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Tech Interview Handbook

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Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#41

Post by new299 »

lacker wrote: post #36
new299 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally I can't see an issue with very simple FizzBuzz style programming interview questions. I used to ask a simple "count duplicate substrings" question [1]. Maybe some people consider this too hard? I never used to require exact syntax, and would have been happy with pseudo-code. Using libraries is fine etc.. I also found very few people could solve this (similar non-SF large city location). Occasionally, peopl…

Of course some people will consider that question to be too hard. But you may not want to hire those people. The point of an interview process is for you to pick the people you want to hire, not to ask questions that everyone agrees aren’t too hard.

I'm curious to hear the opinions of people who think that the question is too hard (i.e. it's too complex of a question to ask in an interview situation).

Perhaps some people might feel that while they could write code to solve this problem (or similar problems) outside of an interview. However, under the pressure of an interview they would not be able to solve the problem (due to anxiety, stress etc.).

If that was relatively common, then such a question would not be a useful interview question. Or would at least not be giving an accurate estimate of a candidates programming ability. This seems unlikely to me, but I would be interested in hearing different view.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#42

Post by decebalus1 »

codingslave wrote: post #4

Two outcomes for the technical industry: 1.) Everyone is studying these problems all of the time and they finally disappear. 2.) Other outcome is a dystopian field fueled by a race to the bottom where everyone is practicing algorithms problems all of the time. If you read the blind forums, some people are completing 500-1000 leetcode problems before heading into interviews. I'm putting my money on number 2, which is…

I started leetcoding again this year because I want to jump ship and holy crap! I used to solve problems on leetcode 5 years ago (last time I switched jobs) and it was pretty laid back. Nowadays, I'm seeing dynamic programming with 3D memoization arrays like it's something normal. It all started like a way to check if someone knows how to write code or knows data structures and basic algorithms but now it's competitive programming level.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#43

Post by non-entity »

DavidWoof wrote: post #11

I realize everybody's going to jump in and rant about algorithms in interviews, but I wish you'd all add something constructive as well. I just had to conduct a round of interviews in a non-SF large US city, and it was a hellish crapshoot. Resumes are meaningless, and often re-written by recruiters to match the job anyway. Everyone has the same canned answers to the stupid behavioral questions. And as for the code, w…

I realize everybody's going to jump in and rant about algorithms in interviews, but I wish you'd all add something constructive as well.

I was like this a couple years ago. I was a self taught, "college is a scam", "practical experience" type guy. I now, however do see immense value in the ability to be able to work through these algorithm questions,especially if you ever want to do something besides web / app development.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#44

Post by bradlys »

new299 wrote: post #28
DavidWoof wrote: post #11

I realize everybody's going to jump in and rant about algorithms in interviews, but I wish you'd all add something constructive as well. I just had to conduct a round of interviews in a non-SF large US city, and it was a hellish crapshoot. Resumes are meaningless, and often re-written by recruiters to match the job anyway. Everyone has the same canned answers to the stupid behavioral questions. And as for the code, w…

Personally I can't see an issue with very simple FizzBuzz style programming interview questions. I used to ask a simple "count duplicate substrings" question [1]. Maybe some people consider this too hard? I never used to require exact syntax, and would have been happy with pseudo-code. Using libraries is fine etc.. I also found very few people could solve this (similar non-SF large city location). Occasionally, peopl…

I never had any technical interview prep when I started. I could code just fine. I demonstrated that at my other jobs and in school well enough. Then I started interviewing for SF positions that did these interviews.

I froze up. I couldn't talk and think at the same time. I didn't have the skillset for doing this in a very intense scenario. In my case, I was homeless and needed a job ASAP. Every interview felt like life or death to me.

First one I was asked to reverse a string in C. I hadn't done C in a few months. I froze up on syntax. I looked like an idiot who couldn't do it.

I could imagine many people who have never experienced this format (or haven't experienced it much) would easily freak out and look stupid as bricks like I did.

I've since done over 200 technical interviews (as the interviewee) and I usually sweep. Still fail at FAANG but I always get the solutions. (Even the leetcode hard ones) Just not sure why I fail but cest la vie.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#45

Post by bpchaps »

new299 wrote: post #41
lacker wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course some people will consider that question to be too hard. But you may not want to hire those people. The point of an interview process is for you to pick the people you want to hire, not to ask questions that everyone agrees aren’t too hard.

I'm curious to hear the opinions of people who think that the question is too hard (i.e. it's too complex of a question to ask in an interview situation). Perhaps some people might feel that while they could write code to solve this problem (or similar problems) outside of an interview. However, under the pressure of an interview they would not be able to solve the problem (due to anxiety, stress etc.). If that was r…

The fizzbuzz test is not entirely about whether someone can do it. It's also about figuring out the style of the programmer. There's a surprising amount of flexibility to fizzbuzz; how is user input handled? Do they use a linter? How are variables managed/named? There's a lot going on, and it can be gamed just like anything else on both ends.

That said, the last time I had a fizzbuzz take-home test, it was infuriating -- my code is online.. what does fizzbuzz prove except to help make a company soc2 compliant?

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#46

Post by [deleted] »

numakerg wrote: post #32
DavidWoof wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slightly above market rate for the area, all in the low-to-mid six figures.

Was this a position where they were expected to write code? I'm surprised that developers making six figures couldn't solve a problem that an interviewer considered trivial. Any chance of a sample or maybe an alternate version of the problem?

[deleted]

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#47

Post by dehrmann »

DavidWoof wrote: post #11

I realize everybody's going to jump in and rant about algorithms in interviews, but I wish you'd all add something constructive as well. I just had to conduct a round of interviews in a non-SF large US city, and it was a hellish crapshoot. Resumes are meaningless, and often re-written by recruiters to match the job anyway. Everyone has the same canned answers to the stupid behavioral questions. And as for the code, w…

> nested for-loop problem

Ah, dynamic programming.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#48

Post by [deleted] »

DavidWoof wrote: post #11

I realize everybody's going to jump in and rant about algorithms in interviews, but I wish you'd all add something constructive as well. I just had to conduct a round of interviews in a non-SF large US city, and it was a hellish crapshoot. Resumes are meaningless, and often re-written by recruiters to match the job anyway. Everyone has the same canned answers to the stupid behavioral questions. And as for the code, w…

[deleted]

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#49

Post by glandium »

jiux wrote: post #25

I once interviewed at a startup for a senior engineer position and was asked “if aliens came to Earth and asked you to go into their UFO with them, would you?”... As much shit as we give white-boarding, I would have chosen it instead if it were an option.

What's the point of hypothesizing on things significantly less likely than someone winning the lottery (edit: while being hit by lightning, for good measure)? In fact "what would you do if you won the lottery" might actually give more interesting insight.

Re: Tech Interview Handbook

#50

Post by [deleted] »

numakerg wrote: post #32
DavidWoof wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slightly above market rate for the area, all in the low-to-mid six figures.

Was this a position where they were expected to write code? I'm surprised that developers making six figures couldn't solve a problem that an interviewer considered trivial. Any chance of a sample or maybe an alternate version of the problem?

[deleted]
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