even how long I should expect for the interview beyond "1-4 hours". Well, you know 1 hour is a lot different than 4 hours! Personally I think all companies should be using pair-programming or contract to hire, as I think trivia questions and whiteb…

If they say 1-4 hours then 1 hour usually means you aren't getting the job. 3-4 hours means you are still in the running, but still probably won't get the job. I am with you on contract-to-hire. I get that companies are cautious because a bad hire can be tough to recover from, but the processes 99% of companies do are not conducive to good hires.

This. I hired a few times and rapidly learned not to promise the candidate a fixed amount of time. Why waste everyone's time doing more interviewing if the first interviewer finds out something that reveals the candidate is not a fit?

Re: Ask HN: Can the “Who is Hiring?” post include a bit about the interview process?

#70

Post by jackweirdy »

gaza3g wrote: post #2

This is a great idea. I've been in many interviews where I thought I did pretty well only to be told, "oh, this is just the first of many interviews". I wouldn't have applied if I had known since every onsite interview requires me to at least take half a day off from work. That is time that can be used for something else. But I do have to mention that with the Big4, they will let you know in detail about the whole pr…

Do you mean the Big 4 tech or just the Big Four? (which usually implies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Four_accounting_firms)
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