Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Interview Humiliation

deliberate-software.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

71–80 of 94 posts

Re: Interview Humiliation

#71

Post by hsod »

carlosrg wrote: post #64
jbob2000 wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, because it happened exactly as written, and totally wasn't embellished at all.

Do you have any special reason to doubt his story so vehemently? Should we dismiss any workplace abuse story as embellishment? Bosses and coworkers are always friendly and professional? I know people that have suffered boss/coworkers bullying and I find this story plausible. And I know this industry and some people can be very inmature and unprofessional.

As the root poster said, it's comic book villainy. I believe that he had a bad experience and that the interviewers were rude but the story as told doesn't pass the smell test.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#72

Post by kelukelugames »

albertoleal wrote: post #67
Bigsy wrote: post #30

Why not name the company? I'm going to be honest..I don't think this actually happened.

>Why not name the company? I'm going to guess OP may be 'liable' for damaging the company's reputation.

No, not liable if this is true. The recruiter being fired is easily provable. It will add weight to the rest of the story.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#73

Post by kelukelugames »

pavornyoh wrote: post #40
Bigsy wrote: post #30

Why not name the company? I'm going to be honest..I don't think this actually happened.

>Why not name the company? Perhaps fear? Maybe they don't want to become an object of ridicule

He was the object of ridicule.

Things cannot get worse for him unless the company is committed to ruining its reputation. Then again someone companies have been known to release personal information when threatened.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#74

Post by rwallace »

jbob2000 wrote: post #19
fisherjeff wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I found out later their recruiter had given me and many other candidates the wrong time.

Right, but as someone conducting an interview, checking your watch every minute waiting for someone to arrive, you don't know what their reasons are. And as the time passes, you start wondering what the hell is up with this person, wondering about all the other things you could be doing, etc. etc. and it leaves you in a bad mood for when they do arrive. No amount of explanation will change the bad mood, I'm not going…

Okay, but then what you're saying is, at that point you are in a state of mind such that you are not going to be able to accurately evaluate the candidate. In that case, you should recuse yourself from conducting the interview that day, and reschedule, get someone else to do it instead or both.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#75

Post by rwallace »

There are times when it is necessary to recognize that we are interacting with the environment, not in our capacity as logical problem solvers, but in our capacity as social apes.

"This presentation is bullshit. You have no evidence, nothing valuable to show, just spurious subjective opinions. You've put up a straw man and now are trying to knock it down assuming we are idiots. I've seen enough."

At this point, the correct response is "Yeah, I've seen enough too. This interview is bullshit. I'm surprised you clowns are still in business. Good day." And pick up your stuff and walk out.

Obviously that won't get you the job, but nor will anything else; in reality, as very often happens, they made their decision no later than ten seconds after you walked into the room. (Anyway, would you even want to work for people like that?) Continuing to stammer meaningless-in-context words about tech stuff will just result in damage to your self-esteem, which can have significant negative consequences in your life for years down the line.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#76

Post by sjs382 »

Bigsy wrote: post #30

Why not name the company? I'm going to be honest..I don't think this actually happened.

Telling the name privately or in a casual conversation is one thing, publishing the name is one thing.

While I wish I knew the company's name (or knew their side of the story) I don't fault him for not sharing.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#77

Post by theshadowmonkey »

These guys were pure jerks. What person thinks its 2003 when you have a Linux. I love a Mac and use it on a regular basis, but Linux is the real machine. That's where you get your hands dirty and learn the inner workings.

Yes, you treat the developer with utmost respect even when you know from the start of the interview that they are unfit for the job. People change over time and you never know how your company might meet him in the future. Make him an offer or not, you have to let the candidate leave with a good feeling.

I have interviewed at quite a few places including startups. But, never anything like this.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#78

Post by mapmap »

ousta wrote: post #25

it is obviously a dubious story. Wouldn't the first thing you would say as soon as you enter the room is that you got an invitation to 9h30 and not 9h? Then what did op reply to their questions such as 'can't you afford a real machine'? he just mubbled? I would reply very harshly to such comments and show them who is the weakling. While they were total assholes, you were not in a desperate enough situation that would…

The OP thought that their attitude might be some kind of test of how he handled himself under pressure.

I play the meta-game, wondering if perhaps this is a test to see how I’ll react when questioned and embarrassed. Even if this wasn’t a test, I was determined to be the most professional in the room and finish with my head held high.

Re: Interview Humiliation

#79

Post by PopeOfNope »

thedz wrote: post #37

This presentation is bullshit. You have no evidence, nothing valuable to show, just spurious subjective opinions. You've put up a straw man and now are trying to knock it down assuming we are idiots. I've seen enough. Whoever said this is a dev I'd refuse to ever put into an interview again. Hell, I'd be reluctant to put this dev into any meetings requiring communication skills.

I had a slightly different takeaway: who asks a candidate to perform a slideshow presentation at an interview?

Re: Interview Humiliation

#80

Post by bphogan »

EliRivers wrote: post #48
draw_down wrote: post #6

All the usual cliches apply- you wouldn't want to work for them anyway, etc etc (Seriously though, a suit?!)

Exactly. What kind of schmuck wants to look like some kind of business professional? What are you trying to do, give the impression that you put some thought into your appearance and have respect for the interviewer's time? A suit? Get with the programme; we have a strict uniform in this game and you'd better not have the self-confidence or the sense of style to step outside the uniform. We hire people who are just l…

Exactly. The correct answer to "Why are you wearing a suit" should always be "Why aren't you?"

Suit up!

Post reply on HN