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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

#241

Post by throwaway552231 »

agrippanux wrote: post #213
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 inf…

Do you mean it’s a bad answer because that behavior doesn’t fit the type of person you’re looking for?

I don’t know anything about Libya’s political and social situation. For example, how many people decided I was the leader? Is the military on my side? Is there an opposition with a tendency for violence? Have they attacked before?

There are too many unknowns for me to decide what is and isn’t a good answer. But definitely, the exec’s response would be good to identify culture fit.

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

#242

Post by totony »

ghaff wrote: post #172
macspoofing wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>maybe it is time to start asking some easier interview questions Why? The big tech companies offer high salaries and get lots of applicants. They can afford to be picky. And by the way, OP went above and beyond what they asked of him. In fact, there's a chance that this hurt his chances. >This is a visceral demonstration of how absolutely ridiculous interviews have gotten. This kind of format isn't standard across t…

I'm not a big fan of extended take home assignments but I can definitely see the logic of wanting to have some evidence that a candidate can do what the job requires. I do a lot more writing than programming and, for someone for which that's one of their primary jobs, I would absolutely want to see writing samples--and, if they didn't have one they could share, they're going to need to write something custom. I hones…

I don't understand why interview tests are so prominent, why not just hire the person as a test for a bit and fire him if he's not up to par? Doesn't cost much and is a much better predictor of success in the company

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

#243

Post by [deleted] »

rich_ard wrote: post #228
jcadam wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

Not clear on how showing that you're willing to argue a position that you don't have any background or evidence to support is a positive.

[deleted]

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

#244

Post by dbancajas »

rickyc091 wrote: post #206
TallGuyShort wrote: post #201

My last company did interviews like this - I was always disgusted at the way most of the team would sit around and just find things to pick on in the person's code. Dumb stuff too. It became an excuse for a lot of the engineers to just make fun of someone who had successfully completed the program, but didn't take the time to JavaDoc everything and follow the same code style best practices we did. Things you can easi…

Not saying this approach was correct, but given a choice, what type of interview would you prefer? Hackerrank? In person, programming challenges, smaller take-home assignment, other?

actually talking to the interviewee and getting a sense of what he's accomplished. it depends / person so it's not cookie cutter case.

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

#245

Post by dasil003 »

ALittleLight wrote: post #221
geofft wrote: post #196

Earlier quoted context omitted.

https://www.nytimes.com/1983/06/05/business/the-quiet-allure... > Though David Rowe, a veteran architect of the Wharton forecasting model, has played a key role in developing the firm's econometric model, the senior staff, including Miss Eickhoff, Judith Mackey and Lucille Wu, is mostly female. Mr. Greenspan explains the gender bias with the free-market pragmatism that has become his hallmark: "I always valued men an…

Isn't this admitting that he's underpaying women? Because if he paid them as much as he would pay a man then they wouldn't be cheaper.

Correct. No one would say such a thing today, but a couple decades ago it was downright progressive.

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

#246

Post by [deleted] »

dnaismith wrote: post #63
sethammons wrote: post #56

The rule of thumb I subscribed to: have the interviewer(s) do the interview. Give the candidate 3x time to do it that the in-house people took. Or, framed in reverse, if you want the assignment to take and n minutes or hours, give yourself n/3 to complete it, and however far you get is the bar for the assignment. Interviewees are stressed, maybe outside their domain, and other things. Make something that they can sho…

We did this at my company. A developer at the level that that developer was applying for would do a task that took them 2-4 hours. We then gave the interviewee four days to complete the task with a recommended time of 2 days. We also always made sure to include the weekend in the time they had to complete the task as we know during the week time is precious.

[deleted]

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

#248

Post by nsxwolf »

meddlepal wrote: post #199
toyg wrote: post #186

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How is that even remotely related to the job at hand? It is not. But they cannot ask you "did you vote for party X? Because everyone here votes for party X and it would be awkward to have someone with Y sensibilities", that would be discriminating.

Political affiliation is not a protected class in federal law so you could ask that... though state law might prevent it.

It's perfectly legal to discriminate against the candidate for this but also perfectly legal for the candidate to talk to the media about it.

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

#249

Post by JacKTrocinskI »

Someone I once worked with asked me a question that I think is relevant here and I will never forget it (roughly translated to English): Do you work to live, or live to work? It's beautiful, simple, and for me it put into perspective what really matters. I value and enjoy my job but I refuse to dedicate my life to it.

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

#250

Post by michaelt »

conanbatt wrote: post #181
Zenbit_UX wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm interviewing with 6 companies simultaneously and like you they all think they're deserving of free labor. I'd wager your company must have the worst devs, those who have little self respect and zero other prospects. Do you not understand that you're requesting free labor from an applicant? Did you forget the purpose isn't to have the sickest challenge ever but to evaluate someone's code/ingenuity?

What surprises me the most is people making 6 figure salaries complaining about making 1k investments into themselves. Absolutely worth it if it gets you the right job. Hell, most people pay multiples of that through recruiters and referrals.

If you're on $130k and take two days of leave for interviews, you're already making a $1k investment.
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