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Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

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Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#91

Post by geocrasher »

kelnos wrote: post #88

* Referring to the company as a "family", or cliches like "work hard, play hard" or similar. * They don't leave time for you to interview them . * They're stuck on looking for particular, specific answers to their questions, even if other answers are valid and workable. * The questions/problems given are one-sided and don't invite discussion. I really enjoy interviews where the interviewer will kick off a design or a…

Indeed. A workplace is not a family. It's a Team. If it's a family, then expect family-like drama. If it's a team, then you know there are actual leaders, coaches, and players, and if a team member isn't pulling their weight, they get "traded" to to speak. It's a much healthier analogy.

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#92

Post by MattPalmer1086 »

When asked if they want a faster result or a higher quality one, they say both.

This was for an open ended coding test. I just wanted to know if they wanted to see if I could work fast, or produce a better structured solution.

I should have left right then. The interview did not get any better. At the end they asked repeatedly how I would deal with problem employees. I had just about figured they were problem employers by then.

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#93

Post by codr7 »

kelnos wrote: post #70
codr7 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What do you do when people refuse? I know I probably would, so I'm curious.

Given how much time an interview process usually takes, I don't think 45 minutes is a lot to ask; if I were the interviewer or were setting policy, I'd advocate for, "sorry you feel that way, but we won't be able to continue the interview in that case". Then again, not completely sure what the GP means about "screening stage"; if a take-home assignment is given before any kind of substantive interaction between the c…

What if I asked my future boss to perform a test of my choice that took as long?

The thing is that any kind of test is going to signal a lack of trust, and that's not a great way to start.

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#94

Post by codr7 »

mrj wrote: post #29
Tainnor wrote: post #23

All of these have happened to me: - The interviewer is wearing a suit. - The interviewer asks "you've worked with [person who now works at our company] before, what do you think about them?". Bonus points if they insist after I give a diplomatic answer. - "Why are you using microservices?" "Because everyone is doing it" - Not following up. For weeks. - "Can you send us your high school diploma?" - Take home assignmen…

"Take home assignment with a time limit." What's your concern there? (Honest question!) I feel terrible about asking for home assignments but I feel like it's good for people like myself who are terrible about coding live. (I usually have a choice of live or homework.) I put a "limit" as a guideline about what kind of quality to expect, usually with language about things not to worry about. I don't expect/want folks…

Do you compensate them for their time?

If not, why?

How would you feel if they insisted on you doing home assignments?

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#95

Post by mrj »

codr7 wrote: post #94
mrj wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Take home assignment with a time limit." What's your concern there? (Honest question!) I feel terrible about asking for home assignments but I feel like it's good for people like myself who are terrible about coding live. (I usually have a choice of live or homework.) I put a "limit" as a guideline about what kind of quality to expect, usually with language about things not to worry about. I don't expect/want folks…

Do you compensate them for their time? If not, why? How would you feel if they insisted on you doing home assignments?

If somebody has a problem with it, they can always choose the live coding. I try to find ways to make the process more equitable.

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#96

Post by codr7 »

willio58 wrote: post #18
aristofun wrote: post #4

I prefer reasonably scoped take home assignment to leetcode "prove me you're awesome in 30 minutes" kind of interviews. Relying on these kind of signals as a main input is a sign that company didn't think through their hiring process and rather just cargo-culting. But all that are still secondary concerns: good people can make bad process work, bad people tend to ruin the best of processes. So for me the only importa…

I share the same feeling. Give me a reasonable take-home where I can flex my knowledge on some real-world stuff. Some people I've worked with in the past scoff at this idea. When I ask them how they would prefer I evaluate technical ability they seem to all meander around the question basically saying you know a good hire when you see one. It's tough to hire good people. I've been in the hiring process for Stanford g…

Sure thing, but if you don't compensate them for the work you're going to lose people, actually you're still going to lose people who don't feel like being tested at all.

I've been involved in hiring developers, and I get it, you want to make sure. But just because something can be measured that doesn't mean that it's a good idea.

I like to suggest a time limited evaluation period instead.

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#97

Post by Turing_Machine »

Tainnor wrote: post #23

All of these have happened to me: - The interviewer is wearing a suit. - The interviewer asks "you've worked with [person who now works at our company] before, what do you think about them?". Bonus points if they insist after I give a diplomatic answer. - "Why are you using microservices?" "Because everyone is doing it" - Not following up. For weeks. - "Can you send us your high school diploma?" - Take home assignmen…

> - The interviewer is wearing a suit.

Came here to say this, specifically.

> - "Can you send us your high school diploma?"

Related: asks questions about that McDonald's job you had in high school, even though you have a master's degree and years of experience in the actual posted job requirements.

> - There are three architects on a single project.

Related: there are more than three layers of management between you and the Big Boss. Two is better. One is best. Too many layers means that it's probably going to take months to get approval for anything, meanwhile management is giving you the stink-eye for "not producing".

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#98

Post by Turing_Machine »

dilippkumar wrote: post #24

Back when in-person interviews were a thing, I’d use the opportunity to just look at the office space. Specific red flag signals: 1. Dominated by Windows 2. Too many people in formals 3. Nobody wears badges (and other indicators of a lax security policy) 4. Old/worn out office furniture 5. Low resolution displays 6. Old laptops 7. No evidence of people collaborating or chatting at a microkitchen etc.

> 6. Old laptops

Salesmen have Mac Pros or fully decked-out gaming rigs, programmers are still on Pentiums.

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#99

Post by Turing_Machine »

JohnFen wrote: post #59

Outside of a couple of phrases I consider clear-cut red flags (such as "we're a family here", "we work hard and play hard", etc.), what I'm really looking for is a bit squishier and not tied to particular phrases and such. Things that I think indicate a poor fit for me include places where it's expected that people work more than 40 hours per week (I have no problem doing that in unusual circumstances, but if it's pa…

> Immediate showstoppers are having an open office plan or hot-desking.

Yes. Not just because it's an unpleasant environment (though it is), but it's a sign of major management cluelessness. "Wait: you're hiring me to think, and putting me in an environment that makes it harder for me to think? Um...okay."

The other side of the coin is that there needs to be somewhere to hang out when you do* want company. It doesn't have to be one of these places where every floor has its own executive chef. A comfortable break room with a selection of hot and cold beverages is fine. Snacks aren't necessary if there are food options nearby.

Re: Ask HN: What are your personal red flags when you're interviewing at a company?

#100

Post by codr7 »

mrj wrote: post #95
codr7 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you compensate them for their time? If not, why? How would you feel if they insisted on you doing home assignments?

If somebody has a problem with it, they can always choose the live coding. I try to find ways to make the process more equitable.

So it's either or, and you are most likely losing the best people by insisting.

Maybe that's fine for you, but maybe not.

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