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I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

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Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#211

Post by Apocryphon »

siscia wrote: post #33

I believe Google have brainwashed us all. Are we sure that it is worth all this effort? Are they so much better than any other company or startup? Is our own self so much more valuable if a random intervier liked our works an epsilon more than the other candidate? People inside FAANG are unhappy as well, they leave their company as well. I believe we should be less impacted by the ads that Google is running to sponso…

I thought for the past five years FAANG, maybe Netflix aside, was supposed to be passé. Unicorns like AirBnB or Stripe were supposed to be the killer workplaces to strive for. Though I suppose with the potential IPO busts this year (see Uber) the dream aspirant tech workplace might be changing, too.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#212

Post by wheresvic1 »

djsumdog wrote: post #198
jordansmithnz wrote: post #39

This reminds me of a take home software engineering interview I was once given via email. Same deal, I was told about 5 hours. I’m an iOS developer, so I was expecting a pretty simple app. I opened the PDF to find not one, but three separate tasks. Completion of all three was expected, with an estimate of about two hours each. One of the tasks was to replicate Apple’s ‘Reminders’ app in its entirety, backend sync fun…

> you’re about to dedicate up to 5 working days on this task, with the potential for them to ghost you straight afterwards I often give companies a list of open current open source tasks I'm working on. Pick one and I'll complete it for your interview. Every singe company turned me down, except one, who just accepted one of the tools I had on Github and examined that.

This is absolutely brilliant - I think that this is the way to go for hiring tests! Either that or you get paid for the hours you put in.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#213

Post by agrippanux »

rdez6173 wrote: post #104

I am a software engineer and I was once asked during an interview at a large hedge fund to pick a side and debate why war is justified. When I pressed them about the relevance, they indicated that they often have heated debates on all manner of topics, so they wanted to see my thought process. I enjoy solving complex problems, but socio-ethical problems are way outside of my wheelhouse. I politely indicated that I di…

When interviewing execs who would be building new departments a few years ago, I would pose the question of "In the wake of Arab spring in Libya, the people decide that you are their next leader. What happens in your first 100 days?".

The answers ran the gamut from lazy to fantastic to terrifying. A lot of answers where generic "coalition building" variety. The better answers identified key areas to focus on like infrastructure, basic services, etc. The best answers had clear goals and possible government structures supporting accountability.

Bad answers had the exec consolidating power and crushing opposition. The worst answers had the exec killing people to achieve their goals. Not joking, I had several answers that where "I would find my rivals and kill them".

Overall I thought it was a good question as those who performed well on it and where hired built great sustainable orgs and those who did poorly where usually shown the door within a year. Those who did well where able to take a crazy situation, break it down into smaller problems, and then solve for them while those who did poorly where usually relying either escaping the problem via committees or flat out crushing opposition.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#214

Post by PorterDuff »

Loughla wrote: post #204
pxue wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because you're joining a team and should be a good fit beyond technical expertise. I would be very happy to have answered that question and would be a plus one in my books if I can have these types of heated talks with my coworkers.

Non-baited statement (and I'm aware it's discussed a lot here), but my experience with people saying the candidate wouldn't be a good 'fit' was just a way to enforce bias either unconsciously or consciously. And led to problems with group-think and an inability to think in different ways. Now granted my hiring sample is less than 100, but that has been my experience so far.

As a serious question, why do you think that dissimilar groups product faster or higher quality work? How far can you take that concept? Should they even speak the same language?

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#216

Post by PorterDuff »

josh2600 wrote: post #78

Someone on my team once asked an iOS engineer to add a button to a codebase during an onsite interview. That is actually a horrible test to complete in 45 minutes if the codebase is large (and particularly hard if it’s not super well maintained because even just familiarizing yourself with the codebase can take a great deal of time). It’s one of those things that sounds easy but really, really isn’t possible to do in…

I rather like this idea in the sense that it tells you a lot about your own codebase. There is a lot of stuff out there that only makes sense to the author.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#217

Post by xiphias2 »

ghaff wrote: post #194
xiphias2 wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's great if you do it as long as you pay for it. I was doing a 1 week payed interview at Coinbase. I was not hired, but my memories of the interview process are great.

This sort of thing mostly works fine for students and similar. (And internships are often great for everyone concerned.) But this doesn't really work for someone who already is working full-time. Some pay is fine but there's no way I'm taking a week of vacation to interview with you.

I understand it, I wasn't a student, but I didn't have a job at that point (I quit 2 years before to travel the world and had some contracting jobs).

The good part is that it was the last step, and 50% of the people from the last step were given an offer, so it wasn't that bad (though I'm afraid that the offer itself was maybe too low compared to my previous works).

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#218

Post by hguant »

rdez6173 wrote: post #104

I am a software engineer and I was once asked during an interview at a large hedge fund to pick a side and debate why war is justified. When I pressed them about the relevance, they indicated that they often have heated debates on all manner of topics, so they wanted to see my thought process. I enjoy solving complex problems, but socio-ethical problems are way outside of my wheelhouse. I politely indicated that I di…

Sounds like they've bought into the Heinlein/Rand general specialist myth (quote below) and were looking for that. Problem is, it's very easy to mistake lunatic confidence for competence, especially in an interview, and especially given the personality traits that work well in hedge funds/general finance.

>“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects.”

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#219

Post by jd_nlp »

allenu wrote: post #107
siscia wrote: post #33

I believe Google have brainwashed us all. Are we sure that it is worth all this effort? Are they so much better than any other company or startup? Is our own self so much more valuable if a random intervier liked our works an epsilon more than the other candidate? People inside FAANG are unhappy as well, they leave their company as well. I believe we should be less impacted by the ads that Google is running to sponso…

I agree with you. I was immediately struck by the tone of the article that the author was "fortunate" enough to be interviewed by Google. Maybe it's because I've been working for nearly 20 years now and am becoming an "old man", but the feeling that Google is this promised land of opportunity rubs me the wrong way. Every company has pros and cons and I suppose Google may have a lot of pros (free food, good perks, and…

Recently interviewed at Amazon and I got that vibe as well. Didn't really "sell" the job to me at all, just assumed I would automatically be in love with them. Obviously they're there to evaluate my skills, but in my opinion an interview should be something of a two-way street.

Re: I turned my interview task for Google into a startup

#220

Post by tasty_freeze »

jcadam wrote: post #151
rdez6173 wrote: post #104

I am a software engineer and I was once asked during an interview at a large hedge fund to pick a side and debate why war is justified. When I pressed them about the relevance, they indicated that they often have heated debates on all manner of topics, so they wanted to see my thought process. I enjoy solving complex problems, but socio-ethical problems are way outside of my wheelhouse. I politely indicated that I di…

> I am a software engineer and I was once asked during an interview at a large hedge fund to pick a side and debate why war is justified. Heh, I actually wouldn't have minded that too much - but in addition to being a software engineer I'm also a former Army officer. In any case, I think such a task can be relevant, if you're working in a fast-paced and competitive environment (esp. one with a lot of non-technical st…

> you need to be able to hold your own in an argument

Then you'll hire a bunch people who like arguing about things they aren't qualified to argue about. I'd much rather have a coworker who admits what they don't know and is willing to learn about it rather than someone who is willing to vigorously argue in support of an arbitrary position.

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