I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today • Hacker News Board

Re: I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today

#491

Post by dragonwriter » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 2:02 PM UTC

hlindwin wrote: post #490

pault wrote: post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> My resume speaks for itself. At the time of this writing, I am working with someone who has 10+ years of experience, including former positions as a lead developer. I was involved in the interview process and made the recommendation to hire, as they were able to answer a lot of domain-specific questions very well and had a good knowledge of the ecosystem. Fast-forward three months, and I am spending hours per day s…

I am kind of new to all coding. Can you explain what is wrong with that code?

The catch block merely does exactly what the loop would do at the end end anyway; it's no different than:

  catch:
     pass

(That is, if the pseudocode isn't making a Rubyish distinction between exception handling and control flow [rescue vs. catch] it's just an extremely verbose way of silently swallowing exceptions, and if it is making a Rubyish distinction it's an extremely verbose way of doing nothing and the whole try/catch construct is unnecessary.)

Re: I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today

#492

Post by hlindwin » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 6:26 PM UTC

dragonwriter wrote: post #491

hlindwin wrote: post #490

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am kind of new to all coding. Can you explain what is wrong with that code?

The catch block merely does exactly what the loop would do at the end end anyway; it's no different than: catch: pass (That is, if the pseudocode isn't making a Rubyish distinction between exception handling and control flow [rescue vs. catch] it's just an extremely verbose way of silently swallowing exceptions, and if it is making a Rubyish distinction it's an extremely verbose way of doing nothing and the whole try…

Ah, I see that now with the while loop restrictions. Thank you.

Re: I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today

#493

Post by diminoten » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 6:53 PM UTC

scottLobster wrote: post #488

diminoten wrote: post #480

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not honest. You're not asking the question to better understand the situation, you're asking the question to make a rhetorical point. You're not expressing your opinion, you're hiding your opinion, and setting up a "trap" for the employer to possibly fall into if they answer "incorrectly". You think you know better. Asking questions doesn't create a snake pit, not being straightforward with your opinions does. A…

It is honest, it's just not 100% blunt. I'm saying a professional version of "Now that I've proven my resume isn't a complete lie, you know these problems are irrelevant and non-representative, right?" and gauging their reaction with a plausible out that I was just confirming basic information if I need it. I can even throw in that anecdote about my previous job where I was hired for one thing and pushed into another…

I can't honestly said I read this. The fact that you're writing this much to try and justify something so simple and unimportant should be a red flag to you.

Re: I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today

#494

Post by SkyBelow » Tue, Jun 18, 2019, 7:43 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #431

OldHand2018 wrote: post #426

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Is there something else I'm missing? Yes, probably. Why do you need a supply of new front end developers? Is your workplace exceedingly lethal? Have you considered that paying $2XX/year is a signal? It attracts a certain type of candidate and you can't extrapolate the talent level of the entire market just based on your experience with those that would try to land a $2XX/year job. Where I live, trading firms can pa…

Seems like Paul can’t catch a break here. He is simultaneously not paying enough and paying too much...

If there is both a pool of qualified candidates that don't think the pay is high enough and thus don't apply and a pool of candidates that think the pay is so high there must be some catch and don't apply, they could both be true. You have to decide which pool to target.

At least one of those two pools exists, because if not it means there are no qualified developers looking for a job, in which case perhaps the issue is with the definition of qualified.

Also, there is the possibility they are getting great applicants that are filtered out before it reaches the individual currently here. It may be possible HR or some automated system is filtering them in such a fashion that good candidates are lost. Maybe HR is demanding 7 years experience in a 3 year old technology.

What we can reasonably assume is that the hiring manager is not finding qualified talent and qualified talent does exist. The idea that qualified candidates are only applying to FAANG or unicorns seems far less likely than something about the position is the reason they aren't getting anyone qualified.

Re: I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today

#495

Post by gwbas1c » Thu, Jun 20, 2019, 4:36 PM UTC

ubercow13 wrote: post #305

gwbas1c wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I interview A LOT of candidates. Don't bother with books about how to get a job. You're wasting your time. Instead, spend more time with books about hiring. How to run an interview, what to look for, ect. The reality is that companies mostly want to hire someone who can do the job and behave in a team. (There are some exceptions, but you probably don't want to work there.) At the end of the day, doing lots of leetcod…

You are still asking the leetcode question, and no matter how fairly you explain it the candidate who practised those questions will probably do better.

I doubt it. Leetcode questions tend to be deliberately technically challenging, and focused on algorithms.

I don't ask technically challenging questions. I'm more focused on comprehension in a technical discussion, and a basic comprehension of concepts that are critical for the product that I work on.

Re: I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today

#496

Post by geebee » Mon, Jun 24, 2019, 4:50 PM UTC

kragen wrote: post #470

geebee wrote: post #367

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. That's a hell of a loop. That said, this does seem like another reiteration of the "senior engineer couldn't write fizz buzz" story, though this particular example is amusing. I can write fizz buzz. Hell, I've interviewed enough that I can print all permutations of a string (or all permutations of a set and/or subsets of that set). I used to be able to implement merge sort in 45 minutes at the whiteboard, but I…

The original story here wasn't about code written in an interview, but code written on the job by someone who wouldn't have been hired if they'd had to write code in the interview. But, 45 minutes for mergesort? I mean, it's not fizzbuzz, but this took me seven minutes, and it passed the test on the first run (well, not counting the test runs that verified the test was invoking an empty function and correctly reporti…

Super late responding, but I enjoyed your comment and code.

Unfortunately... yes to both your questions. Yes, it is certainly covered in basic undergraduate "Data Structures and Algorithms."

And yes, I would have trouble writing what you just wrote in 45 minutes at a whiteboard, unless I studied up in advance. I know the algorithm in the back of my mind, and I'd be able to hack away at it. I don't mean in assembly, or in minimal space, I just mean a reasonably efficient implementation of quick sort in a high level language like python ruby or java. Again, I could do this with a bit of study, though I'm no longer inclined to do that study. I can't think of a reason, other than interview exams, for me to front load "into to data structures" into short term memory for a midterm exam one. more. time.

Maybe it does say something about my skill and mind set as a developer, that it would take much longer for me to do this than it would for you. I'm ok with that, as long as we're clear on what "basic" coding means.

I maintain that it is an immensely different thing to say you're weeding out people who don't have basic coding skills when the test is "fizzbuzz" vs "implement merge sort".

Re: I got asked LeetCode questions for a dev-ops systems engineering job today

#497

Post by kragen » Tue, Jun 25, 2019, 7:27 PM UTC

geebee wrote: post #496

kragen wrote: post #470

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The original story here wasn't about code written in an interview, but code written on the job by someone who wouldn't have been hired if they'd had to write code in the interview. But, 45 minutes for mergesort? I mean, it's not fizzbuzz, but this took me seven minutes, and it passed the test on the first run (well, not counting the test runs that verified the test was invoking an empty function and correctly reporti…

Super late responding, but I enjoyed your comment and code. Unfortunately... yes to both your questions. Yes, it is certainly covered in basic undergraduate "Data Structures and Algorithms." And yes, I would have trouble writing what you just wrote in 45 minutes at a whiteboard, unless I studied up in advance. I know the algorithm in the back of my mind, and I'd be able to hack away at it. I don't mean in assembly, o…

Well, I tend to spend a lot of my spare time noodling on what I think of as fundamental CS problems (what's the optimum radix for a min-heap? 3, I think, not 2), and I've spent a fair amount of time programming in languages like C where implementing mergesort from scratch is actually a practical thing to do. And I have a prejudice in favor of knowledge with a significant shelf life, like how mergesort works, rather than, say, how to work around the bugs in the latest version of React, which is also practically necessary for getting stuff done. So I might have a bias in favor of that kind of thing.

I certainly agree that mergesort is a lot harder than fizzbuzz, more than an order of magnitude. Fizzbuzz is well under a minute.

I'm pleased that you enjoyed my comment and code! I was reluctant to make it because I feared you might interpret it as an attack.