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For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

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Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#221

Post by akamaka »

rcheu wrote: post #189
kafkaesq wrote: post #5

So, how did you get to where you are today? I’ve always been passionate about coding, starting from my early days at Olympiad teams in high school and ACM teams in college. Anyone who's made it onto an Olympiad team[1] of any significant geographical scale, in any category, shouldn't have to deal with this whiteboard nonsense. Maybe a few lightweight-to-medium rounds to verify that they are what they say they are. Bu…

If you were on your country's IOI team, you shouldn't be complaining about whiteboard problems. I think the major flaw of interviews is that if you did competitive programming ever, they're super easy. If you did Olympiad training and are still bad at whiteboard/algorithms, I think that's actually a reasonable signal.

Spot on! Every good competition coder I've met loves the whiteboard part of the interview and would happily crack away at problems for hours.

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#222

Post by dclowd9901 »

TheCowboy wrote: post #156
exabrial wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My answer to #2: Being from the midwest, doing interviews in silicon valley was like stepping into Charlie's Chocolate Factory at a few places in LA and SF. It made me smile to see people using their freedom to do whatever they wanted, but I really felt like -I- was being judged: you know for not wearing skinning jeans, feeling comfortable in my (literal) boots, being clean shaven, dressed in a long sleeve, and of co…

Do you think it could partially be in your head and that all of LA/SF don't actually have a problem with a person with your background? This is not to say it's your fault, but to say that you could have more influence over these situations. Most of the time people will pick up on someone's anxiety, lack of comfort or confidence, and start feeling uncomfortable in response. It's not really a personal thing, but it's h…

Definitely not just him. I've seen this behavior play out at companies I've worked at from hiring employees. They code it like, "he didn't seem very passionate or enthusiastic." I take a look at the candidate and they're not dressed super trendily and their hair is kinda plain. But I read their code and it's just as good as any good candidate's. It's bullshit and I recommend anyone who's not seeing it check their "culture fit" criteria.

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#223

Post by seivan »

deftnerd wrote: post #89

The current state of the hiring process in tech companies has really affected me. I'm, by nature, a very shy person who doesn't deal with rejection very well. Because of this, I tend to apply at jobs where my hiring is a slam-dunk because it's so routine and easily within my skill-set. It results in jobs that aren't particularly fulfilling but gives me plenty of time to work on technology I'm interested in my spare t…

I went out of my comfort zone recently, it helps and you won't end up working at cost-centers/body shops aka ad-agencies and "consultant firms"

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#224

Post by anonymoose123 »

frcknfrckn wrote: post #220
anonymoose123 wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think printing a matrix in spiral order is a simple problem. If an experienced person who spent 10 yrs on file systems didn't get that in a 30mts period, would you eliminate him/her? And oh btw, you are supposed to talk through your thinking process as well in that 30 mts... while youre at it, don't forget that semicolons :)

Are you thinking of white board problems? Because that is not at all what I'm talking about here.

Yes.. white board problems and some go even a step wilder and share google docs (coding in google docs is really an art that needs separate mastery)

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#225

Post by mahyarm »

hayd wrote: post #150
mahyarm wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The company is paying you money. The company is the customer of your services. This is why.

Except they're not. Companies rarely, if ever, pay interviewees. Sure, it's true if you become an employee or contractor... but til then they're speculating (as are you).

Kind of like a salesman trying to sell you something... Enterprise software companies don't get paid until they say buy, and in the mean time the company hasn't been paid anything.

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#226

Post by vectorpush »

argonaut wrote: post #155
draw_down wrote: post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That cuts both ways, hombre. If you're not willing to think about the serious problems with conducting interviews that way, I don't wanna work with you either. Plus you literally just came out and admitted that it's not actually about measuring technical skill, it's some run-you-through-the-gauntlet "attitude" bullshit. Gimme a break.

This kind of proves his point. All else equal, someone who communicates like this ("hombre", "gimme a break", "bullshit") on the Internet is not someone I want to be working with.

What is the point again? If benign turns of phrase spoken on an internet forum factors into a company's hiring practices in any capacity, I'd say it's pretty much assured that it's a terrible place to work.

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#227

Post by dropit_sphere »

My current position offered $X to do a pilot project. They then turned me down---and later called me back when the candidate they chose didn't work out. I took the position.

Companies that want to hire, will hire. Companies that think, "Oh, it'd be nice to hire Jeff Dean maybe" won't hire.

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#228

Post by nstj »

mooreds wrote: post #162
lostcolony wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually found 'toughening up' the wrong mental strategy, but rather "not giving a damn". You're in a position where you have a job. Anything you interview for you -don't need-. You may want, but you don't need. You also sound very comfortable in a specific role. That's a great place to start from, because if someone rejects you...what are they rejecting? How does it effect you? You know you're good, at least in ce…

> I actually found 'toughening up' the wrong mental strategy, but rather "not giving a damn". I believe this is called having a great BATNA. You always want to have a plan B, and preferably a plan C. That's why you should always be networking (and, if you are a company or hiring manager, always be recruiting: http://avc.com/2012/07/mba-mondays-guest-post-from-chad-dick... ). I find that contracting is a great way to…

Amen with respect to cycling contracts. Landing a great job is essentially about reducing information asymmetry, and this gives a great means of doing so.

Re: For anyone who has been turned down by 38 companies

#230

Post by dagss »

bcook wrote: post #169
lostcolony wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I actually found 'toughening up' the wrong mental strategy, but rather "not giving a damn". You're in a position where you have a job. Anything you interview for you -don't need-. You may want, but you don't need. You also sound very comfortable in a specific role. That's a great place to start from, because if someone rejects you...what are they rejecting? How does it effect you? You know you're good, at least in ce…

I think the "not giving a damn" statement belies that you do actually care. Like someone saying "I don't care" implies... yes, you do care, otherwise you would not state such a thing.

Did you notice that this thread is about mental strategies?
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